Missing Mail & Lost Packages

When to start looking

USPS asks you to wait before treating a package as missing — tracking can lag behind the physical delivery, and a scan showing "Delivered" sometimes posts before the carrier has actually finished the stop. Give it a full 24 hours past the expected delivery date before assuming anything's gone wrong, since the great majority of packages marked missing this way turn up within that window on their own.

Tracking says delivered but it isn't there

If tracking says delivered but you don't see anything, start by checking every spot a carrier might have left it rather than just the front step — side doors, the porch, a garage entrance, behind a planter or railing, and any parcel locker or mailroom your building uses. In an apartment or office building, ask the front desk, leasing office, or a neighbor before filing anything; misdelivered packages are commonly handed off or set down at the wrong unit rather than actually lost. If nothing turns up after a full day and the delivery address on the tracking details is correct, move on to a Missing Mail search.

Check these spots before filing anything:

• ✓ Side, back, or garage doors
• ✓ Behind a planter, railing, or bench
• ✓ Building mailroom or parcel locker
• ✓ Front desk or leasing office
• ✓ A neighbor, in case of a mixed-up delivery

How to file a Missing Mail search

A Missing Mail search request is the formal way to ask USPS to look for an item that's been missing for at least 7 days, or is significantly overdue against its expected delivery date. File it online at USPS.com using the tracking number, or the mailing date and a description of the item if you never got one. USPS says most searches take about 7 business days to resolve, though items that were correctly labeled and packaged are far more likely to actually get matched and returned than a plain, unmarked letter.

Filing an insurance claim

If the missing item was insured — Priority Mail includes a small amount of built-in coverage, and you can purchase additional insurance on most other services — you can file an indemnity claim once the Missing Mail search comes back empty, or immediately for anything marked lost or damaged in transit. Claims need your original mailing receipt and proof of value, plus photos if damage was involved, and USPS gives you a window of up to 60 days to file after the mailing date depending on the service used.

Mail theft and next steps

If you believe mail was actually stolen rather than misdelivered — someone opening a box, taking multiple pieces from a cluster mailbox, or grabbing a package off a porch — report it separately to the Postal Inspection Service in addition to any Missing Mail search or claim, since mail theft is a federal crime USPS investigates through its own law enforcement arm rather than the customer-service side. For packages you're expecting, checking the location listings on this site for your local post office's hours and address makes it easier to stop by directly if a held item or delivery notice is waiting there instead of at home.