How to Prepare & Send a Package | USPS (2024)

You Should Know

• For some shipping methods, like Media Mail^® service or sending live animals, you must bring your package to a Post Office™ counter.
• You can get free Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail Boxes and Envelopes (even shipped to you for free!), but remember: if you use a Priority Mail box, you have to pay for Priority Mail service.
• When shipping to U.S. military bases abroad, you’ll pay domestic prices, though you’ll still need to fill out customs forms.

Prohibited Items

Some items are prohibited (completely forbidden): You can’t send them through USPS, so you’ll have to choose another carrier. Prohibited items include:

• Ammunition, explosives, and fireworks
• Items containing liquid mercury
• Alcoholic beverages

Restricted Items

Other items are restricted: You have to follow the rules, stick to any limits, and properly package and label your items. Restricted items include:

• Lithium batteries (like the ones that come installed inside small electronics, like laptop computers or cell phones) are usually OK to send if the items are new (or a manufacturer-certified repair); if the items are used, they can only be sent via ground transport (can’t go on planes).
• Perishable items (like plants or food) are generally OK to send as long as they are properly packaged and won’t spoil or leak.
• Some items have special packaging requirements, or can only be sent via ground transport, like perfumes containing alcohol.

You have to follow all laws and USPS regulations. If you don’t follow the rules, you might face fines, or even criminal penalties.

If you have any questions about what you may ship through USPS, review the restricted and prohibited items list.

Review

Try the HAZMAT Shipping Tutorial

Choosing a USPS shipping service depends on where it’s going, how much you want to spend, how quickly you want it to arrive, what you’re sending (the contents of the package and its size, shape, and weight), plus any tracking or other special features you want to add.

For example, for packages up to 70 lbs, consider using USPS Ground Advantage, which will take about 2-5 business days to arrive. If it has to arrive faster, you can use Priority Mail Express or Priority Mail service.

See more details and features:

NOTE: You would also use USPS Ground Advantage if you’re trying to send packages that can’t travel by air because of the contents (such as items that contain HAZMAT or live animals).

Whether you’re using a box, padded envelope, or tube, use packaging that doesn't bulge and is strong enough to protect what you’re sending. And accurately measure the size and weight of your package so you can avoid unexpected fees.

• Use strong packaging with enough room to add cushioning for fragile items and to prevent items from shifting. Remember: Your package will be going through automated processing machines and sharing space with other packages that could weigh as much as 70 lbs.
• If you’re reusing a box (be careful: boxes can weaken during shipping), make sure all old logos, barcodes, shipping labels, and addresses are covered or blacked out.
• Use enough 2-inch-wide packing tape to close and secure all seams. (But please don’t wrap your box in string, cord, or twine, which gets caught in USPS sorting equipment.)
• Packages can’t be larger than 130” total length (the longest side) + girth (the distance around the package, perpendicular to the length).

Tips for Measuring Packages

Learn how to measure a package. 2:35

Video Description: How to Measure a Package (TXT)

• Additional fees (like dimensional weight or nonstandard size fees) may apply. See Step 5, Calculating Postage

Pro Tips

• If you're going to use Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express service, the boxes come in standard sizes and you can get them at your Post Office™ location or order online, free! Order Free Shipping Supplies
• Include a packing slip or a piece of paper with the recipient’s name and destination address inside the box.
• Prepare your package before you bring it to the Post Office. If you need packing tape, bring your own or be prepared to buy some at the Post Office.

Address Tips

• Use a pen or permanent marker.
• Print neatly using capital letters.

Write Sender Address

Write your address (the “return address”) in the top-left corner. Include the following on separate lines:

• Your full name or company name
• Apartment or suite number
• Full street address
• City, State, and ZIP+4^® Code

Write Delivery Address

Write the delivery address in the center of the label or package (below and to the right of the return address, if possible), using the same format:

• The recipient’s full name or company name
• Apartment or suite number
• Full street address
• City, State, and ZIP+4^® Code

Special U.S. Addresses

Puerto Rico

Some Puerto Rico addresses include an urbanization or community code for a specific area or development. Addresses with an urbanization, abbreviated URB, should be written on 4 lines:

MS MARIA SUAREZ
URB LAS GLADIOLAS
150 CALLE A
SAN JUAN PR 00926-3232

More Puerto Rico Address Examples

U.S. Virgin Islands

Virgin Islands addresses have the same format as standard addresses. The right abbreviation for this territory is "VI," not "US VI" or "USA VI":

