If you’re waiting for a particular piece of mail to arrive, you may be wondering where your mail carrier is on your route.
the post office follows strict protocol to ensure delivery times are fast and efficient.
Because it is illegal to alter anyone’s mail, these strict procedures also reduce the risk of someone else receiving and tampering with your mail.
It is written in the law that governs mail that mail carriers can only deliver mail to a mailbox or post office box.
In some cases, they can deliver mail directly to a person when it arrives at their address or leave it at their doorstep.
That’s only if the mailbox is temporarily inaccessible or the mail won’t fit inside the mailbox.
Knowing where your mail carrier is can help you get your mail as soon as it arrives at your address.
here are some ways you can find out where your carrier is on your route.
where is my postman? (5 ways to find out)
1. package tracking
One of the best and easiest ways to find out the location of your mail is through a barcode.
all packages come with a tracking barcode.
As you go through the delivery process, carriers scan the barcode to update your tracking information.
The mail service doesn’t just deliver letters and other forms of mail.
They also deliver packages.
those packets tend to be smaller, but they can come from almost anywhere.
that’s because usps has an agreement with fedex, ups and even amazon.
In certain cases, these carriers will bring smaller packages to the local USPS office.
The packages are then sorted and placed in the carrier’s truck for delivery.
You can keep track of your mail by keeping an eye on your tracking information.
will indicate the expected delivery date.
some carriers even allow you to receive notifications when the package is 10 minutes away and so on.
By tracking packages, you can find out where your mail carrier is and when they will deliver your package.
2. observing the route
The postal service is responsible for delivering tons of mail to certain addresses within its jurisdiction.
To cover all those addresses, they have a certain number of trucks and postal workers.
These workers sort the mail into trays which then go to the truck.
sort mail in the inbox by putting the closest address in its specified route first, then putting the next closest address after that, and so on.
This way, the postman doesn’t have to drive back and forth and waste time.
also helps you determine where your carrier is on your route.
spend some time when you’re home looking at your mailbox.
In most cases, mail will arrive at the same time each day.
that’s because the path doesn’t change.
Certain variables like traffic and weather can delay your carrier on certain days, but otherwise you can expect them to arrive at the same time.
Knowing when your mail carrier arrives at your address can give you a good idea of where they are before they arrive at your address.
before the usual delivery time for your mail, for example, you can expect your postman to be at addresses before your house.
3. call the post office
calling the post office is another way to find out where your postman is.
They won’t be able to give you a specific time, as no one knows for sure, but they can give you a time range.
are based on previous delivery times made by the carrier.
Because tracking actual mail trucks is illegal to the public, the post office relies on its own private tracking information to provide you with the best possible response.
In some cases, the post office may not provide you with specific information.
That’s because the postman often carries confidential mail.
This type of mail can come from the IRS, contain checks or credit cards, or there could be other types of mail that contain sensitive information.
This is why postmen are sometimes targeted by thieves.
By disclosing specific information to the public, you increase the chances that someone could determine where the mail carrier is for nefarious purposes.
By providing general public information, the Post Office can protect its employees and safeguard the confidential information contained in the mail.
however, calling them can give you a general idea of when to expect your mail to arrive at your address.
4. use informed delivery
One of the services the USPS offers is informed delivery.
This type of service is something that anyone can opt for.
Whenever the mail arrives at your address, the office will take a photo and send you an email notification.
the email will indicate when to expect the email and will include the image.
This not only tells you what date to expect your carrier, it also tells you what specific type of mail is arriving.
This is useful because if it’s important mail, you can make arrangements to ensure that you or someone you trust can be there to take the mail from the mailbox immediately after it’s delivered.
While you can’t yet track your mail carrier’s exact location through reported delivery, it gives you a better idea of when to expect mail and what type of mail it is.
5. rent a post office box
A final way to find out the location of your mail is to remove Postman entirely.
When renting a PO Box, all mail sent to the post office is placed in the PO Box immediately.
This eliminates the need for the postman to deliver it to your address.
Instead, you need to drive to the post office, or where your PO box resides, and unlock it to receive your mail yourself.
renting a post office box ensures that you never have to worry about locating your postman again.
can you track your postman?
One of the problems with trying to figure out your mail carrier’s location is that it’s illegal to actually track your mail carrier.
There are several laws that govern the processing and delivery of mail.
Since there are many felony charges for tampering with mail, opening someone else’s mail, or even delaying the mail delivery process, enabling private postman tracking opens up a can of worms.
There are some governing bodies within the post office administration that are in charge of tracking postmen.
This ensures that they can generate data about your delivery system.
for example, as an area builds more houses and people move into those houses, the route needs to be adjusted.
management will examine the current routes and the tracking data they have to determine if they can add the new addresses to an existing route.
if not, they will need to establish a new route and find the resources and funds to support it.
Another reason the administration tracks postmen is for security.
Because some mail contains sensitive information or even checks, there are some that could hold up a postman and steal that mail.
some might even steal the entire mail truck.
