How To Avoid Mailing Horrors With Address Cleanup

Nothing’s scarier than sending out an important batch of mail only to have half of it returned due to missing or outdated addresses! With that being said, Halloween seems like the perfect time to talk about the “phantom of the missing address”—a haunting error that disrupts businesses during peak mailing seasons. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? However, it doesn’t have to. With our dedicated address cleanup services, LetterStream helps keep these spooky mistakes out of your mailings. Our commitment to attention to detail, precision, and accuracy ensures that your communications reach their intended recipients without a hitch.

Speaking of attention to detail, it’s something we live by at LetterStream, both in our work and our workplace culture. This Halloween, we’re hosting our 2nd Annual Pumpkin Carving contest, where our team’s creativity and focus are on full display as they compete for fun prizes. Just as each pumpkin is carefully carved and designed, each mailing project we handle is managed with meticulous care to ensure it reaches its intended destination smoothly. Ok, but more on this later. Let’s get back to missing addresses, shall we?

The Phantom of the Missing Address: How It Haunts Your Business

The phantom of the missing address lurks in outdated mailing lists, incorrect addresses, and overlooked details. When mailing lists aren’t current, your communications risk being returned like haunted echoes, resulting in wasted postage, delayed timelines, and costly reprints. The nightmare of managing undelivered or misdelivered mail due to wrong addresses in your address list can drain valuable time and resources from your business—especially as year-end deadlines loom. This is why mailing address validation is important.

Avoid the Nightmare of Returned Mail with LetterStream’s Address Cleanup Solutions

LetterStream finds data accuracy extremely important, which is why our Address Cleanup services cover every essential step to keep your mailing lists fresh, accurate, and compliant with USPS standards. By standardizing and validating each address through address verification and cleanup services, we eliminate the risk of costly returns and ensure that your communications arrive as intended.

Here’s how our Address Cleanup services work:

Address Standardization: Every address is formatted to United States Postal Service standards, including standard abbreviations, uppercase text, and compressed data for postal automation compliance.
Spelling and Formatting Corrections: Our system corrects common spelling errors in street and city names and applies standard formatting, reducing the chance of undelivered mail due to minor errors.
Zip+4 Code Addition: We automatically add the Zip+4 extension to each address, enhancing delivery accuracy and reducing processing times.
Duplicate Record Removal: We identify and remove duplicate entries to prevent unnecessary mailings and reduce postage costs.
Delivery Point Validation (DPV): DPV verifies that the house or street number exists within the known range for each street, further ensuring accurate delivery and avoiding undeliverable mail.

With these Address Cleanup features, we make sure your mailing lists are accurate and compliant, so your mailings are delivered on time, every time.

Enhancing Accuracy with National Change of Address (NCOA) Services

For even greater accuracy, LetterStream’s National Change of Address (NCOA) services (another address verification tool) goes beyond standard address cleanup. By referencing the USPS change-of-address system, we can identify recipients who have moved within the past 18 months and provide their most current address. This process improves deliverability and reduces the risk of returned mail due to recent moves.

Here’s what our NCOA services include:

Address Cleanup Services: Everything in the list above for Address Cleanup Services
Move Verification: Using the USPS address change data service, we check if anyone on your mailing list has relocated, so you don’t lose touch with customers or clients due to outdated addresses.
Address Updates: Once we identify recipients who have moved, we update their mailing information to reflect their current address, ensuring every piece of mail reaches its intended recipient.
Enhanced Deliverability: Our NCOA service increases the reach of your communications by keeping your lists accurate and current, helping you avoid the cost and hassle of returned mail.

With NCOA, LetterStream goes the extra mile to keep your mailing lists updated and deliverability high, protecting your business from the disruptions that come with outdated addresses.

