Where is Mail Scanned for Informed Delivery?

Track your mail and packages with Informed Delivery

Are you wondering where is mail Scanned for informed delivery?

You’ve come to the right place. Let’s dive straight into it. The United States Postal Service (USPS) has developed Informed Delivery to help consumers digitally preview incoming mail and manage packages scheduled to arrive soon. 

Businesses can also make their direct mail campaigns more effective with Informed Delivery. Adding color and links to Informed Delivery previews can increase campaign response rates threefold.

Keep reading to find out why Informed Delivery is useful, how much it costs, how to sign up, and what precautions you need to take to use it.

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What is Informed Delivery from the United States Postal Service (USPS)?

The USPS’s Informed Delivery is a free service that gives customers early access to their incoming mail.

It provides scanned images of the mail that is to be delivered. It is available via email, the USPS.com account dashboard, or the mobile app. With this tool, marketers can learn when mail was sent and delivered, allowing them to coordinate their marketing campaigns.

• Once you send a piece of mail, the Postal Services scans it, and it is recorded in the Informed Delivery tool. This tool notifies senders as a piece progresses through the various stages of its delivery cycle.
• When the mail reaches its destination, the mail carrier sends a final scan notification to the sender. It informs them the shipment has reached its final destination.

With these near real-time delivery notifications, marketers can launch complementary campaigns that target the same customers.

For example, launching a digital campaign that is triggered once the postal delivery has been confirmed. This is effective because it maximizes the impact of each message on these target audiences.

Where does US Postal Service take a picture of my shipment for Informed Delivery? 

Mail is scanned for Informed Delivery as it passes through the Postal Service’s automated mail sorting system. This only occurs at the large USPS sorting facilities, not at the local post office.

How does informed delivery work?

As a mail recipient, the USPS sends you an email preview of your mail before delivery.

You can view images of your mail as it has passed through the automated mail sorting system where the machines scanned it. These preview images come to your inbox as an email notification. If email is not the best option for you, you can also get informed delivery notifications via text message or access more information through the USPS mobile app. 

To use Informed Delivery, you’ll need to sign up for USPS service.

They will ask you to enter information for the verification process. After that, you will receive a daily email with previews of the first ten pieces of mail you will receive.

You can view the rest of your mail on the Informed Delivery dashboard. 

Why use informed delivery? 

Some people like to see what they receive in the mail each day. Others find it helpful to know when a very important letter arrives.

You can also use Informed Delivery to see the tracking number on a package. With these details, you can inform the carrier where you want the package delivered if you know you will not be home. If the delivery time is not convenient for youyou, you can also schedule redelivery through the Informed Delivery app.

Informed delivery is also helpful from a marketing perspective. Here’s why:

Monitor your direct mail campaign with Informed Delivery

Before you send out your campaign, you can match your mailing list with Informed Delivery users to make sure you are targeting the right people.

After sending out the campaign, you can monitor the reports to see their tracking.

Leverage the data provided by Informed Delivery

Marketers can monitor their direct mail as it moves through the mail stream.

They can see when they arrive at the warehouse, when items are sorted, and when they reach their final destination. This allows brands to create digital campaigns timed to coincide with the arrival of direct mail.

Coordinate your postal and digital campaigns

Postal touchpoints are an essential part of multichannel marketing campaigns.

When you know the delivery stages of your mail, it’s easier to execute a successful campaign. Multichannel campaigns are successful when they work together. For example, you can send coupons through the mail.

Once delivered, you can follow it up with more detailed offers or digital campaigns to reinforce the impact of the original message.

How do I sign up for Informed Delivery?

To sign up for Informed Delivery, you must meet the eligibility requirements and confirm your identity with the USPS.

You must also have a personal usps.com account to sign up. To do so, follow these steps, and you should receive notifications within a week.

Step 1: Go to the informeddelivery.usps.com page.

Step 2: Click on “Sign up for free.”

Step 3: Enter your address to see if you can use it for Informed Delivery. If it isn’t available to you, you can still create an account and use USPS Click-N-Ship® and the Postal Store. 

