What Time Does USPS Deliver?

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What time does USPS deliver the mails? What is the estimated delivery time for packages delivered by the USPS? 

If you are mailing packages using USPS on a regular basis, it will be helpful for you to know the different delivery schedule that the USPS follows so that you know exactly when to expect the delivery of your parcel or mail. This article will answer the above and following question as to “what time does USPS deliver the mails?”

The delivery timing of the USPS varies depending on the volume of the mail and the route it takes. The delivery of most of the items be it mails, or packages are completed by the USPS team by 5 pm. Occasionally, the residential delivery takes place between 5 pm and 8 pm depending on the availability of the recipient in case their signature is mandatory. USPS delivers the priority mail items by 10:30 am while the items or mails through domestic mail express are delivered by 12:00 PM. The delivery time for most of the PO boxes starts between 9:00 am to 10:00 AM Monday through Saturday. The international mails are delivered to the recipients by approximately 3:00 pm. 

Therefore, depending on the type of the package, the delivery time of the mail can be as late as 5:00 PM.

What does USPS in transit arriving late mean? Learn about it from here.

When it comes to ‘What time does USPS deliver?’, we mean to ask how much time does it take for the mails to be delivered? Let’s take a sneak peek at the domestic and the international mail services offered by the USPS:

Domestic mail categories:

1. Priority Mail: It takes about 1 to 3 days for the priority mail to be delivered by the USPS.

2. First Class Mail: This takes about 2 to 3 business days to get delivered. 

3. Priority Mail Express: This type of mail has probably the fastest delivery speed and delivers all the 7 days of the week. Mails can be delivered overnight or within 1 to 3 business days through Priority Mail Express. If you are sending mail that needs to be delivered on an urgent basis, then this is the option for you. 

4. USPS Retail Ground: If you are dispatching your items using USPS retail ground , then it may take approximately 2 to 8 business days for the package to get delivered. It is one of the cheaper options if you are not in a hurry to get your package delivered.

5. Media mail: This is an economical option to send educational materials. Like the USPS retail ground, Media mail takes about 2 to 8 business days for shipping depending largely depending on where the item needs to be delivered. 

In addition to this, it is imperative to understand that this differs even further with the international delivery of mails. So now, lets take a look at “what time does USPS delivers mail?”, but internationally.

International Mail categories: 

1. Priority Mail International: Sending packages under this category, shipping will take around 6 to 10 business days on the basis of where the item needs to be delivered. This is a commonly used mailing service when mailing overseas. 

2. Global Express Guaranteed or GXG: This is the lightning mail delivery service when it comes to international mailing. It only takes about 1 to 3 days to ship the product to the final destination. 

3. Priority Mail Express International: The service under this class has a relatively fast mail delivery option after ‘Global Express Guaranteed’. The approximate delivery or shipping time is about 3 to 5 business days. 

4. First-Class Mail International: There is no set shipping time for this service. Your mail is delivered inside of 7 and 21 days given that the package requires time to reach its destination. This category of mail service takes a ground route or a combination of air and ground routes to travel to the recipient’s address. 

5. First-Class Package International Service and Airmail M-Bags: Same as First-Class Mail International category, these two services by USPS also do not have an estimated time for delivering their mail. It may take up to 21 days or more to ship the product to its destination. 

USPS mail time often has a variety of outcomes. more than anything, the time it will take for mail to be delivered depends on the zip codes you live in. Lets learn more about this.

How do delivery timings vary based on the zip codes in the US?

The zip codes have a major role to play in the delivery timings of the packages in the United States. On the basis of how near or far the delivery destination is the time may vary between 2 and 10 days in the case of domestic mail service. The delivery time is 2- 3 days for local ones. 

You can use the ‘USPS delivery time calculator’ on the official USPS website to calculate the transit and delivery times for your package. 

• When you click on the above link, you will be directed to the delivery time calculator. 
• Enter your ‘origin zip code’ and ‘Destination zip code’.
• Select a service through which you prefer to send your mail, or you have sent your mail already from the drop-down provided. (example, if you want to send your mail through first-class, select that).
• Once done, click on the “calculate” button. You will get the estimated delivery time and date of your item.

This method, however, is to calculate the transit and the estimated time of delivery within the United States and does not apply for international mails. 

What are the days the USPS has set for the delivery of packages?

The United States Postal Services (USPS) delivers packages from Monday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Sundays are closed. If you want to know more details about the various timings of different mail delivery services, please refer to the very first section of this article. 