Carving Out Community and Quality: Our Pumpkin Contest and Commitment to Excellence

LetterStream's employees who help with address cleanup, celebrate with a Halloween party

Ok, now that the important information has been gone over, let’s talk a little bit more about our office fun. Our pumpkin carving contest is a highlight of Halloween at LetterStream. Employees unleash their creativity, crafting intricate designs while enjoying some well-deserved Halloween treats, food and friendly competition. This celebration of teamwork, creativity, and precision is woven into our work culture in ways that directly benefit our clients.

How you might ask? Good question.

Just as each pumpkin is carved with unique care and creativity, our dedication to meticulousness is apparent in the work we send out. Our employees pay close attention to details, verifying addresses, ensuring letters reach the correct recipients, and double-checking data to prevent errors. From address cleanup to NCOA processing, each step is performed with precision, so every piece of mail reaches its intended recipient without a hitch.

Our team’s commitment to accuracy helps protect your business from the costly mistakes of undelivered or misdelivered mail, letting you rest easy—even during the spookiest season.

Don’t Let Missing Addresses Haunt Your Mailings

To bring it full circle, this Halloween, let’s make sure the phantom of the missing address doesn’t haunt your business. When partnering with LetterStream, you’re gaining a team dedicated to precision and reliability. With our Address Cleanup and NCOA mailing services, you’ll save time, money, and peace of mind. Plus, you’ll know you’re working with a company that values creativity and community—both within our walls and in our partnerships with clients.

Contact us today to learn how we can help you stay one step ahead of those haunting mailing errors and keep your business running smoothly through the spooky season and beyond. And from all of us at LetterStream, Happy Halloween!

LetterStream is an online printing and mailing company, offering bulk printing and mailing business mailing solutions for businesses of all sizes, from those with small business mailing needs to Fortune 500 companies that want to send mail online. Click here to create a free account.

Top Reasons Franchises Are Outsourcing Printing and Mailing for Faster Growth

Franchise owners have a lot on their plate, from managing multiple locations to keeping operations running smoothly. When it comes to essential communications—whether promotional materials, invoices, or important legal documents—efficiency and accuracy are critical. However, handling printing and mailing in-house can be a time-consuming and a resource-intensive process. That’s why many franchises are turning to outsourcing, allowing them to focus on what they do best: growing their business.

Here’s why outsourcing bulk print and mail needs is becoming a popular choice for franchises:

Let the Experts Handle It

Managing the logistics of printing and mailing can quickly become overwhelming. From printer malfunctions to managing supplies and ensuring timely deliveries, it can be a significant drain on internal resources. Franchisees already juggle enough daily responsibilities, so adding print and mail operations to the list only adds complexity.

Outsourcing to professionals removes this burden, leaving the intricate processes of printing and mailing to experts. This ensures that your materials are produced and sent out efficiently, with minimal hassle. Instead of spending time on admin tasks, franchisees can focus on delivering excellent service and growing their business.

Cost-Effective Solutions

While it might seem more cost-effective to handle printing and mailing in-house, the reality is that expenses can add up quickly. Printers, paper, ink, maintenance, and dedicated staff all come with a price tag. And when something goes wrong—like a printer breakdown—the unexpected costs can be significant.

Outsourcing often provides a more affordable option, especially for franchises that need high-volume mailings. Professional services can offer bulk pricing and eliminate the need for constant maintenance. By outsourcing, you can cut operational costs while still receiving high-quality, professional results.

Speed and Efficiency

Franchises thrive on efficiency, and when it comes to getting time-sensitive and important mailings out the door—whether statement and customer communications, signed ownership documents or tax documents—speed matters. Managing this process in-house can lead to delays and inefficiencies, especially when coordinating across multiple locations.

Outsourcing ensures that all your printing and mailing needs are handled promptly and professionally. With the right provider, you can trust that your materials will be processed and sent out quickly. This allows your franchise to run smoothly and meet tight deadlines without added stress.

Pro tip: If you want to get your mail delivered the fastest way possible, you can choose FedEx 2Day with a signature confirmation. That way if gets your mail there fast and you can track. Another option for tracking would be Certified Mail and you can also choose Certified Mail with an Electronic Return Receipt to get proof of delivery.

