During colonial times in the United States, there was no mail delivery system. People typically left their mail at inns and taverns during the 1600s and most of the 1700s.
In 1775, the Second Continental Congress established the United States postal system, with Benjamin Franklin serving as the first Postmaster General.
established new colonial routes that were more efficient and cut mail times in half. It also launched the first weight table, so shipping costs were based on weight and distance.
Nowadays, there are many ways to send something through the mail, and you can even track what you send.
but what happens if you reject certified mail? what if you don’t want something you’re supposed to sign for? is he allowed to reject it in the first place?
Keep reading to find out all about certified mail, whether you can decline it, and what happens if you do.
what is certified mail?
certified mail is a delivery service. and is the one in which the sender obtains a certificate or receipt indicating that their mail has been sent.
the recipient has to give his signature when he receives the certified mail. and the sender can see when that mail is delivered.
sometimes people confuse certified mail with registered mail. Certified mail also provides the sender with a receipt when it is shipped and delivered. but it is also tracked and recorded by each post office and mail carrier that handles the piece of mail along the way. this is how jewelry and money are sent. Every USPS employee who handles certified mail must account for its safe delivery.
This is just an added protection to ensure that piece of mail is not lost, stolen or damaged. With certified mail, you can track your package throughout its journey so you know where it is at all times.
why do people use certified mail?
Government agencies and law firms frequently use certified mail so they can track important documents and know when they arrived at their final destination.
Important contracts, tax audits, and court documents are examples of crucial documents that cannot be sent by regular mail.
certified mail is not always negative. a lawyer could be trying to contact you to tell you about an estate you have left, for example.
If you receive certified mail, it’s always better to know what’s in it rather than wonder.
can you refuse certified mail?
If an attempt is made to send you certified mail and you do not answer your door or you are not home, another attempt will be made or you will have to pick it up at the post office.
Even if you don’t answer your door, it’s considered undeliverable. you can only decline if the employee has a chance to introduce it to you and you explicitly say you don’t want it.
it is not illegal to reject it. You can ask the clerk for the sender’s name and address before you decide if he wants it or not.
however, once it is in your hands and you sign it, you cannot return it or reject its contents.
there are consequences
It is not illegal to refuse certified mail. and if you have no idea what it is or who the person who sent it is, it makes sense to be wary of it.
however, there may be consequences for refusing certified mail.
can work against you if the sender has to hire a process server to complete the task. following a court order, they may be able to recover fees from you for having to send a process server.
The process varies from state to state. but if the sending party can prove that they did their best to send and deliver certified mail to you and you refused, the court may enter a judgment in favor of the sender.
If the court finds that the sender did everything in their power to bring you to court, but you refused service every time, you may be held accountable.
what if it’s for a lawsuit?
If someone sends you certified mail related to a lawsuit, once you sign it, you have 28 days to file your response.
If you refuse to sign it, the sender or the court will most likely send you the same paperwork by regular mail. once it is sent by regular mail, they will consider it delivered.
In that situation, you may find yourself in a situation where you are surprised by the fact that you were ordered to appear in court at a certain time.
Let’s say the court finds that you owe someone money. Once judgment has been entered, the creditor’s attorney could very well try to automatically withdraw money from his account to pay what he owes.
For this to happen, the attorney has to file an order with the court. If he has any money that should be exempt or he disagrees with the court order, he will have to file an appeal or prove what money is exempt.
If you never do, the court won’t know about the exemptions and the money will be taken from your account.
it’s usually best not to reject certified mail
Tax notices, evictions and/or being summoned to court are things that won’t go away just because you refuse certified mail. If the IRS sends you a tax claim and rejects it, you may miss the deadline to appeal or set up a payment plan.
If a distant relative dies and the lawyer sends you pertinent information about their death or something left to you in their will, you will never know if they reject the paperwork!
Want to ship something certified on your own and want an idea of pricing in 2019? are described here.