USPS says delivered but no package: what to do

What is going on

A Delivered scan is the carrier's record of where the package was left: in or at the mailbox, at the front door or porch, in a parcel locker, with a person, at a front desk or mail room, or somewhere else at the address. It is usually right, but not always: USPS's own audits of individual post offices have found Delivered scans made at the post office instead of at the address. Carriers' scanners usually record a GPS location with each scan, which shows where it was really made.

So search first, as USPS advises: carriers may move a package somewhere safer or out of sight, and packages often come separately from letters, sometimes later in the day. If there is a key in your mailbox, the package is in a parcel locker. In an apartment building it may be with the office. If none of that works, the scan may have been made at the wrong address or before delivery.

Why it happens

• Left in a safer spot: garage, back door or out of street view
• In a parcel locker, with the key in your mailbox
• Taken in by someone in your household, a neighbor or the building office
• Delivered to a neighbor's address by mistake
• Scanned as delivered before it actually was
• Taken after delivery

What usually happens next

A package scanned too early can still arrive later that day or the next. If it does not, the GPS location usually recorded with the Delivered scan shows whether it was made at your address. USPS insurance does not pay for a package lost or taken after delivery, so a claim on a package scanned as Delivered can be refused unless USPS accepts it never reached your address.