Compliance and Security

Franchises often need to deal with sensitive documents such as legal notices, financial disclosures, or regulatory forms. Ensuring these communications are handled correctly is crucial, as any errors could lead to compliance issues or security risks.

Outsourcing your printing and mailing to a trusted provider ensures that these important documents are processed securely and in accordance with legal standards. These providers are well-versed in data privacy and compliance regulations, so you can rest assured that your documents are being managed appropriately and securely.

Focus on Growth, Not Admin

For franchise owners, the goal is always growth—expanding locations, improving customer service, and increasing profits. By outsourcing non-core tasks like printing and mailing, franchises can reallocate their time and resources to focus on achieving these bigger business goals.

Outsourcing doesn’t just reduce the administrative burden—it enables franchisees to run more efficient operations. With printing and mailing handled externally, franchise owners and managers can concentrate on strategic priorities that drive long-term success.

LetterStream is a printing and mailing company, offering bulk printing and mailing services for businesses of all sizes from those with small business mailing needs to Fortune 500 companies that want to send mail online.

Printing and Mailing and Lots of Fun

This week our team got together and we celebrated the success of our 2023 Q4 at pretty cool escape room called Escapology. Here’s the backstory. LetterStream is a printing and mailing company that allows businesses to send mail online without the hassle of going to the Post Office.

We do it all from sending First-Mail Mail, Certified Mail, postcards, FedEx 2Day, checks and invoices, HOA annual meeting notices with proxy and Registered Mail. And you know what else we do? We provide awesome and fun events for our team members for all of their hard work helping to get all those services out the door.

Quarterly Gatherings

Each quarter we gather together to celebrate the previous quarter. We try and switch it up each time with a new location and theme. As mentioned above this time we met up after work at Escapology for a night of fun detective work. The first hour consisted of a company presentation with catered food where we discuss the strengths of the company and where we could possibly improve. We talk about our customers and how we’re serving them, how we’re handling bulk mailings, new staff we have brought onto the team, new products we have launched, like when we turned on FedEx 2Day or implemented our new Chatbot onto our SAAS website and any announcements for up-and-coming projects we need to be aware of.

Lots of Fun

On top of that we also love giving our door prizes! After our presentation we usually find fun ways to hand out hand prizes. Sometimes we play games, sometimes we draw names out of a hat and sometimes we spin a wheel. You never know until you attend the event. After the presentation, food and prizes it was time to break out into teams and head into the escape rooms! This part was extra fun that came with a lot of teambuilding moments, laughter and the chance to get to know each other a little bit than the day prior.

We won’t spoil it by telling you which group won but let’s just say it was a competitive night that was also a lot of fun!

Core Values Behind the Printing and Mailing

Here’s the thing, LetterStream lives by a set of internal core values, which we pride in ourselves as a company and take very seriously. They include not only valuing our customers but also our employees, staff and vendors. This is a way for us to showcase our appreciation for the team efforts that go into producing snail mail for business and individuals to be sent to mailboxes and P.O. boxes efficiently and effectively.

How Long Does Certified Mail Take to Be Delivered?

If you’re wondering how long Certified Mail takes to be delivered, just know that there are a few different items to consider when answering this question.

Speed of Sending Certified Mail

Let’s start with pointing out that Certified Mail is actually just USPS First Class Mail with the Certified Mail Service included. After you purchase postage to send your Certified Mail, you’ll then receive your USPS tracking number. Along with that Certified Mail tracking number you will see a charge for First-Class postage and the purchasing fee for the Certified Mail forms.

This means that USPS Certified Mail should travel across town or across the country at the same speed as a normal First-Class mail piece. If you send a First-Class letter and it normally takes about four days, your Certified letter will probably take about four days, as well.

Now just remember, the 4-day time frame is just something to go off of. It’s just a random number, not the fine print. Think about the saying “results may vary.”

Delivery of Certified Mail

When it comes to tracking your mail and the actual delivery of the letter, it gets a little more complicated.

