PS Form 3849: USPS Redelivery Notice Explained

The short answer

PS Form 3849 is the peach-colored “We ReDeliver for You!” notice a USPS carrier leaves when they tried to deliver something and couldn’t, for example because it needed a signature, as Certified Mail does. Scan the QR code or enter the article number at usps.com/redelivery to schedule a redelivery, or take the slip and a photo ID to the Post Office written on the back; USPS holds Certified Mail for 15 days and returns it to the sender on the 16th day. If you need to send a certified letter yourself, IRIS prints and mails one for $10.15 (one black-and-white page) and shows the tracking number on your order page.

Send a Certified letter online USPS Certified Mail forms, field by field

What is PS Form 3849?

PS Form 3849, titled “We ReDeliver for You!”, is the slip a carrier leaves when a delivery attempt fails. USPS’s FAQ calls it the Redelivery Notice and says it tells you three things: what kind of item the carrier had, why it wasn’t left, and which options you have to get it. Those options are a carrier redelivery, a pickup at the Post Office, and, at some addresses, a pickup from a USPS Smart Locker.

The current version is dated September 2022 and is peach-colored. USPS says older versions are still in use, so yours may have different boxes. A yellow PS Form 3849-SD is the Sunday version: it means a package came on a Sunday and will be available at your Post Office the next business day.

Businesses get the same form, usually only when an item needs a signature and there’s no safe place to leave it. A real employee has to sign for it; USPS says “the business” can’t sign.

USPS FAQ: PS Form 3849 Redelivery Notice

What the slip says, field by field

The carrier fills in the front by hand, so how much you learn depends on how much they wrote. Here is every field on the September 2022 form, front and back.

PS Form 3849 (September 2022) fields and what they tell you
Field	Where	What it tells you
Date	Front	The day of the missed delivery.
The item was sent by	Front	The sender’s name, if the carrier wrote it in. Often the fastest answer to “who sent this?”
It was sent to / At this address	Front	The addressee and delivery address.
It was a: Package, Letter, Large envelope	Front	The shape of the item. A certified letter is a Letter or, if it’s a big document envelope, a Large envelope.
USPS Smart Parcel Locker Eligible	Front	You can choose a Smart Locker pickup online (items smaller than 17 × 13 × 23 inches).
Available for pickup date	Front	The first day the item is waiting at the Post Office.
This is the: First attempt / Final notice	Front	Which notice you’re holding. A final notice should also carry the return date.
QR code and Article number	Front	Scan to open the redelivery page; the article number is the item’s tracking number.
We could not deliver because…	Front	The reason: payment due (postage due or customs), receptacle full or item oversized, no secure location, no authorized recipient available, signature required (with 18+ or 21+ age boxes), or Other.
Options 1–6	Back	Redeliver online, leave the slip for the carrier, pick up at the Post Office listed in option 3, use Informed Delivery, name a representative, or call 800-ASK-USPS.
Delivery Section	Back	Signature, printed name, and delivery address boxes for whoever signs at redelivery or pickup.
Barcode and barcode number	Back	Works in USPS Tracking and Schedule a Redelivery in place of a tracking number, and covers every item from the same attempt.

What a 3849 means when it’s for Certified Mail

Certified Mail needs a signature, so the carrier can’t leave it in your mailbox. When nobody is there to sign, you get a 3849 instead, usually with “Letter” and “Signature required” checked. The article number on the slip is the item’s tracking number, the same number printed on the sender’s Certified Mail label and receipt.

USPS groups Certified Mail with other “accountable mail”, such as Registered Mail, Signature Confirmation, and insured mail over $500, and holds all of them at the Post Office the same way. For Certified Mail and Registered Mail, you or an authorized agent must sign in person. USPS Electronic Signature Online, which lets Informed Delivery users sign online, covers some Signature Confirmation and insured items, even after a notice is left as long as you apply it before scheduling redelivery, but it does not cover Certified Mail.

A slip doesn’t tell you what’s inside. Certified letters often carry legal notices, government and tax documents, debt collection letters, and foreclosure notices, because the sender wants a record that the letter reached you. Our guide to Certified Mail explains who sends it and why.

How to schedule redelivery

Redelivery is free. You need the tracking number (the article number) or the barcode number from the back of the slip, and the address you enter must match the original delivery address. These are the ways to do it:

Scan the QR code on the slip, or go to usps.com/redelivery. It works 24 hours a day; a request in by 2 a.m. Central time, Monday through Saturday, can be redelivered the same day, otherwise it’s the next day or a date you pick. You can choose a day, not a time. Keep the confirmation number: you need it to change the request.
Use USPS Tracking. If the item is eligible, “Redelivery” shows under Available Actions.
Call 800-ASK-USPS (800-275-8777). Have the tracking number ready; without it, the representative can only send a note to your Post Office.
Use your Informed Delivery dashboard, if you have an account.
Change or cancel a scheduled redelivery no later than the day before it’s due, from the confirmation email, the redelivery page, or your USPS.com account.