Step 4: If your address is eligible, create your USPS account and select “Informed Delivery” on your profile page.

Step 5: Click on “Enroll,” Scroll down to “Account Management,” and select the “Informed Delivery” box. 

Step 6: Select the relevant fields, such as the terms and conditions, and address certification in the drop-down box. Click “Enroll in Informed Delivery” and answer the identity verification questions.

Who can use Informed Delivery?

The feature is available to residential customers and eligible personal PO Box addresses.

You can use Informed Delivery as long as you live in a qualified ZIP code and confirm your identity. If you live in an apartment or condo, your address may not be uniquely coded, and therefore you are not eligible for Informed Delivery. 

How much does Informed Delivery by USPS cost?

USPS has made this excellent service entirely free for its customers.

Therefore, if you receive an email with a link to sign up for this as a paid service, do not click on it. Instead, report the email to U.S. Postal Inspection Services.

Is USPS Informed Delivery safe?

USPS Informed Delivery is an excellent service, but there is a security concern because you do not have to prove that you live at the address you signed up with. But the USPS takes the security of its customers’ data very seriously.

A customer verifies their identity online during the sign-up process. The site asks for previous addresses, phone numbers, and multiple-choice questions that only the user can answer.

The USPS has also taken the following steps to improve the privacy and security of all Informed Delivery mail:

• Only the outside of the envelope is scanned; the envelope’s contents are not accessed. 
• All shared information complies with the Privacy Act and is subject to strict conditions under which they can share the data.

What can’t you see on USPS Informed Delivery?

USPS Informed Delivery scans are limited to letter-size or smaller items.

Therefore, you will not be able to see magazines, larger ads, and catalogs on your ID notifications. Because this is a USPS service, you won’t receive scans for items arriving via UPS, FedEx, or similar services.

The USPS also only sends ten scans per day. So, if you receive more than ten shipments in a day, you will only see the first ten. 

Daily Notifications: 5 common questions about Informed Delivery

Are you having a problem with Informed Delivery? Let us take a look at some of the most common questions.

1. Why have I not received notifications for packages and/or mail images from Informed Delivery?

If you’re not receiving notifications from USPS, it may be because you set your spam filter incorrectly.

Ensure the email address in your profile is correct, and add the USPS email to your contact list to prevent spam filters from blocking messages.

2. Why am I receiving Informed Delivery emails but can’t log in to my dashboard?

You should have received an email from USPS right after your initial sign-up.

It will contain a one-time link that will allow you to complete your account registration. If you have not completed these steps, you will be unable to access your dashboard.

3. When are Informed Delivery emails sent?

Notifications are sent once a day before 9:00 AM on days when there is mail to be delivered.

If there is no mail to deliver, you will not receive any messages. Notifications are also not dispatched on Sundays and holidays.

4. Why do I receive notifications for another person’s mail or packages?

Informed delivery can’t distinguish your mail from others if you live with someone at the same address.

If you have a shared mailbox, the post office will display the images of the delivered mail in the notifications for all incoming packages. 

5. My mail piece was scanned but not delivered: What went wrong?

If you are concerned because a piece of mail was scanned but not delivered, do not panic. Instead, wait one business day and see what happens.

If the USPS has not delivered the mail piece after two business days, contact the post office and inform them that something has been lost or stolen.

A better way to track your mail

Informed delivery allows brands to maximize the impact of their marketing efforts by knowing when their shipment has arrived in the mail, but there is an even better option.

Postalytics has developed an affordable and effective alternative to Informed Delivery for marketers. Thanks to Postalytics, you can now track the progress of your campaigns in real-time with automated campaigns. 

You no longer have to worry about where your mail is being scanned for Informed Delivery as it goes through the mail delivery process with the USPS.

Thanks to the QR code we print on your material, our system can link each piece of mail to a contact record. This gives us real-time information from the USPS as it scans.

That way, you know exactly where your mail is and when it is delivered. We have also developed dashboards for direct mail tracking with easy-to-use features so you can monitor your campaign.