Tracking information can allow the post office to help police find the missing mail truck and return it safely.
Public tracking information is not available because it allows people to intercept your carrier along its route.
This slows down the delivery process, which has consequences.
all mail carriers receive training that teaches them not to deliver mail to someone who approaches them.
In most cases, mail carriers don’t even know where that specific address is in your inbox because it’s organized in such a way that it follows your route.
They won’t know the next address until their current mail reaches its destination, for example.
With people stopping the postman from making his deliveries, the whole process falls apart and the system stops being efficient.
Because of this, it will never be possible to track the exact location of your postman.
how to register for informed delivery
One of the best ways to know if you’re getting mail on a specific day is to sign up for informed delivery.
The steps to do so are relatively easy.
Follow these steps to register for reported delivery at your local USPS office.
1. create an account
The first thing you’ll need to do to qualify for Informed Delivery is create an account on the USPS website.
once you’ve created your account, you should see a section for informed delivery.
You can also go to the website here.
Once you are on the correct page, you will see an option to sign up for the service for free.
click that link.
2. check grades
Not all addresses can use the informed delivery service.
There are two main criteria that must be met.
The first is the zip code.
You will type your zip code in the provided field when you sign up for the service.
The website then verifies that the zip code is an area where they support the service.
In most cases, if you live in an urban or suburban area, your zip code will be verified.
The second criteria is your real address.
To determine what mail reaches you, your mailbox must have a unique identification number.
Most addresses are tied to a standard house.
those who live in an apartment complex cannot.
for example, there are certain apartment complexes where mail is delivered to the office instead of specific mailboxes for each apartment.
If both qualifications are verified, you can proceed to the next step.
3. finish creating the account
Once you verify the grades, you will receive a prompt to enter a username and password.
This is the login information you’ll use to log into your account and check your mail.
4. verification
the usps has two methods to verify that you live at the address you registered.
The first method is that they send you a code through your phone that you then enter in the corresponding field.
This also links that specific number to your account and address.
The second method is that the USPS will send you an email.
When it arrives at your house, it will have a code and instructions on how to verify your account.
The phone method is the fastest, but if you don’t have access to a phone, you can always choose the second method to verify your account.
There is also a third option to verify your address if you don’t have a phone or if mail can’t be delivered to your address right now.
That method involves going to your local post office to verify that you live at the address in person.
If you don’t want to drive to the nearest post office, you can always request verification at another convenient location.
Please note that not all post offices can perform the necessary verification process.
If you choose this verification method, you will receive a barcode that you must print or show on your phone to a worker at the post office of your choice.
they will scan the code to verify you.
You have 30 days until the barcode expires.
5. wait a few days
After receiving your verification, it may take a few days for the service to activate.
the general consensus is that the service takes two to three days to activate.
In some cases, especially during busy seasonal periods, service activation may take up to a week.
If you chose the method to verify through your mail, then the process may take longer as you have to wait for the mail to arrive at your home.
6. take care of your email
With the service properly activated, you will now receive emails when you have mail at your address.
When you click on the email, you will see an estimated delivery date and an image of the email.
Please note that some mail pieces may not be eligible for an image.
however, you will still receive a notification that something is headed your way.
It’s also worth noting that although the reported delivery service gives you a date of when to expect mail, this isn’t always accurate.
sometimes it can be the next day or the next day that the mail actually arrives in your mailbox.
This service also doesn’t tell you when you receive mail ads.
You can expect them on the day you traditionally receive them in your mailbox.
how to locate your post office
If you don’t know which post office actually delivers your mail, then it can be hard to know you’re calling the right one to find out where your postman is.
here are some tips you can use to locate the post office that delivers your mail.
1. use the service locator tool
USPS tries to make it easy to find your local post office by providing a search tool on their website.
To find out where your post office is, go to the usps website.
then find your search locator tool.
Usually you can find it on your home page or services tab.
then you’ll see a prompt to “find locations” when looking at the location type tab.
at this point, you will need to select “post offices”.
will give you a field where you can type your address.
The website will then check its database to match your address with the post office responsible for delivering your mail.
once it locates you, the website will give you your address and contact information.
This method reduces the time it takes to locate your post office to the old-fashioned way of visiting each one near you.
2. check receipts for lost packages
Sometimes the post office requires you to sign for a package before it can be delivered.
If you’re not home, the postman will leave you a pink receipt.
The receipt will contain information about the package and the time of the delivery attempt.
One of the most useful things about the receipt is that it will give you the information about the post office where the package was sent.
You can then go to that address to pick up your package.
now you also know which post office delivers your mail.
3. call usps
A final method of finding out which post office delivers your mail is to call them.
Discover the contact details of the post office closest to you.
then call them and ask if your address is one of those they serve.
They can look up your address in the database and confirm or deny it.
if they don’t serve your address, then they can help you find the office that does.
conclusion
You can’t track the exact location of your mail carrier, but there are a few methods you can use to determine their general whereabouts.
There are also helpful tools you can use to track your mail and your post office location.
Use these tools when trying to determine where your mail is.