Do delivery dates vary for international routes for both sending and receiving mail? If so, how?

Just like domestic delivery, the delivery or the shipping dates for the international shipment also changes based on the routes or the area codes between the origin of the shipment and the destination. USPS also offers various classes of services under the international shipping of packages based on which the delivery of the shipment varies. You can read more about it in the previous section of this article under the sub-head “International Mail categories”. 

What are some steps you can take if your package or mail you were waiting for did not arrive within the scheduled time?

USPS delivers hundreds of emails and packages in a day. It is sometimes possible that you are expecting a package on a given day, and it did not arrive which may trigger a sense of worry in you. Now, when a situation like this occurs what are you going to do? 

Well, if USPS has mentioned a guaranteed date of delivery like in the case of ‘USPS Priority Mail Express’, then it will be delivered on or before the date. If there is a delay in delivery or the package does not arrive at the time they have given you in this case, you can file a claim for a refund for the postage you have paid. However, the refund of the money promised by the USPS completely depends on various factors like the origin of the parcel, the final location where the parcel is supposed to be dropped off, as well as the time when the package is dropped off. 

You can visit the service commitments page from the official USPS website by clicking on the link if you want to know specific guaranteed delivery times under different mailing services offered by the USPS.

Follow these steps…

• Once you click on the above link, you will be directed to a page where you need to enter the correct details like what zip code are you mailing from, the location you are mailing to, the date on which you plan to mail the parcel, and the time you plan to mail the parcel. 
• When you are done entering the details, click on the ‘continue’ button. 
• You will get details like the scheduled delivery date, which service has a money-back guarantee, the type of facility, etc.

Other services apart from Priority Mail Express offered by the USPS do not offer a money-back guarantee in case the parcel gets delayed in delivering. You can either send a mail to the USPS authorities in order to inquire about the delay or call the service representatives on 877-569-6614 or 800-522-9085.

Check out our other article on international service center new york by clicking this link.

There can be several reasons as to why a package may be late on arrival. This includes service disruptions, unanticipated circumstances when the delivery person was unable to make it to the destination on the given time and date, for example due to extreme weather conditions. It would behoove you to keep your self aware of local conditions to prepare yourself. All you need to find is the answer to the question – what time does USPS deliver? If only there was a convenient way for your to find this.

How can you get a refund on the priority mail express? 

As mentioned earlier, if you have opted for the Priority Mail Express service for your domestic, you can ask for the USPS for any recompense if your mail is not delivered on time. How will you do this? You need to keep a few things in mind. Firstly, you need to raise a claim request within 30 days from the date the mail was sent. Secondly, you need to file a PS Form 3533 which is ‘Refund for Postage’. 

• In order to file a refund for the postage you have paid, all you need to do is to visit your local post office along with the ‘copy of your purchase receipt’ anytime before the completion of 30 days from the day the package was mailed. 
• At the post office, you need to complete the ‘Refund for Postage’ application form ‘PS Form 3533’. Once you submit this form, the post office representative will verify your claim along with other details of your mail, and you will receive compensation, either by money order or in cash. 

PS Form 3533

Now, do remember that the PS form 3533 is not available online on the USPS website or anywhere else. You have to physically go to the post office to get the form. 

In the case of Priority Mail Express for International mails, you can raise a claim by calling the USPS representatives on 1-800-222-1811. You can also submit an inquiry online by going to the International Claims page on the USPS website. See, information can lead you monetary gain. This is why you need to know the answer to the question “What time does USPS deliver”

There are some additional information and instructions related to the international claims on the above section that may be helpful to you when you are filing for a refund. An important thing to remember here is that the international refund is available for the mails sent to the below list of countries:

Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, China, France, Germany, Thailand, UK, Switzerland, Spain, and Sweden.

What can you do if your package is lost?

In case of loss of your package, you need to file a Missing Mail Search Request, but there is a certain waiting time for different mail services before you file for a missing mail. 

Conclusion

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, USPS is constantly striving to deliver the mails and the packages to its customers on time. However, due to various disruptions in the services, several rules and regulations set by different countries with respect to shipping packages as a measure of safety during this outbreak, there may be some delays in the delivery of your package. Hope the pointers in this article help you figure out a way to track your package or guide you to the next course of action when you are expecting a delivery of your mail but didn’t receive it yet. We hope to have helped you out with the question that was posed in the beginning, “What time does USPS deliver?” You might also want to learn about USPS express mail delivery time from here.

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