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What Does Tendered to Postal Service Mean?

Nov 21, 2020

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Tendered to postal service? As a fan of getting packages delivered, I never had one of them get that status. So, I looked it up online, to see what it meant, and here’s what I found.

What does tendered to postal service mean? It means that your package has been given to the company that will do the final delivery. This is generally done by USPS. In which case, you can use your tracking number to see how it’s progressing. It could also mean that another carrier, for example, DHL, has given it to USPS.

It can still take some time before your package is delivered. So I’ll explain how long it will take to get delivered below and some other helpful information about how the delivery process works and what to expect.

How far away is my package when it says ‘tendered to postal service’?

There is no information on the USPS, DHL, or FedEx website about what tendered to postal service means. But, most people believe that tendered to postal service means that your package has been given to the courier company that will deliver your package.

For example, the sender has dropped it at a post office, and the post office has given it to USPS.

Or that DHL or FedEx has given it to USPS to do the final delivery.

This means that all the information about your package can be seen by putting the tracking number on the USPS website. This means you can check the estimated delivery date for your package there. That will tell you exactly how long it will take to get to you.

A handy hack to use is to input your tracking number on google. Search results will come out with a USPS button. Clicking on it will take you directly into the USPS website with tracking information about your item.

The next status messages you should get are:

Processed through ISC City
In transit
Acceptance of your package is pending
Out for delivery

1. Processed through ISC City

The City is in italics because there are 5 cities where there is an International Sorting Center (ISC) – Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. So, your package will have the status ‘processed through ISC New York’, for example.

This only happens if your package is coming from overseas or you are sending it internationally. It means that it is at customs and is being checked by them. While it is at customs, there is no way for USPS to know how long it will take. I wrote a whole article about this, which you can read What does processed through ISC New York mean on USPS Tracking?

At customs, they scan all packages with an x-ray and use sniffer dogs to ensure it doesn’t contain any illegal substances. Once it has cleared customs, it will typically be updated to ‘in transit’.

2. In transit

Your package will either say ‘in transit on time’ or ‘in transit arriving late’ when it is with USPS.

This means it is being sent from it’s location to a USPS facility for sorting, or it is being sent from one USPS facility to another.

When it says ‘in transit arriving late’ it still might arrive on time. A package can be processed earlier than expected so it can catch up.

The main thing to look for is the estimated delivery date. This is shown at the bottom of the page when you put your tracking code into the USPS website.

Once it arrives at a USPS sorting facility, it will be updated to ‘acceptance of your package is pending’.

3. Acceptance of your package is pending

Once your package arrives at a USPS sorting facility, it’s status will get updated to ‘acceptance of your package is pending’. This means your package has arrived at the USPS facility for sorting.

But, packages arrive in bundles with other packages. Most packages are sent in a large container or bag. Whatever it’s sent in it will have a label that has a record of the barcodes of all the packages that are in it.

This label will get scanned and updated in the system, which will let you know that your package has arrived at the USPS facility.

However, the container or bag that it came in hasn’t been opened, and your package hasn’t been scanned.

There’s no time estimate for when it will get opened and scanned. So, it’s best to wait for the next update. Depending on how busy the sorting facility is and what priority your package is will determine how long it will take to get through.

But, know that it will almost always arrive at the estimated delivery date. You can check this by putting your tracking number on the USPS website at any time.

After it’s been scanned individually, the next status message will be ‘out for delivery’.

4. Out for delivery

Out for delivery is the final status that your package will get. Technically a package will get updated to ‘delivered’. But, generally, once my package is delivered, I don’t normally check the site again because I am too excited to open it.

‘Out for delivery’ means that it is ON the delivery truck that hand delivers packages. It updates to this status the night before when the packages are loaded onto a truck or in the morning. It’s the final scan it gets before the driver comes to your residence to drop off the package in person.

You can organize for the package to be delivered to another address for example an office, or a post office. This means that many people find it more convenient in certain circumstances. This is all done through Informed Delivery – a free service offered by USPS.

There are some delays that can occur when it’s being delivered on that day. Which can be if you need to sign for it, but you aren’t home. Which is quite common and happened to me multiple times. When that happens, the driver will take your package back to the depot and attempt to redeliver it up to 3 times.

Other than that, your package should be delivered on time. Other rare cases are when there is severe weather, traffic disruptions, and mistakes that can cause a delay. But, luckily, they don’t occur that often.

What happens if your package arrives late (how long should you wait)?

If it goes beyond the estimated time frame, you will need to contact customer support. There are delivery standards that USPS adheres to, and they shouldn’t be contacted until it goes past the timeframes that they give on this page.

On that page, they tell you how long you should wait to contact customer support.

The estimated date that USPS provides is only an estimate, and it’s impossible for them to know exactly when it will be delivered because they process so many packages. According to their data they deliver 181 million pieces of mail a day.

But, they do tell you how long you should wait after the estimated time. It differs based on what method you used to send it. For a full list of the timeframes and how long you should wait, click here to go to the official information from USPS.

On that page, they tell you how long it is considered late by their delivery standards.

Can I pick up a package from a distribution center?

You can, but you need to organize it with USPS. You can do that by contacting customer support and through their Informed Delivery service. Once it’s sorted, instead of going to an address, it will go to a post office or distribution center where it is safer and more convenient.

Oftentimes you know you won’t be home when your package will arrive, and you don’t want to leave it on the doorstep or in the mailbox because someone might steal it, could blow away, or get wet.

So, it’s a better option to have it sent to a distribution center or your work office. This is easily done. I have missed a package and then organized to leave it at the post office so that I could pick it up the next day.

I did that because I didn’t want to fuss about being home when the delivery driver arrived. I was in and out of the house a lot during that time. To do this, just contact USPS online or over the phone, and they will organize it for you.

Is it faster to pick up a package from USPS?

If you are at work during the day and there is no one to sign for your package it can be faster to pick up your package from USPS. This is because it will get sent back to the depot. Another option is not to require a signature, but that is risky because someone could steal your package.

The fastest way by far is to be home when it is out for delivery. Once your package is out for delivery, it will be delivered.

But, that’s not always practical for some folks. And your schedule can change quite fast. It’s often not feasible for you to be home for a whole day until your package arrives.

For that reason, it can be faster to send your package to a designated post office. However, you can also have it sent to an office in town. For example, the office you work at or where a family member works.

That way, they can pick it up during their break. A post office is typically quite busy in most cities, so it’s quite inconvenient to wait in line to get it. But, at an office, you can just swing by reception and pick it up with some photo ID very quickly.

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Conclusion

Tendered to postal service means that your package has been given to USPS to deliver. Often a package is handed from one courier company to another.

For example from DHL or FedEX to USPS. When this happens, it will have the status tendered to postal service. None of the large logistics companies – USPS, FedEX, or DHL have any official information on their websites about what this means.

I can only go by what the words mean and what people have said online about it. But, to be 100% sure, you can put the tracking number into the relevant website. For example, if your tracking number is with USPS, then visit USPS.com and put your tracking number into the form they provide.

This will give you exact details on where it is and how long it will take to get delivered.