Why you can’t just sign the slip and leave it out

For ordinary items, option 2 on the back lets you pick a day, tick a spot like Front door or Porch, sign, and leave the slip in your mailbox; USPS says to allow 2 days for that. It doesn’t work for Certified Mail. USPS’s redelivery FAQ says signing PS Form 3849 and leaving it for the carrier “does not meet the minimum requirements” for accountable mail, and the slip itself says option 2 is not for Restricted Delivery or Adult Signature items.

So when you schedule a certified letter for redelivery, someone has to be home on that day to sign. USPS says the carrier isn’t required to check that the person who answers is truly your authorized agent, because someone inside the home is assumed to be connected to the addressee. If the sender paid for Restricted Delivery, though, only you or an agent you authorized in writing may sign (DMM 508.1.1.8).

USPS’s redelivery tool also lists a limit of one redelivery request per item. If no one is home for that attempt, plan on picking the letter up at the Post Office.

Domestic Mail Manual 508: Recipient Services (1.1.7 and 1.1.8)

Picking it up at the Post Office

Go to the Post Office written in option 3 on the back, on or after the “Available for pickup date”. Bring the slip and a current photo ID. The Domestic Mail Manual says USPS may require an acceptable primary ID before handing over accountable mail (DMM 508.1.1.7), and its list of IDs for Certified Mail services is in DMM 608.10.3: a state, territory, or tribal driver’s license or ID card, a US or foreign passport, a military ID, and similar government cards. USPS says digital or electronic IDs are not accepted.

Before you sign, you may ask the clerk for the sender’s name and address while they still hold the letter (DMM 508.1.1.7). Then you sign and legibly print your name, and the letter is yours. If you’ve already scheduled a redelivery, picking the letter up at the counter no later than the day before cancels it.

Lost the slip? You can still pick it up. USPS says that without a tracking number you can take a valid photo ID to your local Post Office and pick up your item.

Can someone else pick up my certified mail?

Yes. USPS gives you four ways to name someone, though USPS says the slip option doesn’t work for Registered Mail or Restricted Delivery:

The back of the slip: under option 5, sign as the addressee and write your representative’s name. They bring the slip and their own photo ID, and the name on the ID must match the name you wrote.
Plain paper: a signed note saying the person may pick up mail for you, plus their photo ID.
Online: choose “Customer pickup” when you schedule a redelivery and enter the name of the person picking it up.
A standing order: PS Form 3801, Standing Delivery Order, filed at your Post Office, authorizes an agent until you revoke it and also covers Registered Mail.

USPS FAQ: Authorizing someone to accept your redelivery

What doesn’t count as authorization

Sharing a last name and an address is not enough. USPS says someone with your last name at your address, such as a spouse, can’t pick up your accountable mail unless you named them on the slip or in a note, or a standing order is on file. At home it’s looser: when the carrier redelivers, anyone at the address can usually sign for ordinary Certified Mail.

Restricted Delivery is the exception that trips people up. USPS’s FAQ says the slip’s representative option isn’t available for Restricted Delivery. The Domestic Mail Manual adds that an addressee can authorize an agent for Restricted Delivery by PS Form 3801 or a letter to the postmaster that says it extends to restricted delivery mail, and it also describes naming an agent on the back of Form 3849 when no standing order is on file (DMM 508.1.1.8). Because the two sources differ, call or visit the Post Office before you send someone for a Restricted Delivery letter.

For Restricted Delivery mail addressed to two people jointly, both of them, or their agents, must be present to sign (DMM 508.1.1.8).

How long does USPS hold certified mail?

Fifteen days. USPS’s Certified Mail FAQ says it holds Certified Mail at the Post Office for 15 days and returns it to the sender on the 16th day, and the Domestic Mail Manual sets the same 15-day hold for accountable mail, unless the sender wrote fewer days on the envelope (DMM 508.1.1.7).

You get two notices. The first is left on the day of the attempt. If nobody picks the letter up or schedules redelivery, a second notice marked Final Notice follows about 5 days later, and it should show the return date. The carrier doesn’t bring the letter with a final notice. If you scheduled a redelivery after the first notice and missed it, the carrier leaves the final notice then; after the final notice, there are no more.

The days are calendar days, not business days. If the return date lands on a Sunday or holiday, the letter goes back the next business day. You can collect it until the Post Office closes on the return date. A redelivery has to be requested before the return date, though the delivery you ask for can be on the return date itself.

