How to Report Mail Theft to USPS and Local Police

To report mail theft, file an incident report with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at mailtheft.uspis.gov or by calling 1-877-876-2455, then file a separate report with your local police department.¹² If the stolen mail contained checks, cards, or anything with your personal information, call your bank before you do either, and freeze your credit the same day.

Mail theft is a federal felony under 18 U.S.C. § 1708, which is why the Postal Inspection Service — not local police — runs the investigation. Penalties reach up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.³⁴ But the local report matters just as much for you personally, because banks, insurers, and credit bureaus almost always want a local police case number before they’ll process a claim.

Gather Your Information First

Pulling everything together before you open the report makes the report itself faster and more useful. You’ll want:

Tracking numbers and delivery confirmations, from your email receipts, USPS Tracking, or the retailer’s order page
The expected delivery date based on carrier estimates or tracking updates
A description of the contents, including brand, model, and approximate value
Sender and recipient addresses in full
Any visual evidence, such as doorbell or security footage, photos of a pried-open mailbox, or a photo of an empty box on the day delivery was expected

If the stolen mail contained checks, credit or debit cards, or bank statements, call the bank or card issuer before you file anything. The window to stop a stolen check from clearing is narrow, and most banks need you to act before that happens.

Filing With the U.S. Postal Inspection Service

The online tool at mailtheft.uspis.gov is labeled “Incident Report” and walks you through prompts for the details above.¹ When you submit, the system returns a confirmation number. Save it. You’ll be asked for it when you file an insurance claim or follow up later.

Prefer to talk to someone? Call 1-877-876-2455. Operators take theft reports over the phone and can tell you what else they need.² Either route formally opens a federal case.

File as soon as you know something is missing. USPIS does not publish a hard deadline, but the sooner investigators know about a theft on your route, the more likely they are to connect it to other reports in the area.

Filing With Your Local Police

The local report does something the federal one usually doesn’t: it gives you a case number that banks, insurance companies, and credit bureaus will accept as proof when you file a fraud or reimbursement claim. Without it, those claims often stall.

Most departments let you file online for property crimes like package theft. If yours requires you to come in, bring your documentation and your USPIS confirmation number. Ask for a printed copy of the report, or at least the case number, and keep it somewhere you can find quickly. You’ll be referencing it repeatedly during the recovery process.

Store the local case number and the USPIS confirmation number together. If either agency follows up, they may ask about the other investigation.

If You Suspect a Postal Employee

Reports about a USPS employee or contractor stealing mail go to a different agency — the USPS Office of Inspector General, not the Postal Inspection Service. The OIG runs its own hotline for postal worker misconduct.⁵

You can file online at hotlineform.uspsoig.gov or call 703-248-2100 for guidance. Include the dates mail went missing, any pattern you’ve spotted (items disappearing only on certain delivery days, for example), and whether neighbors have reported the same. Pattern evidence is what makes an employee-theft complaint credible rather than a general missing mail report.

If Your Personal Information Was in the Mail

A Social Security number, tax form, medical record, or pre-approved credit offer creates identity theft risk far larger than the value of the package. Two things stop the damage early.

Freeze Your Credit

A credit freeze blocks anyone, including you, from opening new credit accounts until you lift it. It’s free, it stays in place indefinitely, and you can lift it temporarily when you legitimately need to apply for credit, an apartment, or certain jobs.⁶

A fraud alert is a lighter option. It asks lenders to verify your identity before opening new credit in your name, is free, and lasts one year with the option to renew. You only need to contact one of the three major bureaus — Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion — and that bureau notifies the other two.⁶ A fraud alert only asks lenders to verify your identity; it doesn’t stop them from issuing credit if they skip that step. For most mail theft victims, the freeze is the better call.

File an FTC Identity Theft Report

Go to IdentityTheft.gov and answer the prompts about your situation. The site generates an FTC Identity Theft Report and builds a personalized recovery plan with step-by-step instructions and pre-filled letters you can send to creditors.⁷ This report also qualifies you for an extended fraud alert, which lasts seven years instead of one.⁶

Getting Reimbursed

USPS Insured Mail

If the item was sent with USPS insurance (Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, or insurance added to another class), either the sender or the recipient can file an indemnity claim. You’ll need the original mailing receipt, proof of the item’s value, and evidence of insurance coverage. File online through the USPS website or request a paper claim form by phone.⁸ Each mail class has its own filing window, so check the deadline for your specific service. Miss it and reimbursement is forfeited.

Private Carriers and Retailers

UPS, FedEx, and Amazon each run their own claim processes through your account on their websites. UPS and FedEx have a claims or support section tied to your tracking number. Amazon handles missing packages through the order history page. These claims are separate from any law enforcement report, but having your police case number ready can speed things up if the carrier’s investigation team asks for it.

Missing Mail Search

If your item had tracking and was marked delivered but never arrived, submit a missing mail search request at MissingMail.USPS.com. Wait at least seven business days after the expected delivery before submitting. You’ll need the sender and recipient addresses, a description of the contents, tracking information, and any photos that help identify the item.⁹ If the Postal Service recovers it (mail sometimes ends up misrouted rather than stolen), they’ll rewrap it and send it on to the address you provided in the search form.

What Happens After You File

USPIS assigns a case number and may follow up for additional details or evidence. Not every report results in an arrest. Investigators prioritize cases where they can identify a pattern or connect your report to an organized theft operation, and your individual report contributes to the data that reveals those patterns. A cluster of reports from the same ZIP code or route is often what triggers a targeted investigation, so filing is worth doing even when the item itself feels too small to recover.

1
United States Postal Inspection Service. Incident Report – United States Postal Inspection Service
2
United States Postal Inspection Service. Report – United States Postal Inspection Service
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1708 – Theft or Receipt of Stolen Mail Matter Generally
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 3571 – Sentence of Fine
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Office of Inspector General OIG – USPS OIG. Contact Us
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Consumer Advice – FTC. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
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Federal Trade Commission. IdentityTheft.gov
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USPS. File a Claim
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USPS. Missing Mail and Lost Packages