Skip to content
File a complaint
File a complaint

NZ Post tracking status

NZ Post “Delivery attempted”: what it means

The short answer

Take action

A driver came but could not leave your parcel, so NZ Post left a Missed my parcel card and kept the parcel. You may be able to arrange redelivery in the tracking tool, or you can pick it up from the next working day, with photo ID.

When to act: If you have no card and tracking shows no redelivery option after 2 working days, file a complaint and we send it to NZ Post.

Bizzy online

Tell me what happened. I write your complaint with you and we send it to NZ Post.

Also shown as: “Delivery Attempted - Refer to Card” · “Delivery Attempted - Ready to collect” · “Delivery Attempted - Business Closed” · “Delivery attempted - rearrange delivery” · “Missed my parcel” · “We missed you” · “Redelivery Requested” · “Redirection requested” · “Redirected” · “Processing for Redirection”

What to do now

  1. Look for the Missed my parcel card on your doorstep and in your mailbox, and note where the parcel is and the number starting with CTC.

  2. Enter the tracking number in NZ Post's tracking tool and choose 'Redirect my parcel' to have it brought to the same address or another one.

  3. To collect it instead, wait until the next working day and take the card or the tracking number, plus photo ID, to the place named on the card.

  4. Do this within a week, because NZ Post's limits start at seven working days on its terms and 10 days on its missed parcel page.

  5. If you were home, write down the time and save screenshots and any doorbell camera footage.

  6. Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to NZ Post, so you do not have to chase it yourself.

    Start my complaint

Missed delivery or a card left with another courier

What does “Delivery attempted” mean?

NZ Post says a driver visited but could not leave the parcel. The reasons it gives are: a signature was needed and nobody was home, there was no safe place to leave it, the driver saw a dog or a 'Beware of the Dog' sign, the address did not have enough detail, such as a unit number, or the driver could not get into the building. A 'Missed my parcel' card should be on your doorstep or in your mailbox. It shows when the driver came, a 9-digit number starting with CTC, and what to do next, which varies by region. NZ Post's terms call these cards a Card to Collect or a Card to Call.

The words after 'Delivery Attempted' tell you the route. 'Refer to Card' means you may be able to have it redelivered to the same or another address, or pick it up from the next business day at the depot on the card. 'Ready to collect' means you pick it up from the next business day at the PostShop on the card. 'Business Closed' means NZ Post holds it until the business opens, or you may be able to send it elsewhere. 'rearrange delivery' means redelivery through the tracking tool. 'Redelivery Requested', 'Redirection requested', 'Processing for Redirection' and 'Redirected' mean NZ Post has a change you asked for, and can appear on a parcel that was never attempted. NZ Post's time limits differ from page to page: 10 days to collect on its missed parcel page, 14 days for a Card to Call on its returned-to-sender page, and its terms let it return a signature parcel from seven working days after the card. Seven working days can run past 10 days, so no one figure is safe. A week is inside all three.

Why does NZ Post show it?

  • A signature was needed and nobody was home
  • The driver could not find a safe place to leave it
  • A dog or a 'Beware of the Dog' sign kept the driver out
  • The address did not have enough detail, such as a unit number
  • The driver could not get into the building or to the address
  • The business at the address was closed

How long does it last?

Once you rearrange, NZ Post redelivers on the next working day, unless a Saturday or evening delivery was requested, and tracking shows 'Redelivery Requested' or 'Redirected'. NZ Post says a parcel showing 'Delivery attempted' cannot be moved to a Collect my parcel location. In tracking histories people share, the next line can be 'Processing at depot' as the parcel goes back, and the redelivery option is not always offered. If you do nothing, the parcel goes back to the sender when the holding period ends, and NZ Post's terms let it charge the sender for transport and storage.

Other NZ Post statuses

All NZ Post statuses →

Who is responsible for a late or missing parcel from NZ Post?

If you bought online from a business that arranged the delivery, the seller is responsible. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act (section 5A), a supplier who delivers or arranges delivery guarantees that you will receive the goods at the agreed time or, if no time was agreed, within a reasonable time. Your rights are against the seller, and on delivery the Act gives two. If the failure is substantial, you can reject the goods and choose a refund or, if the seller has one in stock, a replacement. The courier losing the parcel does not take that right away, because the Act treats the carrier as the seller's agent on this point. In any case, the seller owes damages for loss that could reasonably be foreseen. NZ Post's contract is with the sender, and it usually pays any compensation to the sender. The Act sets no number of days, and it does not say whether a parcel left at your address counts as received. It covers sellers in trade and goods normally bought for personal or household use, not a private person selling something second hand.

