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USPS Mail Shipping Classes Explained
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Over the course of the last few weeks, I’ve been mailing a bunch of documents and packages back and forth between my parents and myself. Some of these packages have been important from a sentimental perspective, some have been important from a financial perspective, and some were just some routine things that weren’t important at all. While my faith in the United States Postal Service is a little shaky, they’ve had a good enough track record that I’d trust them as long as I didn’t test them by mailing too much! In all those instances, we had to decide on how we were going to mail it – certified, registered, express, priority or regular? What’s the difference? The differences are actually pretty substantial and it’s important to understand what each is trying to accomplish so you don’t overpay.
Certified Mail
The package is trackable and a signature is required on delivery. The point of certified is if you can’t completely trust your recipient or you need a timestamp of when a package is accepted. This makes it perfectly suited for official letters because the post office will track when the letter was delivered along with a signature by the person who accepted it. If you don’t need either of these things, certified mail is a completely waste of money.
Registered Mail
Registered mail is the only one that guarantees delivery and they claim to put it under “tight security from the point of mailing to the point of delivery,” plus insurance of up to $25k against loss and damage. If what you’re shipping is over $5,000 (that’s the normal insurance limit) and you want USPS shipping insurance, registered mail is the one for you. If the thought of having to mail your item or letter scares you, you’ll probably want this insurance.
Express Mail
The package is trackable (if you print the label online) though no signature is required on delivery. Guaranteed to get there as promised or your money back. If you want speed, this is your best bet. The guarantee is a money-back guarantee, it’s possible that the package will never get there.
Priority Mail
The package is trackable (if you print the label online) though no signature is required on delivery. An interesting tidbit, any package over a pound is automatically considered priority mail even if you want to do it first class. Both are transported together and it is not treated any differently than regular mail. The 2-3 day delivery timeline is an estimate and not a guarantee, you’ll need Express Mail for a money-back guarantee.
First Class Mail
This is essentially everything else and is what I call regular mail. It’s called First Class because it’s the “best” of the shipment options that aren’t Express or Priority. Some examples of other classes are Media Mail and Parcel Post… both are slooooowwwww.
Confusion…
I think two things confuse people the most about shipping with the USPS:
- People think Priority Mail means it’s guaranteed to get there in 2-3 days, it really gets there as quickly as it would’ve if you shipped it First Class. If you have something that is less than 16 oz. and you ask for Priority Mail, you’re paying more for the sticker.
- People mistake Certified Mail for Registered Mail. If you’re filing some document, certified mail is what you want. If you’re mailing a $25,000 necklace, then registered mail is what you want.
(Photo by icanchangethisright)
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Also, with registered, you have to go into the Post Office, or branch thereof. You can do the rest of these from the comfort of your desk.
OK, now I’m confused.
You say this: “any package over a pound is automatically considered priority mail even if you want to do it first class”…
But then you say this: “If you have something that less than 16 oz. and you ask for Priority Mail, you’re paying more for the sticker”.
Are you saying then that First Class and Priority Mail travel together REGARDLESS of weight?
Richard: According to what the post office worker told me, Priority Mail packages that are under 16 oz will travel with the 1st Class packages marked 1st Class, everything over 16 oz. will travel together as Priority. There’s honestly nothing special about priority mail over 1st class.
Priority Mail is not the same thing as first class. The reason I say this is because first class letters take 3 or more days to make it from me in Denver to my parents in South Florida (or coming the opposite way), but if I use Priority Mail it gets there in 2 days every time. I understand that Priority is not guaranteed, but it’s always been faster for me for that distance.
Hmm.. so Jim, you’re saying that if over 16oz, they ALL go as Priority. If under 16oz, they ALL go as 1st class.
So no matter how heavy they are, they ALL go together, right?
Yep, except the under 16 oz packages that are marked as Priority cost more and have a Priority Mail sticker.
I worked as a USPS carrier for a summer.
1. Priority Mail is justly named, as carriers and post masters treat it differently than First Class, Parcel Post, Media Mail, etc.
2. First Class mail over 1 lb does not exist, so saying they travel together is misleading.
All I know is that my best friend drives for UPS and says that writing Fragile on a box only pisses them off and will guarantee the guys sorting packages will try to make a 30 yard field goal with your box.
saladdin
USPS Certified Mail provides the mailer two receipts. The first is proof of mailing or acceptance by USPS and the second is proof of letter delivery. USPS Certified Mail is used primarily as business mail and is commonly used when a receipt or ‘proof’ of mailing is required by State Law or mandate.
What the heck is Media Mail. Post office employees put these in separate boxes. Delivery is about ten to fourteen days.
sent my application for a job to the post office in White plains NY. Never heard from them again. If they are short handed maybe they can contact me. I would love a Federal Job.
I wish I had read this before sending some things…
Out of the last four times (within a time frame of 2 months) that I’ve sent something priority, this is what happened:
One envelope took 5 days to reach its destination.
Another envelope made it within 2 days.
Another envelope took 12 days to reach the destination.
The last one still hasn’t reached the destination (a 3 hour drive from me) and it’s been 21 days.
Priority has proven to be a waste of money to me.
Let me not get started on USPS’s customer service…
Author, thanks for the useful information.
I sent a big box priority via usps from NJ to PA and Janauary 21st (last Wednesday) and my daughter still have not received it as of to date January 27th.
I don’t know how old this article is, but the USPS changed their regulations in 2007. Anything over 13 oz. cannot be 1st class. 16 oz. is the old regulations. So basically, if you need to send a letter or card to a friend, priority is the same as first class, with the exception that priority gives you tracking info. Anything over 13 oz. needs to be brought to the post office directly and delivered as a “package” which can be which ever method you choose. You can send a package first class, and it will be delivered with the normal mail. Priority is guarenteed within 2-3 business days, which could be the same length of time for regular mail, depending on where you send it.