What Should I Do If I Lost My USPS Tracking number?

Are you wondering what to do if you lost your USPS tracking number? Here are a few steps you can take to locate your package.

The USPS tracking number is crucial information of your package. However, it is one of those things which can be misplaced easily, since you’re handed it on a small piece of paper by the Post Office. Put that in your wallet or purse, and it’ll almost certainly be gone the next time you look for it.

Let’s start by understanding what a tracking ID is before we move forward.

USPS Tracking Number – What is it?

The tracking number is a series of numbers that you’re going to get when you send a parcel through USPS’s delivery service. You can enter this number into the tracking system on the USPS website to view your parcel’s journey information and shipment estimates.

You can use this tracking service as many times as you want to while the parcel is being delivered, and it will show you the latest data of your shipment as it moves through the various stages.

Unless a postal worker fails to scan, it may advance a few steps, but this is by far the most precise way to track where your package is at any given time.

Where Can I Find My USPS Tracking Number?

Whenever you hand over the package to USPS, they provide you a receipt having tracking numbers printed on it. You may also receive a confirmation email or text on a registered mobile no. containing the tracking number.

There may be more than one location where this tracking number is located. The following can be used to find your tracking number if you are the sender:

Sales receipt
Self-service kiosk e-Receipt
Online label record, In the case of online postage purchase (via Click-N-Ship, eBay, etc.)
Barcode (affixed to the package)
Confirmation email sent by USPS

Examine each of these areas. It’s also a good practice to note down the tracking number when you get it from the post office, for backup purposes. If you have a choice, an email is usually the best way to receive your tracking number.

What items can be tracked by USPS?

Here are the list of services where USPS provides package tracking:

Priority Mail
Priority Mail Express
First-Class Package Service
USPS Retail Ground (tracking service provided for packages only)
Media Mail (tracking service for packages only)

However, there are some USPS services that does not have tracking numbers, such as:

Postcards
Periodicals
USPS Marketing Mail
Letters (possible to add tracking by paying additional cost)

What to do if I lost my USPS tracking number?

I can understand it’s frustrating, as of now you may have already checked receipt, emails and texts.

In case, If you have still not found it, follow these steps to find USPS tracking number:

Search for the mailing receipt you received when you shipped the package.
Examine your wallet, purse, car, and any shopping bags you carried that day.
Check for an insurance slip (if your shipment was worth well over $50). This slip should be given to you along with the normal receipt, and it will also include USPS tracking number.
There’s a good chance you’ve got a picture on your phone. Check Google photos, if you have deleted the photo from your device.
Look at your Internet Search History – if you’ve previously searched for the package location.
Visit the USPS office, Give the post office clerk every detail you can. Working together should help you both a lot.

Be patient and wait for your parcel to be delivered. This is your only option if everything else fails. That’s why tracking information is important to keep.

How to file a USPS claim for a lost package?

If your shipment gets lost and you have lost the tracking number as well – what are the options you have now?

Unfortunately, the last resort for tracking your package is to “Submit a Missing Mail Search Request”.

Good thing is, It is not necessary to have the tracking number to report missing mail to USPS.

First things first, before starting a missing mail search, USPS encourages customers to fill out their online “Help request form”. Upon receiving your request, USPS will forward it to your local Post Office for assistance with the search. You have to wait for 7 business days after filing the help request form.

If your mail or package has not arrived after 7 business days, you may proceed to “submit a Missing Mail search request”.

While submitting a Missing Mail search request, USPS may require these information;

Date and time of mailing
Mailing address of sender
Mailing address of recipient
USPS Tracking number or Click-N-Ship receipt (if you have any)
Detailed description of the shipment – what sort of product it was
Pictures of your item/package

Missing Mail Search Request Initiated – What should I do next?

Once you submit your “Missing Mail Search Request” online, your lost shipment/package will be searched by the USPS.

As long as the Missing Mail Search Request is not expired, the USPS will continue to look for it through its system, usually three months after it was initiated.

If the USPS finds your package, they will send it to your registered address. However, if even after 3 months they couldn’t find it, you’ll receive an email from USPS informing you of the Unsuccessful search.

Can I track my package by name and address?

Generally, searching via entering your name or address in a tracking field will not help you locate your package. Your order can only be located by courier companies if they have specific information such as “Tracking Number.”