Certified Mail
Encyclopedia
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
offered by the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
and other postal services that allows the sender proof of mailing, as well as proof of delivery. Certified Mail also provides the sender with a copy of the recipient's signature, which is obtained at the time of delivery, by the Postal Service. Certified Mail is only available for Priority Mail and First Class Mail letters mailed within the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and its territories (including APOs and FPOs
Military mail
A primary feature of military mail systems is that normally they are subsidized to ensure that military mail posted between duty stations abroad and the home country does not cost the sender any more than normal domestic mail traffic...
). Each piece of certified mail is assigned a unique tracking number. This number serves as both an official record of mailing and receipt of the item by the Postal Service.
Modern Usage
Today, Certified Mail is primarily used for important business mailings . It is also acceptable to send U.S. Government classified informationClassified information in the United States
The United States government classification system is currently established under Executive Order 13526, the latest in a long series of executive orders on the topic. Issued by President Barack Obama in 2009, Executive Order 13526 replaced earlier executive orders on the topic and modified the...
at the Confidential level using the Certified Mail service.
Since Certified Mail provides both proof of mailing and proof of delivery, a copy of each Certified Mail transaction is kept on file by the United States Postal Service. Certified Mail can be done either with or without "return receipt requested", often called "RRR", which costs an additional fee. The return receipt is a green postcard-sized paper that is mailed back to the sender by the post office upon receipt by the addressee as proof of delivery. Today the USPS new Return Receipt Electronic (RRE) provides electronic proof of delivery information. When the letter reaches its final delivery destination the letter carrier captures the signature of the person that accepts the letter and the information is electronically stored. Any person can sign for the item.
U.S. certified mail began in 1955 after the idea was originated by Assistant U.S. Postmaster General Joseph Cooper.
Modernization
Several online services attempt to modernize and streamline the process of sending certified mail. Some create SaaSSaas
SAAS is an abbreviation for* Social Accountability Accreditation Services* Software as a service * Student Awards Agency for Scotland* Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences* South Australian Ambulance Service...
private databases for RRE documents.