How to send Certified Mail online
Independent service, not USPS.
Certified Mail gives you USPS tracking and asks for a signature at delivery. With a Return Receipt, you can get USPS’s record of who signed. You don’t need to go to a Post Office to send it: write the letter or upload a PDF here, check it and pay, and we print it and mail it.
USPS prices and rules checked , from the USPS pages linked under each answer.
Send a Certified Mail letter in five steps
- Write or upload the letter
Type the letter from the greeting on, or upload a PDF of 1 to 10 US Letter pages.
- Enter both addresses
Add the recipient's address and your return address. We check the recipient's address against USPS records before you pay.
- Choose the service
Pick Certified Mail, or Certified Mail with electronic Return Receipt if you want USPS's delivery record with the recipient's signature.
Certified Mail alone gives USPS tracking and a mailing record; any USPS acceptance scan is saved as your proof of mailing. Add the electronic Return Receipt only if you need proof of delivery: who signed and when, in a USPS PDF once provided.
- Check it and pay
See the exact letter as it will print, both addresses and the price, then pay by card. No account is needed.
- Follow the letter
We check the letter, print it and mail it. Its page shows each step, with USPS tracking once USPS accepts it.
What it costs
USPS’s retail prices for a Certified Mail letter:
| USPS item | Price |
|---|---|
| First-Class Mail letter, first ounce | $0.82 |
| Each additional ounce | $0.29 |
| Certified Mail fee | $5.55 |
| Return Receipt, electronic | $2.91 |
| Return Receipt, green card (PS Form 3811) | $4.65 |
Source: USPS Notice 123, effective October 4, 2026.
Our price for a letter, with printing, the envelope, USPS postage and fees at USPS’s price, and our 10% fee. No account and no monthly fee; you see the exact total before you pay.
| Pages | Certified Mail | With electronic Return Receipt |
|---|---|---|
| 1 page | $9.04 | $12.24 |
| 2 pages | $9.15 | $12.35 |
| 3 pages | $9.27 | $12.47 |
| 5 pages | $9.81 | $13.01 |
| 10 pages | $12.09 | $15.29 |
What does Certified Mail prove?
USPS describes Certified Mail as a way to prove you sent a letter and to see when it was delivered or that a delivery attempt was made. USPS asks for a signature at delivery and keeps a record of delivery that includes the recipient's signature. A Return Receipt gives you that record: who received the letter, the date, and the address where it was delivered.
Source: USPS: insurance and extra services, USPS Domestic Mail Manual 503
What does Certified Mail not do?
It doesn't make a letter faster or insure it. USPS says Certified Mail is dispatched and handled in transit as ordinary mail, and no insurance comes with it. It can't make anyone sign or accept the letter.
Source: USPS Domestic Mail Manual 503
How much does Certified Mail cost?
At USPS's retail prices, a one-ounce Certified Mail letter costs $6.37 in postage and fees: $0.82 First-Class postage and the $5.55 Certified Mail fee. An electronic Return Receipt adds $2.91 ($9.28 in all), and a green card adds $4.65 ($11.02). At a Post Office you also print the letter, buy the envelope and fill in the forms. Here a one-page letter costs $9.04, or $12.24 with an electronic Return Receipt, including printing, the envelope and our 10% fee.
Source: USPS Notice 123, effective October 4, 2026
Should I add a Return Receipt?
Add it if you may need to show who signed for the letter and when. You add it when the letter is mailed, as a green card mailed back to you or as an electronic record. We send the electronic one, and it appears on your letter's page once USPS provides it. If a law, contract or court rule tells you to use Certified Mail, read its exact words; some also ask for a return receipt.
Source: USPS Domestic Mail Manual 503
How long does Certified Mail take?
Certified Mail travels as First-Class Mail, which USPS estimates at one to five business days, not counting Sundays and postal holidays. USPS calls First-Class Mail not a guaranteed service, so no one can promise a delivery date, and we don't.
Source: USPS FAQ: types of First-Class Mail
What happens if no one is there to sign?
The carrier leaves a notice. USPS leaves a second notice 5 days after the first and holds Certified Mail for 15 days in all. Redelivery isn't automatic: the recipient schedules it or picks the letter up. A letter that isn't collected goes back to the return address, and tracking shows it.
Source: USPS FAQ: second notice and return dates
Can the recipient refuse Certified Mail?
Yes, before signing. USPS lets the recipient refuse the letter instead of signing for it. Once the recipient signs, it counts as delivered and can't be refused.
Source: USPS FAQ: mail requiring a signature
Is Certified Mail legal proof?
We are not a law firm and give no legal advice. USPS says the legal status of its electronic Return Receipt is "not determined by the Postal Service. That decision is made by the individual courts." Whether a letter meets a requirement is up to the court or agency that applies it.
Source: USPS FAQ: Electronic Return Receipt
Have your AI assistant prepare it
An assistant that supports MCP or a web API can write the letter and create it here; normally you check it and pay on a private page. A trusted auto-send key instead pays from prepaid balance after the address check, including USPS corrections. Set up your assistant.
For assistants: read a letter’s saved status
Read get_letter (REST: GET /v1/letters/{id}) for next_step and timeline. first_usps_scan is the earliest individual-letter USPS scan (at, local date, scan); shipment receipt is excluded. Only proof_of_mailing establishes acceptance. partner_checked_at is the last successful live tracking poll, not a scan time; null means no recorded poll, including legacy/test letters. files_deleted_at means files are gone; preview_url is retained but unavailable. timeline.observations and timeline.last_at summarize adjacent identical checks; at stays the first time. Scans/transitions stay separate. All timestamp fields use UTC RFC 3339 with milliseconds; date-only scan dates stay local, acceptance_expected_by is Eastern. receipt_url appears only in receipt_ready for certified_err with files retained; absence means no receipt download, not failed delivery. acceptance_expected_by is null before submission, after acceptance/individual scan, or file deletion; null is not proof. States: draft, paid, screening, review, submitted, printed, mailed, in_transit, delivered, receipt_ready, canceled, failed, returned, refunded. printed comes from a Printed tracking observation, not USPS acceptance; reads may skip states. Test letters never print/mail and stop at submitted. quote.partner_cost_cents is public printing/postage cost; total_cents adds the itemized 10% fee, before applicable Stripe sales tax. Trusted auto-send keys pay from balance after address confirmation, including USPS corrections; screening/hold still apply.
See the record and get help
See a fictional sample letter and its printed tracking record. For sending, your account or a letter’s status, read the help page.