What does Post Office do with undeliverable mail?
Mail that is undeliverable as addressed is forwarded, returned to the sender, or treated as dead mail, as authorized for the particular class of mail. Undeliverable-as-addressed mail is endorsed by the USPS with the reason for nondelivery as shown in Exhibit 1.4. 1. All nonmailable pieces are returned to the sender.
What happens to undelivered letters?
According to the USPS, mail can be considered “undeliverable” due to a number of factors ranging from insufficient postage to the person it’s addressed to refusing to accept it. Regardless of the reason the mail cannot be delivered, the USPS states that: “All nonmailable pieces are returned to the sender.”
Does undelivered mail get returned?
Undeliverable mail is not held at the dead letter office. Undeliverable mail is returned to the sender.
Does the post office destroy undeliverable mail?
Just as it sounds, Secure Destruction is a way to destroy those documents and the sensitive information they contain, while the mail is still in a secure USPS facility. This program shreds and recycles Undeliverable-as-Addressed (UAA) First-Class letter mail instead of returning it to the sender.
What does the post office do with dead letters?
Known at one time as the Dead Letter Office, the Mail Recovery Center works to reunite undeliverable packages and letters with either sender or recipient. Processing centers and retail and delivery units send mail items without valid addressee and sender information to the MRC, where MRC staff act as detectives.
How do you know if a letter got lost in the mail?
Find Missing Mail
- Check the Current Status. Before you begin your search, if your package or mail has tracking, check USPS Tracking® to see its current status.
- Complete a Help Request Form.
- Submit a Missing Mail Search Request.
Where does undelivered mail Go Royal Mail?
If they’re not redelivered or collected in that time, we’ll return them to the sender. If your item was sent using Royal Mail Tracked 24 or 48®, as well as leaving you a ‘Something for you’ card we may also send you an electronic SMS/email notification to let you know your item is ready to collect.
Where is the dead letter office located?
Atlanta, Georgia
In 1994, the Dead Letter Office changed its name to the much less catchy Mail Recovery Center. The United States Postal Service still handles many thousands of dead letters each year. Today, all undeliverable mail ends up at a single Mail Recovery Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
Where does undelivered post Go UK?
the National Returns Centre
In the UK, undeliverable mail is processed in the National Returns Centre in Belfast which holds 20 million undeliverable items, or in a smaller office in Portsmouth.
Is there a dead letter department in the post office?
Mail Recovery Center Guidelines. The Mail Recovery Center (MRC) in Atlanta is the U.S. Postal Service ®’s official “lost and found” department. Formerly the “Dead Letter Office,” the MRC has had several consolidations that have centralized the operation from four centers into one.
Do dead letter offices still exist?
In 1994, the Dead Letter Office changed its name to the much less catchy Mail Recovery Center. The United States Postal Service still handles many thousands of dead letters each year. Today, all undeliverable mail ends up at a single Mail Recovery Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
How do I find a lost letter in the mail?
If it has been lost, late or missing for 7 days or more, you can:
- Go to for additional information: Find Missing Mail on USPS.com.
- Submit a Missing Mail search request at MissingMail.USPS.com.
- File a claim (for insured items meeting the appropriate timeframe).