The short answer
USPS Informed Delivery is a free USPS service that emails or shows you grayscale images of the address side of letter-size mail arriving soon, plus tracking for your packages. Sign in at informeddelivery.usps.com with your USPS.com account or use the Informed Delivery app. To enroll, you verify your identity and need an eligible address with a uniquely coded mailbox; notifications typically start within 3 business days.
Where do I sign in to USPS Informed Delivery?
The official sign-in page is informeddelivery.usps.com, which uses your USPS.com username and password. If you don’t have an account yet, the “Sign Up for Free” button on the USPS Informed Delivery page starts registration. You can also open your dashboard in the Informed Delivery Mobile app, which USPS publishes for iPhone and Android.
Use those official addresses rather than links in a text message or an unfamiliar email. USPS sends Daily Digest emails from USPSInformeddelivery@email.informeddelivery.usps.com, and it asks users to add that address to their contacts so the messages don’t land in spam.
USPS now offers multifactor authentication (MFA) for USPS.com accounts. It says MFA is required for some users and recommended for all, so expect a one-time code at sign-in if you’ve turned it on or been asked to.
What is Informed Delivery, and is it free?
Informed Delivery is a USPS feature that shows you preview images of mail headed to your address and status updates on your incoming and outbound packages. USPS describes it as “a free service”: there is no fee to enroll or to use it.
You can see the previews three ways: a morning Daily Digest email, the online dashboard on a phone or computer, and the Informed Delivery Mobile app. The dashboard also collects package tracking in one place, so you don’t have to paste tracking numbers into USPS Tracking one by one.
How does Informed Delivery get pictures of my mail?
As letters move through the USPS network, they run through high-speed sorting machines that photograph the front of each piece, the side with the address. Informed Delivery matches those images to your delivery address and shows you the ones arriving soon.
The images are grayscale and show only the address side; Informed Delivery doesn’t show what’s inside an envelope. USPS adds that you may also see color images of some things, like catalogs or magazines.
For packages, Informed Delivery pulls the tracking scans for items addressed to you and for packages you send with Click-N-Ship.
What does Informed Delivery show?
This table sums up what USPS says the feature does, and doesn’t, cover.
| Feature | What you get | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Mail previews | Grayscale images of the address side of incoming letter-size mail | Only letter-size pieces processed on automated equipment |
| Color images | Color images of some items, such as catalogs or magazines | Only some pieces |
| Daily Digest email | A morning email previewing mail and packages arriving soon | Not sent on days with no mail, Sundays, or federal holidays |
| Dashboard and mobile app | Mail images and package status any time | Requires a verified USPS.com account |
| Package tracking | Status of incoming packages and Click-N-Ship packages you send; manually added tracking numbers | Delivery Instructions not available for every package |
| Package actions | Delivery Instructions, Schedule a Redelivery, package nicknames | Managed from the dashboard |
| Mail Delivery Notification | Optional free email when your mail has been delivered | Opt in under Informed Delivery settings |
| Cost | Free | No fee; eligible addresses only |
How do you sign up for Informed Delivery, and who is eligible?
USPS lists three steps: create (or use) a personal or business USPS.com account, verify your identity and address, and then watch for updates by email, on the dashboard, or in the app.
A common reason an address isn’t eligible is the mailbox itself. USPS says you must have a “uniquely coded” mailbox, and some apartment buildings or condos may not have uniquely coded addresses. If yours isn’t eligible yet, USPS suggests checking back later.
If you’re moving, USPS lets you update Informed Delivery on its Change of Address site when you set up permanent mail forwarding.
- Check that your address is eligible. Residential, business, and PO Box addresses in eligible ZIP Codes can qualify, and USPS says most ZIP Codes are eligible.
- If you already have a USPS.com account, open your account preferences, scroll to the Informed Delivery section, and opt in. Otherwise, use the sign-up link on the Informed Delivery page.
- For a business street address or a PO Box, create a USPS.com business account; USPS requires one to enroll those addresses.
- Verify your identity online. If you can’t, USPS says you can verify in person at a USPS location that offers Identity Verification Services.
- Set notification preferences, including package tracking alerts by text or email and the optional Mail Delivery Notification email.
Why is Informed Delivery not showing my mail?
Informed Delivery isn’t a complete list of everything in your mailbox. USPS says images are only provided for letter-size mailpieces processed through its automated equipment. Large envelopes, magazines without a supplied image, and letters handled outside the automated sorting stream may arrive without a preview.