A Certified letter does not and is not supposed to be placed in someone’s mailbox. Instead, the mail carrier is supposed to deliver or do a delivery attempt to the required recipient.

Once delivered the mail carrier will collect a signature of the person who accepts the letter. If someone is home to sign for the letter, then ta-da! You now have your proof of mailing, proof and delivery and your mailing is officially complete.

If you require a Return Receipt, green card or an Electronic Return Receipt, the USPS may not load all the Certified Mail tracking information into their website the same day that the letter gets delivered. This means you might need to add another day to the process. It might be best to wait about a day to check for the proof of delivery.

What If No One Is Home to Sign for the Certified Letter?

Now, let’s say that no one is home when the mail carrier attempts to deliver the letter. In this case, the mail carrier is supposed to leave a USPS PS Form 3849. This instructs the addressee that a Certified letter is available for them to pick up. The USPS may or may not attempt redelivery, but they are supposed to hold the letter at the location for 15 days waiting for someone to pick it up.

Let’s say, 20 or so days have now gone by, and the letter could still be moving around. If this happens it is still not considered “lost.” There’s a chance it may still be delivered.

For argument’s sake, let’s say the intended recipient does not go to the post office to pick up the piece of mail. If this happens the local post office will hold the mail piece for 15 days and then return the letter to the sender’s address that is documented in the return address portion of the letter. This means a few more days might be added due to the letter being sent back to you.

Is the Certified Letter Lost Yet?

At the end of the day, USPS Certified Mail might get delivered in 1 or 2 business days, but it might also take up to 25-30 days due to travel time. It’s a big gap, we know.

If 30 days have past and the letter is not delivered or returned back to you, there are some things you might have to think about:

What was the return address you put on the Certified letter?
Did you include a return address?
Did someone else’s name get added by mistake?
Was the address accidently mistyped?

If none of the above options have happened, then the mail piece may, in fact, be lost forever. However, it could still show up to the correct location, but not until 45 days later. If you’re shaking your head at that…know we get it.

Long story short, there is a reason they call it snail mail. Unfortunately, it can take a long time for a Certified letter to arrive at the correct destination and this is something a lot of people may not realize.

We always recommend calling the United States Postal Service for assistance in tracking down your certified mail. Their number is 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777) or you can visit the USPS website.

To learn more about how to conveniently send your Certified Mail through LetterStream, visit our Certified Mail page, here.

Is Certified Mail Good for Direct Mail and Marketing Purposes?

Can I use Certified Mail for marketing purposes? The simple answer is yes, you sure can. You can use USPS Certified Mail to send all sorts of documents to anyone in the United States. However, a better question to ask might be, “Why would you want to send your Marketing Mail via Certified Mail?”

The obvious reasons to send your marketing campaign this way might be because Certified Mail gets attention when it arrives, you can track it and see when it is delivered with Certified Mail Receipts.

It could also be due to your desire to ensure that your prospective clients are receiving the promotional deal that you’re distributing. Initially, this seems like a great idea. You would know exactly when your prospects got your promotional material and when you might be expecting a call from them about placing an order for your product.

However, let’s flip that coin over and propose some ideas about why Certified Mail might actually not be a good tool to have in your marketing toolbox.

Does Certified Mail Bring Goodwill?

What is marketing? It’s basically about generating goodwill and revenue. You’d love for your customers to remember your name and have a good feeling about your product or services whenever they hear it. Additionally, you’d like for your customers to be motivated to purchase your product. This generally comes from trust in your brand, the right timing and the right offer or promotion.

Desk with pens, stapler, a plant, and paper that says marketing strategy

Let’s ponder the concept of “goodwill” first. How will Certified Mail create goodwill; a pleasant feeling or association when your company’s name is mentioned? Does Certified Mail have goodwill associated with it? You may be surprised but have you considered that it might actually has the opposite effect on people?

Certified Mail means business and it is designed for legal proof, assigning responsibility and proving delivery through USPS tracking. Not that Certified Mail is bad, but have you ever heard someone say, “I’m so excited about a Certified letter I’ve received?” Have you personally ever said that when you received a piece of Certified Mail? Didn’t think so.