If you sent the parcel yourself, your contract is with NZ Post, under its Public Contract and Postal Users' Guide, and you are the one who has to raise a problem with it. It promises reasonable care and skill. Its delivery times are targets and its terms say it pays no compensation for delay. If it is liable for a parcel lost or damaged within New Zealand, cover is up to $250 for Economy or $2,000 for Courier, including Courier Economy, plus the postage, depending on its conditions. Its terms set a limit of 21 days from sending for a parcel that never arrived, and 10 days from delivery for damage (7 for a business). NZ Post says Consumer Guarantees Act rights apply alongside these terms, but subject to the Postal Services Act and the carriage rules in the Contract and Commercial Law Act. Those rules limit a carrier's liability for loss or damage to the contract and the rules themselves, unless it caused the loss on purpose (section 244). Government guidance says the same for a carrier you hire yourself, and that the Act can still cover unreasonable delay. A business that sends parcels agrees, as far as the law allows, that the Act does not apply.

Questions about “Delivery attempted”

What does 'Missed my parcel' mean on NZ Post?

A driver tried to deliver but could not leave the parcel, usually because a signature was needed or there was nowhere safe. The card says when the driver came and what to do next.

How long does NZ Post keep a missed parcel?

NZ Post's pages give different figures: 10 days on its missed parcel page and 14 days on its returned-to-sender page. Its terms let it return a signature parcel from seven working days after the card. A week is inside all three, so aim for that.

How do I get NZ Post to redeliver my parcel?

Enter your tracking number in the tracking tool and choose 'Redirect my parcel'. NZ Post says redelivery follows on the next working day, unless a Saturday or evening delivery was requested. It charges a small fee to redirect a courier parcel, up to 75km from the original address.

NZ Post says delivery attempted but I was home. What can I do?

Note the time of the scan, look for a card and save any doorbell camera footage. If you have no card and no redelivery option after 2 working days, file a complaint on Complain.biz and we send it to NZ Post.

Why won't NZ Post leave my parcel at the door?

A signature may be needed, or the driver decided there was no safe place. NZ Post leaves parcels only where they are weatherproof and out of public view. A Leave my parcel authority lets the driver sign for you, but you cannot add one after a delivery attempt on that parcel.

Based on

  • NZ Post: What does my tracking status mean? (table of status wordings)
  • NZ Post: My item shows Delivery attempted - rearrange delivery (reasons, next working day)
  • NZ Post: I have Missed my Parcel (what the card shows, 10 days to collect)
  • NZ Post: Missed my parcel (We missed you)
  • NZ Post: My item to NZ shows Returned to Sender (14 days for a Card to Call)
  • NZ Post: Postal Users' Guide (cards, seven working days for signature parcels, weatherproof place)
  • NZ Post: Redirecting your parcels using the NZ Post Tracking tool (small fee, 75km)
  • NZ Post: Leave my parcel (when an authority cannot be added)
  • NZ Post: My item shows Undeliverable (card or tracking number and photo ID)
  • NZ Post: Collect my parcel (no move to a collection location after Delivery attempted)
  • Tracking history shared on Reddit, r/newzealand: Delivery attempted, refer to card, then Processing at depot (one thread)
  • Tracking history shared on Reddit, r/newzealand: attempt, then processed at depot (one thread)
  • Consumer Guarantees Act, section 5A (guarantee as to delivery), sections 18, 20, 21 and 23 (rejecting goods, substantial failure, damages, refund or replacement), section 2 (who is a supplier and a consumer)
  • Contract and Commercial Law Act, section 243 (carriage of letters by a postal operator is excluded) and section 244 (a carrier's liability for loss or damage)
  • New Zealand government consumer guidance: Delivery issues (the shop is responsible for delivery until the goods reach you; a carrier you hire yourself; delay)
  • NZ Post: Cover for loss or damage (cover limits, who raises a problem, time limits, no compensation for delay)
  • NZ Post: Public Contract (reasonable care and skill, liability caps, Consumer Guarantees Act rights)
  • NZ Post: Postal Users' Guide (delivery targets, cover limits, Courier includes Courier Economy, time limits, consumer rights subject to other Acts, claim payments usually go to the sender)
  • NZ Post: Collect my parcel Terms and Conditions (NZ Post's contract to deliver your parcel is with the sender)
  • NZ Post: Delivering together (CourierPost became Courier and Courier Economy, Pace became Express)

Parcel still not here?
File a complaint about NZ Post.

Start my complaint