How to File the USPS Missing Mail Form: Claims and International

To file the USPS missing mail form, go to missingmail.usps.com and submit a Missing Mail search request with the sender and recipient addresses, your tracking or label number, the mailing date, a description of the package and its contents, and any photos you have. USPS will search its sorting network and, if the package still can’t be found, route it to the Mail Recovery Center in Atlanta to be matched against your request.¹

When You Can File

USPS won’t accept a search request until seven days after the mailing date.¹ The seven-day rule applies regardless of the service used, so there’s no way to file earlier even for expedited mail.

One situation calls for a different approach. If your tracking shows the package was delivered but you never received it, don’t start with the search form. Contact your local Post Office directly; the problem is almost certainly a misdelivery, not a package lost inside the postal network.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

The form works best when you can answer every field precisely. A generic description or a missing mailing date makes it much harder for staff at a recovery facility to connect a found item back to your request.

Full sender and recipient street addresses, exactly as they appeared on the label.
The tracking or label number. USPS tracking and label numbers run from 13 to 34 characters depending on the service; check your mailing receipt, Click-N-Ship label record, or the retailer’s shipping confirmation.²
The mailing date, taken from your receipt or online label record.
The container type and approximate dimensions — flat-rate box, padded envelope, tube, or custom box.
A specific description of the contents. Include brand names, model numbers, colors, sizes. “Electronics” is too vague to match anything.
Photos of the item or its packaging. A screenshot of the product listing works if you bought it online.

If the package contained something valuable, pull up your store receipts or online transaction records too. You don’t need them for the search itself, but you’ll want them if the search fails and you move on to an insurance claim.²

Submitting the Form

From the USPS Missing Mail page at usps.com/help/missing-mail.htm, click “Start Your Missing Mail Search.”¹ The online application is available to registered USPS.com customers, so create a free account or log in first.³

The form walks through the sender and recipient addresses, your tracking number or mailing receipt details, and the physical description of the package and its contents. Upload every photo you have. Check every address field before you submit; a transposed ZIP code or misspelled street name can keep USPS from ever matching a found item to your request.

Use an email address you actually check. USPS uses email as the primary channel for confirmation and all status updates.¹

If you can’t file online, your local Post Office can initiate a Mail Recovery Center search form in person.³

What Happens After You Submit

You’ll get a confirmation email once your search request enters the system, followed by periodic email updates as the search moves forward.¹ Items that cannot be delivered or returned are classified as dead mail and sent to the Mail Recovery Center in Atlanta, the Postal Service’s official lost-and-found operation.⁴

At the MRC, staff open undeliverable parcels to identify a sender or recipient and try again to deliver or return them. Items worth $25 or more are processed through this dead mail system.⁵ Personal items like birth certificates, cell phones, eyeglasses, and immigration documents are held locally for a week and then routed to Atlanta.⁴ Lower-value items with no identifying information may be disposed of.

If your package turns up, USPS forwards it to the address you gave on the form. If it can’t be found, or if it’s deemed unsafe to forward, the search closes and you’ll be notified by email. That’s the point to file an insurance claim if you bought insurance.

Filing an Insurance Claim

The search request and the insurance claim are separate. The search tries to physically find your package. A claim seeks reimbursement for insured mail that’s lost, damaged, or missing contents. You can pursue both at once, and for insured mail you often should, because claim deadlines run whether or not the search has resolved.

Deadlines by Service

Each service has its own filing window, measured from the mailing date on your receipt:²

Priority Mail Express: after 7 days, before 60 days.
Priority Mail Express COD: after 15 days, before 60 days.
Priority Mail: after 15 days, before 60 days.
USPS Ground Advantage: after 15 days, before 60 days.
Insured Mail, COD, and Registered Mail: after 15 days, before 60 days.
APO/FPO Priority Mail Express Military: after 21 days, before 180 days.
APO/FPO/DPO Insured or Registered Mail (air): after 45 days, before 1 year.
APO/FPO/DPO Insured Mail (surface only): after 75 days, before 1 year.

For damaged items or missing contents, you can file right away, but you still have to file within 60 days of the mailing date.² That window is easy to miss while waiting on a search to resolve.

How to File

File online at onlineclaims.usps.com using a USPS.com account, which lets you check status later and save a partially completed claim to finish.²

USPS requires three categories of documentation: evidence that insurance was purchased (mailing receipt, insured outer packaging, or a label record); proof of value (sales receipt, paid invoice, credit card statement, or an online transaction printout showing purchaser, seller, price, date, item description, and completed transaction status); and, for damage claims, photos showing the damage plus a repair estimate from a reputable dealer.² Hold onto the original packaging and everything inside until the claim settles; USPS may ask you to bring the whole package to a Post Office for inspection.

If the Package Was Sent Internationally

International shipments follow a separate process because USPS has to coordinate with a foreign postal service. Only the U.S. sender can start the inquiry; a recipient abroad cannot file through USPS.⁶

On the USPS international claims page, click “Create an Inquiry” and log into your USPS.com account. You’ll need a 13-character tracking or label number that begins with a two-letter prefix (EA–EZ, CA–CZ, HC–HZ, or RA–RZ) and ends in “US.” The form collects sender and recipient contact information, mailing details including weight and postage paid, proof of mailing, and proof of value.⁶

USPS cannot process online inquiries for ordinary letters or parcels sent via First-Class Mail International or First-Class Package International Service unless Registered Mail was included.⁶

Filing windows for international inquiries, measured from the mailing date:⁶

Priority Mail Express International: after 3 days, before 90 days.
PMEI with Money-Back Guarantee: after 3 days, before 30 days.
Priority Mail International (Canada): after 10 days, before 6 months.
Priority Mail International (all other countries): after 7 days, before 6 months.
Registered Mail: after 7 days, before 6 months.

1
United States Postal Service. Missing Mail and Lost Packages
2
United States Postal Service. File a USPS Claim – Domestic
3
United States Postal Service. Domestic Mail Manual 507 – Mailer Services – Section: 1.9.3 Customer Inquiry
4
United States Postal Service. Mail Recovery Center
5
United States Postal Service. Domestic Mail Manual 507 – Mailer Services – Section: 1.9 Dead Mail
6
United States Postal Service. File a USPS Claim – International