Keep in mind, it’s possible that everyone’s first thought, when receiving a Certified letter, is “uh oh, what have I done?” “Did I forget to pay my bill?” “Is someone suing me?” “How much is this going to cost me?” If this is your experience, you can see that Certified Mail generally never makes anyone feel good.

Does Certified Mail Bring Joy?

What happens when your potential client opens the Certified letter and finds your happy promotional material inside? Will they be relieved that it’s not bad news? Yes, but what will be their next reaction be? Will they say, “I’m so happy this isn’t bad news! I’m so happy that I’m even going to buy the product that is being promoted.” Well, to be honest that seems a bit overly optimistic. In reality, they are going to feel duped. They will be a bit angry that you caused them panic.

It’s a bit like tying your advertisement to a rock and tossing it through someone’s window. It will make a scene, cost you a lot of money and make the recipient mad, but they will get the message. Now, ask yourself why you would want to do this? How powerful does your offer need to be in order to overcome the fear and trepidation that a Certified letter causes?

Let’s face it, sometimes people hide from bad news (I’m sure you’ve seen this concept in action). Yes, you’re going to be happy that you know when your promotional piece was delivered, but there’s not a great chance that all of the pieces will be opened when they arrive.

Some recipients may set it aside until they have a chance to meet with their accountant. Some may wait until they are having a really good day in fear that the contents may drain them of joy. Some may just put it at the bottom of their mail pile in hopes it will go away. Now, we wouldn’t really recommend these options as the best course of action, but we have seen and heard of this taking place involving Certified letters.

Marketing materials sent via First-Class Mail or Marketing Mail through the postal service, on its best day, is neutral. But using the Certified Mail service is often considered threatening, and definitely does not make people happy.

Does Certified Mail Generate Sales?

As we look at the sales or revenue, the question might be, “which mail product will generate a greater return on investment (ROI)?” Meaning, will $1,000 of First-Class Mail generate more revenue than $1,000 of Certified Mail?

Let’s Break it Down:

Using very rough numbers, let’s say a First-Class piece of mail costs $1 each including the postage rate, and a piece of Certified Mail costs $10. Yes, $10 is more than the cost of Certified Mail fess, but by the time you spend your time creating Certified letters and going to the post office, you’ll be hard pressed to do this for less than $10 a letter. But those arguments are for another time, so feel free to pick any number you want for this exercise. We’ll go with $10 for simplicity.

If you send your offer via First-Class Mail, you’ll be able to send out 10 times (10x) the number of letters. In one case you’ll send 1,000 pieces of mail and in the other you’ll send out only 100. And if Certified Mail is not opened, you may lose another 20 recipients. If those who do open it are annoyed that you tried to trick them, you may lose another 50 recipients.

In our little hypothetical situation, you can deliver your message to 1,000 recipients (First-Class Mail) or 30 (Certified Mail), for the same money. In this case, the clear answer and most cost-effective way is to send your marketing piece or mail campaigns is via First-Class Mail or Marketing Mail.

Can Customers Refuse Certified Mail?

Of course, another problematic part of sending Certified Mail is that people can actually refuse the letter. They can just pretend like they aren’t home when the mail carrier arrives. If a notice is placed in the recipient’s mailbox or left on their door for them to drive to the post office and pick up their letter, they can choose not to do so. Sometimes people have seen Certified Mail and now just make it a habit of saying “that person doesn’t live here anymore,” in which case the letter gets returned to the sender.

What is Better Than Certified Mail for Marketing Purposes?

That’s a pretty easy questions; just about anything.

You can save a bundle and preserve goodwill by sending your promotional products or direct mail piece by First-Class Mail. You can also save a few more pennies by sending via USPS Marketing Mail, but it has some complications you’d need to deal with (a topic for another day).