Activation takes time too. USPS says you will typically start getting notifications within 3 business days of registering. After that, you’ll only get a mail preview on days you’re getting mail, and none on Sundays or federal holidays.
If emails stop arriving, check your Email Opt-In settings and the address they go to, look in your spam folder, and add the Informed Delivery sender address to your contacts.
When does mail arrive after it shows in Informed Delivery?
Usually the same day, but not always. The Daily Digest previews mail “scheduled to arrive soon,” and USPS warns that mail and packages may not arrive the same day you get a notification, so allow several days for delivery.
For letters you mail yourself, delivery time depends on the service and distance; First-Class Mail is the usual service for letters. Our guide to letter delivery times explains what to expect from mailing to arrival.
Can Informed Delivery help with missing or stolen mail?
It can tell you what was on its way, which is useful when something you expected never reaches the box. USPS acknowledges that a previewed item may sometimes be delayed in reaching its destination, so give it a few days first.
If it still doesn’t show up, USPS accepts Missing Mail search requests starting 7 days from mailing. You’ll be asked for the sender and recipient addresses, the size and type of envelope or container, any tracking number or mailing date, and a description of the contents. USPS sends a confirmation email and periodic updates, but notes that it can’t always find missing items.
For valuable mail, the Postal Inspection Service suggests contacting the sender promptly if you don’t receive an expected check, credit card, or other valuable item, and picking up mail promptly rather than leaving it in the box. If you suspect theft, you can report it to the Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 or through its online form.
Is Informed Delivery safe to use?
USPS builds two safeguards into enrollment. You must verify your identity and address before you see anyone’s mail, which USPS says protects your privacy and personal information, and the account sits behind your USPS.com sign-in, where USPS recommends multifactor authentication for everyone.
Your part is mostly about where you sign in. Go to informeddelivery.usps.com or the official app directly instead of following links in unexpected texts or emails, and treat a message that asks for card details to “release” a package with suspicion. Turn on MFA if USPS hasn’t already required it.
Remember what the preview is: a picture of an envelope’s address side. It helps you notice what should be arriving, but it isn’t a delivery confirmation for any single letter, and it doesn’t replace tracking or Certified Mail when you need a record.
How do businesses use Informed Delivery?
Mailers can attach a digital campaign to their mail. USPS describes it as an integrated mail or package digital marketing campaign: mail and packages are imaged during processing, matched to delivery points, and the customer receives the mailpiece image or tracking information along with a “ride-along” image from the sender, before the physical piece arrives.
Campaigns are created in the Mailer Campaign Portal or Shipper Campaign Portal, which USPS makes available to business mailers through the Business Customer Gateway under the “Additional Services” tab. For recipients, the effect is simply that some previews carry a clickable ad or offer next to the scan.
USPS pitches this to businesses as a way to generate multiple impressions from a single mailpiece and measure campaign performance. On its business page it reports that 63.4% of notifications are opened daily on average and that 92% of consumers are satisfied or very satisfied with Informed Delivery; those are USPS’s own figures.
Will a letter sent through IRIS show up in Informed Delivery?
IRIS Postal Forms is an independent print-and-mail service, not USPS. It prints the US Letter-size PDF you upload and mails it by USPS First-Class Mail to a US address. Whether a particular letter is pictured is up to USPS: under USPS’s rule, previews are only provided for letter-size pieces processed on its automated equipment, and the recipient must be enrolled. IRIS can’t promise that a letter will appear in anyone’s Informed Delivery, and an IRIS order status isn’t proof of delivery.
With IRIS, you enter the sender and recipient addresses and review the document, addresses, options, and total before paying. A one-page black-and-white letter costs $3.20, including First-Class postage, and IRIS doesn’t guarantee delivery dates.
If you need a mailing record with tracking, IRIS Certified Mail adds $6.95 to a letter, and tracking appears on the order page.
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.
- USPS: Informed Delivery
- Informed Delivery sign-in
- USPS: Informed Delivery for Business Mailers & Shippers
- USPS: Find Missing Mail
- USPIS: Mail and package theft
- Informed Delivery Mobile on Google Play (USPS)
- Informed Delivery Mobile on the App Store (USPS)
Published by IRIS Postal Forms, operated by Great Lakes Computing Office LLC. Send a correction.