The United States Postal Service offers a lot of different methods for receiving a shipment, including a Post Office hold for pick-up or “Signature Required.” But, sometimes, its delivery methods are out of the customers’ control. Take, for example, “Delivered To Agent.”
You may have seen this notification and wondered what it means. Well, I’ve researched the topic, so here’s all you need to know about it!
What Does “Delivered To Agent” Mean at USPS?
The phrase “Delivered To Agent For Final Delivery” means that your USPS mail carrier put the package in the hands of someone else – another resident at your home, a doorman, a coworker even – to give to you. Then, these individuals become “delivery agents” entrusted to complete delivery.
To learn more about what a USPS delivery agent is, what you should do if your package was given to a delivery agent, what a shipping agent is, and other common questions, keep reading!
What Is a USPS Delivery Agent?
A delivery agent for the Postal Service, despite the auspicious-sounding title, can be anyone who takes a package for you and ensures you receive it.
For example, that may be a coworker, front desk person, roommate, or your child, generally, if they’re over the age of 12.
Often, Postal carriers won’t be making someone a delivery agent if they don’t look reasonably trustworthy.
That said, mistakes do happen, and you can lodge a complaint with your local Post Office if you feel someone was designated a delivery agent, and they shouldn’t be.
What Do You Do If Your USPS Package Was Delivered To an Agent?
If you have been following your USPS tracking and see that your package has a notification reading “Delivered To Agent For Final Delivery,” don’t panic.
With that, the location where it was delivered should tip you off about who you need to talk to.
For example, if the location matches your home address, text whomever you live with to see if they took the package for you.
If it went to your work zip code, call the office and see if they have it.
Finally, if you aren’t sure where your package was delivered, contact your local Post Office, and someone can help you locate it.
What Happens If Your USPS Package Says Delivered To Agent, But It Wasn’t Delivered?
If your package says “Delivered To Agent,” but you get home and there’s no package, don’t panic, as there are a few things that could have happened.
First and foremost, someone living at your residence could have received it on your behalf, set it somewhere out of the way, and then forgotten about it.
Therefore, talk to everyone in the delivery location, work, or home, to jog people’s memories.
Then, if they’re adamant nothing got delivered, give it an extra business day.
Further, it may take an extra day because Postal workers may and do consider themselves delivery agents.
If it’s the end of your mail carrier’s shift and no one is home to accept the delivery, they often scan the package and keep it on the truck.
Thus, you would see the “Delivered To Agent” and should expect to receive the package the following business day.
However, if a few business days go by and you haven’t received it, you should contact your local Post Office and file a claim online so that they can start looking for it.
What Does It Mean When USPS Says Picked Up By Shipping Agent?
Another notification USPS has for packages is “Picked Up By Shipping Agent” or “Picked Up And Processed By Agent.”
The latter agent is another third-party provider, but the process being described here is different.
Rather than a delivery, “Picked Up By Shipping Agent” is for customers making returns using USPS’s Parcel Return Service.
Per the USPS website, packages whose tracking shows this designation and who have a specific delivery zip code have been “consolidated at a USPS facility.”
There, they will be picked up “by a third-party provider who completes shipping back to the original mailer’s distribution center.”
To find out more about USPS, you can also see our posts on whether or not USPS delivers on Sundays, whether USPS delivers to doors, and what to do if USPS delivers your package to the wrong address.