Another powerful option is to send your message on a postcard. The recipient doesn’t even need to open it. Instead, they’ll see your offer immediately when they are sorting their mail. Yes, you may not feel like those are glamorous options, but there is a reason that over 100 billion First-Class and Marketing Mail documents are sent each year.

What is a More Glamorous Option Than Certified Mail?

If money is no option, the speed of delivery is what you desire and if you want the recipient to be wowed by your mail piece, then we recommend using FedEx. It’s fast, it’s powerful and there’s a much better chance of excitement when the truck pulls up than there is for Certified Mail.

Consider this: Good things like checks, refunds, rebates and offer letters come in through FedEx. Bad things like past due notices, legal notices, food recalls, fines and fees come in Certified Mail.

Bottom Line

At first glance, Certified Mail seems like a great way to send marketing material, but maybe a second glance is what is needed before making your decision. Send your legal correspondence via Certified Mail. Send your promotional materials via First-Class Mail. When you need to make a massive statement along with your marketing message, send it via FedEx.

(Here’s our shameless plug… if you do intend to send a lot of FedEx letters, we have a great way to get them out quickly while probably saving you a considerable amount of money.)

What Does it Actually Cost to Send Certified Mail?

So, you want to send a Certified letter but you’re not sure what the cost will be. Before we begin talking about that, let’s do a quick overview of what Certified Mail is, shall we?

What is Certified Mail?

Certified Mail is the right product when you need proof of mailing, proof of delivery and detailed tracking of the letter as it travels to its intended recipient. You can choose to have the recipient must sign for the letter. That is, as long as you choose to add a Return Receipt to your mailing. More on that later.

Certified Mail is only available for letters bound for addresses within the United States and can only be used on letters that weigh less than 13 ounces. This service is often used from important legal documents or for legal matters where you need to prove that you mailed something.

USPS Certified Mail Cost

Ok, so now that you have a brief understanding of what sending a letter by certified mail is, let’s talk more about the cost.

The cost of Certified Mail varies depending on the weight of your mail and whether you want a Return Receipt included. Again, we’re still saving that for a little later on.

Now keep in mind, if you’re sending Certified Mail the traditional way, through the United States Post Office (USPS), then you have some work to do on your end as well.

Not only do you have to provide the letter itself, through creating it and printing it, but you have to get an envelope, seal it, drive to the post office, wait in line, fill out the Certified Mail label, add postage to it, pay for it and then drive back home or to the office. Remember, time is money.

Keeping all of that in mind here is the breakdown cost of what the USPS charges to send a Certified Mail piece:

First-Class Postage $.66 (up to 1 ounce (roughly 5 pieces of paper))
Certified Mail: $4.35
Optional Return Receipt – Green Card: $3.55
Optional Electronic Return Receipt: $2.20

Here’s an example of what it would cost: If you want to send a 1-ounce letter with Certified Mail rates and a Return Receipt, the total cost would be $8.56. This includes the $4.35 certified mail fee, the $3.55 return receipt fee, and the postage for a 1-ounce letter.

Return Receipt Vs Electronic Return Receipt

Can we talk about a Return Receipt already?

Ok, ok. Now that we’ve broken down what the post office charges. Let’s do a quick overview of what a Return Receipt and Electronic Return Receipt (ERR) are and how they are different.

What is a Return Receipt? A Return Receipt is a physical copy of the green card, also known as the “PS Form 3811,” that is mailed back to the sender to show that the recipient received and signed for the letter.

What is an Electronic Return Receipt (ERR)? On the other hand, an ERR is the same as a Return Receipt except it is electronically sent back to the sender showcasing that the recipient received and signed for it.

A Different Approach to Mailing Certified Mail

Remember above where we talked about the extra time and effort that goes into sending a Certified letter by going directly through the postal service?

What if we told you there was an easier, more convenient and overall affordable way to send a Certified letter or letters?

LetterStream makes the process so efficient you’ll be asking yourself why you haven’t done this sooner. Instead of buying and using all of your supplies and instead of making the inconvenient trip to the post office, you can simply go to LetterStream.com, create or login to your account, upload your Certified Mail into our online portal (or create one from a template we offer) and send it on its merry way.

