To report a missing USPS package, wait until at least seven days have passed since the mailing date, then submit a Missing Mail search request at MissingMail.USPS.com. If the shipment was insured, you’ll also need to file a separate insurance claim to be reimbursed for the contents, and that has a firm 60-day deadline from the mailing date.
Rule Out the Simple Explanations First
Before you file anything, confirm the package is actually lost rather than delayed or misdelivered. Enter your tracking number at USPS.com and read the full scan history. The status may show the item is still moving, was handed off to another carrier, or was left somewhere you didn’t expect.
Walk the property. Check porches, side doors, behind bushes, inside the mailbox, and anywhere a carrier might treat as a safe spot. Ask household members and neighbors whether anyone accepted the package for you. If you use USPS Informed Delivery, open the dashboard and look for scans showing the item entering your area.
USPS will not accept a Missing Mail search request until at least seven days after the original mailing date, no matter which service you used. Use the wait to exhaust the ordinary explanations, because once the search is running you’re relying on USPS to locate the item in its own facilities.
Submit a Missing Mail Search Request
Go to MissingMail.USPS.com and sign in to your USPS.com account, or create one if you don’t already have it. The site walks you through a form that tells USPS what to look for at its mail recovery centers.
Gather this information before you start:
- The tracking number. It isn’t strictly required, but it dramatically improves the chance of a match.
- Full sender and recipient names and addresses.
- The mailing date.
- A description of the package itself — size, color, and container type, for example a 12 by 10 brown box covered in stickers.
- A specific description of the contents: item type, color, brand, and model. Attach photos if you have them.
Submit the form and save the search request ID that comes back in your confirmation. Don’t leave the form half-completed and come back later, because unfinished drafts expire after seven days. You do, however, have up to 365 days from the original mailing date to start a search, so if weeks or months have passed it’s still worth filing.
What Happens After You Submit
USPS emails a confirmation and sends periodic updates as the search progresses. You can check status anytime from the Missing Mail Search History page inside your USPS.com account.
The search runs automatically until it either turns up a match or reaches its retention period and expires. If the package is recovered, USPS rewraps it if needed and sends it to the address you gave on the form. The request status updates to “Mail Piece Found” and you get an email.
If the search doesn’t recover the package, your next move depends on whether the shipment was insured.
File an Insurance Claim if the Package Was Insured
An insurance claim is a separate process from the Missing Mail search. It’s how you recover the value of the item, and it’s only available for shipments sent with a service that includes or offers insurance.
Check Whether You Have Coverage
Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express both include up to $100 of insurance in the price of postage automatically. You don’t need to have purchased extra coverage to file on those services, as long as the item’s value falls within the included amount. For higher values, additional insurance would have needed to be purchased at the time of mailing.
Services eligible for insurance claims are Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, Registered Mail, Insured Mail, and Collect on Delivery. Services without insurance — including USPS Marketing Mail, First-Class Mail correspondence, and Priority Mail correspondence — are not eligible, and USPS is not authorized to compensate you on those.
Several categories are excluded even when the service itself carries insurance:
- Perishable items lost to spoilage or delay.
- Items too fragile to survive normal mail handling regardless of packaging.
- Items not packaged adequately for standard handling.
- Gift cards and lottery tickets, which are specifically excluded from indemnity.
- Unsolicited merchandise sent to people who didn’t order it.
Filing Deadlines
Each service has both an earliest and a latest filing date, measured from the original mailing date. File too early and USPS rejects the claim. File too late and you lose the right to reimbursement.
- Priority Mail Express: no sooner than 7 days, no later than 60 days.
- Priority Mail: no sooner than 15 days, no later than 60 days.
- Insured Mail: no sooner than 15 days, no later than 60 days.
That 60-day outer deadline is the one that catches people. If you’ve been going back and forth with the seller or holding out hope the package will still turn up, the clock is still running.
How to File the Claim
File online at usps.com/help/claims.htm. Filing by mail is possible, but the online route is preferred and generally faster. You’ll need two things:
- Proof of insurance, meaning your original mailing receipt from when the package was shipped.
- Proof of value, such as a sales receipt, paid invoice, bill of sale, or a statement of value from a reputable dealer. USPS will not pay more than the item’s actual value at the time of mailing.
USPS Accounting Services reviews claims and decides to pay in full, pay in part, or deny. Decisions usually arrive within 5 to 10 business days, though high-value claims can take up to 30 days. Approved payments typically arrive within 7 to 10 business days after approval.
If Your Claim Is Denied
A partial payment or denial gives you 30 days from the date you received the decision to file an appeal. Submit the appeal the same way you filed the original claim, and address the specific reasons USPS gave, with new documentation where you can.
If that first appeal is denied, you get one more attempt: a second and final appeal, also due within 30 days of the first denial. After that second review, the decision is final.
If You Think the Package Was Stolen
Mail theft is a federal crime and is investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, not by your local post office. Report suspected theft at uspis.gov/report or by calling 1-877-876-2455. If you witness a theft in progress, call 911 first.
A theft report to USPIS does not replace the Missing Mail search or the insurance claim. Do both: report the theft for the criminal investigation, and file the search request and any available claim through USPS to try to recover the item or its value.
International Packages Use a Different Process
International shipments don’t go through the domestic claims portal. File at usps.com/help/international-claims.htm using your 13-digit tracking number and supporting documentation. Each international service has its own filing window measured from the mailing date, and the form will not submit if required documents are missing. Because international claims involve customs and foreign postal systems, start as soon as you’re within the eligible window.