All domestic USPS services come with full door-to-door tracking for your package, which you can access for a total of up to 120 days after USPS first scans your package in. However, did you know there’s a way to access a package’s tracking data for much, much longer? For a small fee on the USPS website, you can! This special access is called USPS Tracking Plus, and it serves as the Postal Service’s premium tracking service.
USPS Tracking Plus Lets You Access Tracking History for a Package Up to 10 Years
When you purchase USPS tracking plus for a package (for a small fee), you can choose the option to access its tracking data for much longer than the standard 120 days. The timeframes you can select are as follows:
- 6 months
- 1 year
- 3 years
- 5 years
- 7 years
- 10 years*
*For domestic services, you can select up to 10 years; for international services, you can select up to 7 years.
No matter which service you used, you’ll be able to select any of these timeframes any time you check your package’s tracking status on the USPS tracking portal. Just scroll towards the bottom of the page find the “USPS Tracking Plus” drop-down and select whichever option you’d like! Note that the longer amounts of time cost more money to purchase.
The Benefits of USPS Tracking Plus
The main benefit of USPS Tracking Plus is gaining extended access to your package’s tracking history online. You can access up to ten years of tracking history for domestic packages, and up to seven years for international packages. With this extended access, you can use your USPS Tracking Plus Statement as:
- Evidence of delivery to resolve disputes and claims with USPS
- Critical evidence of mailing, delivery, and/or attempted delivery for legal and court proceedings
- Official data for legal and financial sources
Frequently Asked Questions: USPS Premium Tracking
Below are three of the most frequently-asked questions we see regarding USPS premium tracking:
Do All Packages Come with USPS Premium Tracking?
No. All packages you ship with USPS come with standard tracking numbers, which allow you to access tracking data for up to 120 days after USPS gives the shipment its first acceptance scan. If you would like the advanced form of USPS premium tracking, you will specifically need to purchase USPS Tracking Plus.
What are the Benefits of USPS Tracking Plus?
Anyone can benefit from extended access to their tracking data, including individuals, small businesses, law offices, financial institutions, pharmaceutical providers, and more. USPS Tracking Plus allows you to access your package’s tracking history for up to ten years for domestic shipping services (seven years for international services). With this extended access, you can provide Proof of Delivery to resolve disputes and claims, on top of using it as officially recognized evidence for legal, financial, and court proceedings if you need to.
Where Can I Purchase USPS Tracking Plus?
You can purchase USPS Tracking Plus on the USPS tracking portal, where you go to check your package’s tracking status. After you enter your tracking number, scroll down on the page that populates to find the “USPS Tracking Plus” drop-down. From there, select the length of time you’d like to purchase (aka how long your tracking information will be available). These timeframes range from 6 months all the way up to 10 years.
George Wright
USPS WILL NOT PROVIDE REDELIVERY OPTIONS OR EVEN ACTUAL ATTEMPTS TO DELIVER PARCELS OR PACKAGES TO MY RESIDENCE.