MS JOAN SMITH
RR 1 BOX 6601
KINGSHILL VI 00850-9802

Military and Diplomatic Mail (APO/FPO/DPO)

Mail to military and diplomatic addresses is treated differently:

• Do not include the city or country name when you send something to an APO/FDO/DPO address in another country. This keeps your mail out of foreign mail networks.
• Do include unit and box numbers if they're assigned:

  SEAMAN JOSEPH SMITH
  UNIT 100100 BOX 4120
  FPO AP 96691

More Details on Military Addresses

Postage will depend on how far your package is going and the service you’re using. It also depends on the package’s size and weight, unless you're using a flat rate option for Priority Mail Express or Priority Mail service.

Postage Calculator

Make sure you're not underpaying on postage. When a package is sent without enough postage, it may be returned to you or the person receiving it may need to pay the difference.

The USPS Price Calculator wizard will show you how to measure your package and calculate your domestic postage costs for you.

Calculate a Price

How to Pay for Postage

You can pay for postage a few ways:

• At the Post Office Counter: A retail associate will weigh your package, help you choose a shipping method, and tell you how much postage will cost. After you pay, they’ll print the postage and put it on your package.
• At a Self-Service Kiosk: The kiosk machine will walk you through the steps of weighing your package, paying for postage (using a credit, debit, or EBT card), printing the postage and attaching it to your package, and placing it in the drop-off bin.
• Using stamps: You can use any combination of stamps or printed postage that adds up to your total postage price. (You might need a lot of stamps, unless you’re using higher-value stamps.) You can buy stamps at a Post Office Counter or National Retailers like grocery and drug stores. You can also shop online for all stamps at The Postal Store®.
• Use Click-N-Ship service: You can pay online for Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express postage (and when you use enhanced Click-N-Ship service, you can buy Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, and USPS Ground Advantage postage at lower Commercial Rates); then, you can:
  • Print your shipping label on your own printer. (You don’t need special label sticker paper; you can use regular printer paper—just tape the printed label to your package with clear packing tape.)
  • Or, see USPS's options for printing shipping labels without a printer: With the USPS Label Broker^® feature, you'll get a QR code that you can take with your ready-to-ship package to a participating Post Office location. Or, when you use enhanced Click-N-Ship service, for $1.25 per label, we’ll print the mailing label and deliver it to you.

Additional Fees:

If your package is bigger than 1 cubic foot (12”x12”x12”, or 1,728 cubic inches) in volume, “dimensional weight” (DIM weight) may apply. If you’re required to pay the DIM weight rate and you don’t, you’ll be charged an additional fee.

If your package exceeds certain measurements, you’ll also pay an extra, nonstandard size fee.

Additional Package Fees

Add-On Services

If you want insurance, proof of delivery, signature services, or other optional services, you’ll have to pay extra.

• Certified Mail®: Get proof that you shipped your item and that the recipient signed for it.
• Registered Mail®: USPS’s most secure shipping service—items are processed by hand, handled separately and securely, and signed for along every step of its journey. This takes longer, and you won’t get tracking updates. The recipient must sign for the package to confirm delivery (or attempted delivery).
• Return Receipt: You’ll get a printed or emailed delivery record showing the recipient’s signature. You can combine Return Receipt with other services, including Certified Mail, Registered Mail, Priority Mail Express^® service, and more.
• Adult Signature Required: Only an adult (age 21+) can sign for the item after showing a showing a valid government ID.

Find more details on .

NOTE: If your stamped package is thicker than one-half inch or heavier than 10 oz—if you put it in your mailbox for pickup, the carrier will leave it. If you drop it in a blue collection box or Post Office lobby mail receptacle, it will be returned to you.

Schedule a Package Pickup

When you’re ready to send your package, USPS will come to your address to pick it up! Save time—Schedule a Pickup online:

• Pick up during regular mail delivery (free!): USPS will pick up eligible packages for free.
• Pickup On Demand^® (premium paid service): For a fee, you can select a 2-hour period for the Post Office to pick up your packages.

• Check the dimensions. If you’re using your own packaging, dimensional (DIM) weight may apply, so always enter your package’s dimensions in the USPS Price Calculator to ensure you’re paying enough for postage.
• Use the correct package label. Make sure the label you’re using matches the packaging. (For example, if you use a Priority Mail Mailing Box or Envelope, you must pay the Priority Mail rate. Also, the only way to get Priority Mail Flat Rate pricing is to use a USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Mailing Box or Envelope.)