We handle all of the printing, inserting, and mailing so you don’t have to. Plus, we offer an Electronic Return Receipt that you can track right in your customer account.

Cost Breakdown

Your cost for sending a single Certified letter online through LetterStream includes:

Certified Mail Letter Fees
Postage
Printing and mailing your letters in less than two (2) business days
USPS Tracking Number
Electronic Return Receipt
Trackable Online Status
Along with never having to leave the comfort of your home or office

This comes out to only $9.49 for a single letter. If you don’t want the Electronic Return Receipt then you can get a certified letter starting at only $7.27.

Why Would I Use Certified Mail?

OnlineCertifiedMail.com is a related partner site to LetterStream but is dedicated exclusively to the process of processing, mailing and tracking Certified Mail. It has an easy-to-use interface to quickly send a single letter or two.

To learn more about OnlineCertifiedMail.com click here.

Comparing Costs for USPS Certified Mail

The cost of USPS certified mail is comparable to the cost of other secure mail services, such as UPS and FedEx Ground Economy. However, USPS certified mail is often the most affordable option for sending a certified letter the traditional way.

For sending certified mail online or as e-certified mail (a new term being used for online Certified Mail), our service is actually the cheapest. When you factor in the supplies we include (paper, envelope), labor and sending of the letter (so you don’t have to use gas to drive to the post office and wait in line) and Certified Mail fees, our price is unbeatable.

Is Insurance Offered When You Send Certified Mail?

Insurance is an optional service offered by the USPS and you might be wondering what the cost is for that. However, insurance actually is not offered for Certified Mail. Instead, you can purchase insurance using Registered Mail. Registered mail is similar to certified mail as you get the tracking and proof of delivery, but with Registered Mail, you are also able send it internationally and get the proof of insurance you may be looking for.

We do offer this as an option at LetterStream. However, please keep in mind that the cost is quite high, starting at about $30 per letter. Plus, it generally takes between 7–30 days to be delivered (possibly longer depending on location), and successful delivery and signatures are not guaranteed.

All-in-all, the cost of certified mail is a fair price for the peace of mind that it provides. If you need to mail important documents, certified mail is a secure and affordable option. If you want the ease and convenience without the hassle of going to the post office to send your letter, then check out our Certified Mail page to get started!

How To Send USPS Certified Mail Online

USPS certified mail letters

Have you ever wondered if you can send certified mail online, without having to go to the post office? Well it is possible; but only a few websites exist that can make it happen.

Generally to send certified letters you would need to take your letter to the post office, fill out certified mail forms, apply a certified mail tracking barcode to your letter, and present the finished product to the postal clerk for them to calculate charges and collect payment.

But with LetterStream.com and OnlineCertifiedMail.com, you can completely eliminate the trip to the post office!

Caution: Some companies claim they can do this too, but they often require you to purchase special software, forms or labels. So before signing up for any services for certified mail online, make sure you determine what extra work or purchases might be required of you.

With LetterStream and OnlineCertifiedMail the process is extremely easy. All you need is your document in electronic form (Word, PDF, etc.) and the address you need to send it to. The entire process of creating and sending a certified letter online takes less than 2 minutes.

In addition to saving the time and hassle of going to the local post office, these two sites allow you to track the status of your certified mail online, showing each of the USPS scans of the certified mail barcode and even the signature of the person who signed for the letter. You don’t even have to enter the 20-digit tracking number; you simply click on the letter you need to track. All mailings are neatly saved and organized online.

LetterStream.com has the added bonus of an online search tool that allows you to search by recipient name or mailing name so you can quickly find the information you need. The LetterStream site is much better for mailing large quantities of certified letters as well, as you can upload entire mailing lists in CSV and Excel formats.

So the next time you bemoan the idea of going to the post office and standing in line to send certified mail, take a moment to review these two sites. You’ll be glad you did!