USPS tracking status
USPS “Held at post office”: what it means
The short answer
Take actionYour package is waiting at your local post office. In most cases USPS will not deliver it and you cannot book a redelivery: collect it with photo ID before the return date. At Customer Request points to a hold set by you or the sender.
When to act: If nobody at your address asked for a hold, or the package is not there when you go to collect it, file a complaint and we send it to USPS.
Also shown as: “Held at Post Office, At Customer Request” · “Available for Pickup” · “Held at Post Office, Retrieved from Full Parcel Locker” · “Available for Pickup at Post Office”
What to do now
- 1
Check whether you, someone in your household or a Delivery Instructions setting placed a hold; Hold Mail holds all mail and packages for everyone at the address.
- 2
Go to the post office shown in the tracking with a valid photo ID and the tracking number.
- 3
If you cannot go yourself, someone else can collect it with your written authorization and their own photo ID.
- 4
If you never asked for a hold, collect the package anyway so it does not go back, and keep a screenshot of the Held at Post Office scan for your complaint.
- 5
Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to USPS, so you do not have to chase it yourself.
Waiting at a post office, shop or locker with another courier
- DHL: Awaiting Collection by Consignee
- UniUni: Failed delivery attempt, returning to the warehouse
- Cainiao: Waiting for Pick Up
- Evri: Ready for collection
- DPD: Being held at the depot
- InPost: Ready to collect
- Parcelforce: Available for Redelivery or Collection
- Canada Post: Available for pickup
- Purolator: Shipment available for pickup
- Canpar: Held for pickup
- Intelcom: Ready for pickup
- Australia Post: Awaiting collection
- StarTrack: At Delivery Depot
- Aramex: Ready for collection
- CouriersPlease: Ready for collection
- Team Global Express: Awaiting collection
- NZ Post: Ready to collect
- An Post: Your delivery is in D.S.U.
- DPD Ireland: Your parcel is held at the DPD depot
What does “Held at post office” mean?
Both statuses mean the package is on a shelf at the post office instead of on a delivery route, and USPS's help page says a redelivery cannot be scheduled for either. Held at Post Office, At Customer Request appears when there is a USPS Hold Mail, Hold for Pickup or USPS Delivery Instructions request. Available for Pickup appears when the package cannot be delivered and is waiting for you or your authorized agent, for example after it was taken out of a full parcel locker. Available for Pickup at Post Office is different: USPS uses it when an office cannot handle its package volume, and if you do not collect the package it goes out for delivery as conditions permit.
If nobody at your address asked for a hold, the request may have come from the sender, who can choose Hold for Pickup or use Package Intercept to have a package held. An audit of one post office also found that carriers had been told to use the Held at Post Office scan for packages they could not deliver before the end of their route.
Why does USPS show it?
- Someone at your address has an active Hold Mail request
- The sender chose Hold for Pickup or used Package Intercept
- You set USPS Delivery Instructions to hold the package
- The package was removed from a full parcel locker
- The post office could not deliver it because of extraordinary volume or an emergency
- The carrier could not deliver it and used this scan instead
How long does it last?
The package stays at the post office until it is collected or the hold period ends, often 15 days for tracked packages, and then goes back to the sender. Packages held under a Hold Mail request are delivered or kept for pickup as that request says. If USPS held packages because of extraordinary volume, it says they go out for delivery as conditions permit.
Other USPS statuses
- Label created, USPS awaiting itemKeep an eye on it
- Moving through networkNormal
- Tracking not updatingKeep an eye on it
- In transit, arriving lateKeep an eye on it
- Alert: delivery exceptionKeep an eye on it
- Origin Post is Preparing ShipmentKeep an eye on it
- Arrived at Post OfficeNormal
- Out for DeliveryNormal
- Awaiting delivery scanKeep an eye on it
- No access to delivery locationKeep an eye on it
- Notice leftTake action
- Insufficient addressTake action
- ForwardedKeep an eye on it
- Delivered, but not receivedTake action
Who is responsible for a late or missing package from USPS?
Bought it online from a business? Then the seller is usually responsible until the package is delivered. The seller chose USPS, bought the label and holds the mailing record that USPS needs for a lost package, so a late, lost or damaged order is in most cases the seller's to put right with a replacement or a refund.
Sent it yourself? Then your contract is with USPS, under the mailing rules in its Domestic Mail Manual. Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and USPS Ground Advantage include insurance of up to $100 for merchandise on most shipments; without insurance USPS pays nothing for loss or damage. Insurance does not cover delay, or a package lost or taken after delivery.
Questions about “Held at post office”
Why does USPS say held at post office at customer request when I didn't request it?
The request may have come from the sender (Hold for Pickup or Package Intercept), a Hold Mail request at your address or a delivery setting. An audit of one post office also found the scan used when carriers could not finish their route. If nobody asked for the hold, file a complaint on Complain.biz and we send it to USPS.
Can I schedule a redelivery for a package held at the post office?
Usually not. USPS says a redelivery cannot be scheduled for packages marked Available for Pickup or Held at Post Office, At Customer Request. You need to collect it, unless a Hold Mail request ends with delivery or the line says Available for Pickup at Post Office, which USPS delivers later as conditions permit.
What do I need to pick up a package from the post office?
A valid photo ID, and ideally the tracking number or the notice. Someone else can collect it with your authorization and their own photo ID.
How long will the post office keep my package?
It depends on why it is held. Packages waiting after a delivery attempt are usually kept 15 days, or 5 for Priority Mail Express; packages under a Hold Mail request are kept for the period of that request. Collect it as early as you can.
Based on
- USPS FAQ: Where is my package? Tracking Status Help
- USPS PostalPro: Domestic Tracking Scan Events (event codes and tracking texts)
- USPS FAQ: USPS Package Intercept, The Basics
- USPS FAQ: What are the Second and Final Notice and Return Dates for Redelivery?
- USPS OIG audit 22-095-R22: Mail Delivery, Customer Service, and Property Conditions Review, Parkland Branch, Tacoma, WA
- USPS Domestic Mail Manual 609: Filing Indemnity Claims for Loss or Damage
- USPS FAQ: Domestic Claims, The Basics