USPS hold times after the first delivery attempt (USPS FAQ, updated April 7, 2026)
Service	Second/final notice	Total days held
Certified Mail	5 days after first notice	15 days
Registered Mail	5 days after first notice	15 days
Signature Confirmation	5 days after first notice	15 days
Insured Mail	5 days after first notice	15 days
Priority Mail Express	3 days after first notice	5 days after first attempt

What happens if I don’t pick up certified mail?

It goes back to the sender, endorsed “Unclaimed”, which the Domestic Mail Manual defines as “addressee abandoned or failed to call for mail” (DMM 507, Exhibit 1.4.1). The sender’s Certified Mail record shows that delivery was attempted (DMM 503.3.1.1).

Refusing is different. You may refuse a piece when it’s offered to you (DMM 508.1.1.2), and it goes back marked “Refused”. You can ask for the sender’s name and address before deciding. Once you’ve signed for a certified letter, though, you can’t mark it Refused and send it back free; the manual lists Certified Mail among items that can’t be refused after delivery (DMM 508.1.1.3).

Neither choice cancels whatever the letter is about. Whether an unclaimed or refused certified letter still counts as legal notice depends on the law, contract, or agency rule behind it, and those rules vary. If the letter could involve a lawsuit, taxes, a lease, or a debt, picking it up is usually the safer move; if you’re unsure what not picking it up means for you, ask a lawyer.

Unclaimed vs. refused Certified Mail
	Unclaimed	Refused
What you did	Didn’t pick it up or arrange redelivery within the hold period	Declined it when the carrier or clerk offered it
When it goes back	After the hold period, on the return date	After you refuse it
Endorsement on the returned envelope	“Unclaimed”	“Refused”
Can you refuse after signing?	Not applicable	No: Certified Mail can’t be refused and returned free after delivery

How to find out who sent certified mail

Before you go to the counter, you have four places to look:

The slip. Check “The item was sent by” on the front. Carriers don’t always fill it in, but when they do, it names the sender.
Informed Delivery. USPS’s free service emails grayscale images of the address side of letter-sized mail processed by its sorting machines. If your certified letter was imaged, the picture may show the return address. Not every piece gets an image.
USPS Tracking. Enter the article number from the slip to see the letter’s status and scan history.
The counter. When you go to pick it up, you may ask for the sender’s name and address before you sign (DMM 508.1.1.7).

No slip, a missing slip, or a text about a missed delivery

Can you pick up a package or letter without PS Form 3849? Yes. Online redelivery needs the tracking number or the slip’s barcode number, not the paper itself, and USPS says you can take a valid photo ID to your local Post Office to pick up an item when you don’t have the tracking number. If tracking says a notice was left but you never got one, take your ID to the Post Office anyway.

Be wary of texts. The US Postal Inspection Service says USPS won’t text or email you about a delivery unless you asked for updates with a tracking number, and those messages don’t contain a link. A “missed delivery” text with a link that you never signed up for is a scam; report it to spam@uspis.gov. For Certified Mail, the carrier leaves a paper PS Form 3849.

You also don’t need a blank PS Form 3849. The carrier brings it; you only ever fill in the back of the one you received, so the fill-in-the-blank PDF sites have nothing useful for you.

If you sent it: what a returned certified letter proves

Senders read the same tracking history from the other side. Certified Mail gives you a mailing receipt and electronic verification that the letter was delivered or that delivery was attempted (DMM 503.3.1.1). If the letter comes back unclaimed, there’s no signature, and USPS won’t refund the Certified fee because delivery was attempted.

Keep the returned envelope unopened, along with your receipt and tracking history, and keep a copy of what you sent. Proof of mailing and proof of delivery are different things, and whether a refused or unclaimed letter satisfies a notice requirement depends on the rule that requires it. Rules vary, so ask a lawyer when it matters.

If timing is tight, you can shorten the hold by marking fewer days on the piece. Our PO Box guide covers what changes when the address is a PO Box.

Sending a certified letter with IRIS

IRIS prints a letter from your US Letter-size PDF and mails it by First-Class Mail to one US address. Certified Mail adds $6.95, so a one-page black-and-white certified letter costs $10.15, and electronic Return Receipt brings it to $13.06. No account or subscription is needed for a single order.

Your private order page shows the USPS tracking number once it’s available, so you can watch for the same notice-left and return events described above. IRIS doesn’t provide a postmarked mailing receipt, a green card, Restricted Delivery, or a Return Receipt signature document. If you need any of those, mail the letter from a Post Office counter; the forms guide shows how to fill out PS Forms 3800 and 3811.

Sources & further reading

Product details checked against the IRIS API contract when this article was published. Platform references can change; consult the linked documentation when implementing.

Published by IRIS Postal Forms, operated by Great Lakes Computing Office LLC. Send a correction.

Put it into practice

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