Which one to use
If a law, a court, a lease or a contract sets a deadline for a notice, send it by Certified Mail, or at least get a Certificate of Mailing at the post office counter, because those are the records USPS stands behind. If you only want to know where an ordinary letter is and when it should arrive, a stamped letter with a USPS barcode shows you that for the price of the stamp. The rest of this page explains what each one gives you, so you can match it to the job.
What each one gives you
| Option | Added to postage | Record at mailing | Record of delivery | Where you follow it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certified Mail | $5.55 | You get a mailing receipt, and the clerk dates it if you hand the letter over at the counter. | USPS records the delivery or the attempt and keeps the record, signature included, for 2 years. | You look up its number on usps.com. |
| Return Receipt, added to Certified Mail | $4.65 on paper or $2.91 by email | It adds nothing at mailing. | You get a copy of who signed for it and when, with the address it was delivered to. | It comes in the mail on a green card or by email. |
| Certificate of Mailing | $2.45 | The clerk stamps a form showing the letter was handed to USPS that day. | There is none, and USPS keeps no copy of the form. | There is nothing to follow. |
| Registered Mail | From $20.90 | You get a receipt at the counter. | USPS keeps a receipt for it at each step from the counter to delivery. | You look up its number on usps.com. |
| A stamped letter with a USPS barcode | Nothing for your first 100 a month with PigeonTrail | There is none, because nobody scans a letter when you drop it off. | USPS estimates delivery from the carrier's route, which is not a record of delivery. | You see each sorting scan on a map, and so can the person you wrote to. |
Prices are from USPS's Notice 123, in effect since October 4, 2026. Certified Mail works with First Class Mail and Priority Mail, and the 2 year record comes from USPS's own tracking help page.
Certified Mail
USPS's Domestic Mail Manual says Certified Mail "provides the sender with a mailing receipt and, upon request, electronic verification that an article was delivered or that a delivery attempt was made." You fill in a PS Form 3800, put the sticker on the envelope and keep the receipt. If you want the receipt dated, which is the point when a deadline matters, hand the letter over at the counter so the clerk can stamp it. The manual also allows a Certified letter with its postage and fees already on it to go in a collection box, but then you date the receipt yourself.
The letter itself travels with ordinary mail and takes as long as any other First Class letter. USPS collects a signature when it delivers it, and you can get a copy of that signature by adding a Return Receipt. If nobody is home, the carrier leaves a notice, and USPS holds the letter at the post office for 15 days before sending it back.
Certificate of Mailing
A Certificate of Mailing is a form that a clerk stamps when you hand over the letter, and it is the cheapest way to show that you mailed something on a given day. The manual says the forms "may be presented only at the time of mailing and provide evidence that individual mailpieces have been presented to the USPS for mailing," and also that they "do not provide a record of delivery, and the Postal Service does not retain copies." So you have to buy it at the counter when you mail the letter, and you have to keep it safe, because USPS has no copy to give you later. For three or more letters at once, USPS uses a firm sheet, PS Form 3665, at $0.75 a letter.
What a tracked letter shows, and what it doesn't
A stamped letter with a USPS Intelligent Mail barcode gets scanned each time a USPS plant sorts it, and a service like PigeonTrail turns those scans into a timeline and a map. That tells you the letter is moving, roughly where it is, and the day USPS expects it to arrive, and it lets the person you wrote to follow it too.
It doesn't give you anything a court or an agency treats as a record. When USPS rewrote its postmark rules in November 2025, it said that barcode scans "indicate possession of a mailpiece, but do not constitute evidence of the date when the Postal Service first accepted possession of a mailpiece." Nobody scans a letter at the mailbox or at the door, and a letter's delivered event is USPS's estimate from the carrier's route. We show it as "USPS marked it delivered" and never as proof. Our guide to what each USPS scan means explains each event.
Tracked letters suit mail where you want to know where a letter is rather than prove anything about it, such as orders you sell, invoices, cards and letters to customers. Sending a tracked letter takes an address, a print and a Forever stamp.
Postmarks and deadlines
A postmark can carry a later date than the day you dropped a letter in the box. In its November 2025 rule, USPS wrote that "the date inscribed by a postmark applied at a processing facility may be later than the date that the mailpiece was first accepted by the Postal Service." USPS's own advice for anyone with a deadline is to mail earlier, to get "a manual (local) postmark at a retail location at no additional cost," or to buy a Certificate of Mailing. Both of those happen at the counter, which is the one place a clerk sees your letter on the day you mail it.
Questions
Is Certified Mail worth it?
It is when a law, a court or a contract asks for it, or when you may need to show later that a notice reached someone. For everyday mail where you only want to know where a letter is, a stamped letter with a USPS barcode costs far less.
Does Certified Mail need a signature?
Yes. USPS collects a signature when it delivers Certified Mail and keeps the delivery record for 2 years. You get a copy of the signature only if you add a Return Receipt, which costs $4.65 on paper or $2.91 by email.
How much is Certified Mail with a Return Receipt?
For a 1 ounce letter with a stamp, it is $11.02 with a paper Return Receipt and $9.28 with an electronic one, on USPS's prices since October 4, 2026.
Can I send Certified Mail from a mailbox?
Yes, if the stamps and the Certified Mail fee are already on it, but then nobody dates your receipt. If you need a dated receipt, hand the letter to a clerk at the post office counter.
Is a tracked letter proof of mailing?
No. USPS says barcode scans do not constitute evidence of the date it accepted a letter. Use a Certificate of Mailing or Certified Mail when you need to show the date you mailed it.
What happens if nobody signs for Certified Mail?
The carrier leaves a notice, and USPS holds the letter at the post office for 15 days. On the 16th day it goes back to the sender.
Sources
- USPS, Domestic Mail Manual 503, extra services, read October 20, 2026: pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/503.htm
- USPS, Notice 123 price list, effective October 4, 2026: pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm
- USPS, "Certified Mail: The Basics", read October 20, 2026: faq.usps.com
- USPS, "USPS Tracking: The Basics", read October 20, 2026: faq.usps.com
- USPS, insurance and extra services, read October 20, 2026: usps.com/ship/insurance-extra-services.htm
- Federal Register, "Postmarks and Postal Possession", final rule, November 24, 2025, 90 FR 52883: federalregister.gov
- USPS, Domestic Mail Manual 507.10, Informed Visibility, read October 20, 2026: pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/507.htm