Have you ever stressed about whether your mail has reached your recipient? Are you worried that it might have gotten lost on the way?

You should consider using certified mail to send your letters and packages. This expedites your mail and indicates urgency to the recipient to look at your mail as fast as possible.

But how do you go about tracking certified mail? How does the certified mail process work?

Read on to learn what you need to know about USPS certified mail.

What Is Certified Mail?

Certified mail places a label on top of your mail. This label causes your recipient to look at the letter or package ahead of their other mail.

They’ll take it more seriously and are likely to respond faster to it. The USPS also keeps track of all mail sent via certified mail for up to two years.

This means you can always check back on when you sent certified mail and when it reached your recipient. One of the best features of certified mail is that it offers tracking services.

You should also research the benefits of using certified mail for your business—or even if you send mail often for personal use.

Tracking Certified Mail

When you send mail via certified mail, you’ll automatically get the tracking option drawn in.

You’ll get a long tracking number, which you can enter at USPS.com to track your package. It usually takes about 24 hours to get the first notification after you’ve dropped off your package at the post office.

However, once you’ve tracked your package, you’ll receive details every step of the way. You’ll see every town and city that your package has arrived at until it arrives at your recipient’s address.

You can keep a PDF copy of the tracking results in case there’s a dispute with USPS or with your recipient.

In fact, one of the main reasons why people choose certified mail is to fight against any particular disputes that might arise if your recipient doesn’t receive the mail.

Certified mail is often used for sending legal documents, business documents, photos, expensive goods, etc.

Part of certified mail is also requesting a signature confirmation. While this isn’t required, this is an extra protection to ensure that your mail was delivered. Your recipient will have to sign a small slip to confirm delivery.

In the event that the recipient isn’t available, the delivery driver might hold onto the mail and return on a different day to collect the signature.

Choose Certified Mail

Now you know how to go about tracking certified mail and why this is a great option for sending your letters and packages.

Certified mail adds a slip on your package that your recipient will immediately notice. This makes them prioritize looking at your mail over their other mail.

You can track certified mail using the code given to you by USPS. You can also request a signature confirmation from your recipients for added protection.

You can find more tips on our blog, so check out our other articles.