How to Send Certified Mail

To send Certified Mail, choose the proof you need, prepare and address your letter, create a Certified Mail label or complete USPS forms, mail the piece through USPS, and save the tracking and delivery records. You can do this online with SimpleCertifiedMail or manually at the Post Office.

1. Prepare the letter, confirm the delivery address, and decide whether you need Return Receipt.
2. Print a Certified Mail label online or complete PS Form 3800 at the Post Office.
3. Attach the label above the delivery address and keep the postage corner clear.
4. Add Return Receipt if you need the recipient’s signature.
5. Mail the letter and save your proof of acceptance, tracking, and delivery.

Certified Mail® is a USPS extra service that gives you a mailing receipt, a tracking history, and, if you add Return Receipt, proof of delivery with the recipient’s signature. It travels at the speed of the mail class you choose, First-Class Mail® or Priority Mail®.

Not sure whether you need Certified or Registered Mail? See Registered Mail vs. Certified Mail.

When a Certified Mail letter enters the mailstream, the United States Postal Service (USPS) provides a document called “Proof of Acceptance (Mailing)” which confirms the item was accepted on a specific date, a huge benefit for legal documents. Certified Mail also provides a second document for an additional cost called the “Return Receipt.” The Return Receipt document includes the signature of the recipient providing documentation the mail piece was delivered by the USPS.

With SimpleCertifiedMail.com you create the label and postage online, mail from your office or home, and download the Proof of Acceptance and signed Return Receipt Electronic from your account, where they are stored for 10 years.

Online vs Post Office

How to Send Certified Mail: 5 Steps

The five steps below cover preparing the letter, completing the label or PS Form 3800, attaching it to the envelope, adding a signature record, and mailing and tracking the piece.

Step 1: Prepare the letter and choose your proof

Print the letter, confirm the recipient’s full name and current mailing address, and add your return address. Then decide how much proof you need. Certified Mail alone gives you a mailing receipt and a delivery record in USPS Tracking. Add Return Receipt if you need the recipient’s signature in hand, and add Restricted Delivery if only the named addressee or an authorized agent may sign. Both are extra fees on top of the Certified Mail fee and First-Class Mail or Priority Mail postage.

Step 2: Complete a Certified Mail label or PS Form 3800

Traditionally, customers who sent Certified Mail visited the Post Office to pick up the correct forms (PS Form 3800 and PS Form 3811) that need to be filled out by hand. The PS Form 3800 is completed and attached to the front of the envelope. The PS Form 3811 documents delivery with a signature and is attached to the back of the envelope.

Example of Certified Mail Label (PS Form 3800) Attached to Envelope

Best option: complete Certified Mail labels online

SimpleCertifiedMail.com is a software platform that allows you to print Certified Mail labels online. The labels are printed on regular 8 ½” x 11” paper, and include the recipient and return address, electronic postage, and the USPS barcode for Certified Mail tracking. You simply fold and insert the cover sheet, along with the letter, into a window envelope made specifically for Certified Mail. The letter can then be given to your mail carrier for pick up or dropped in any USPS mailbox. This eliminates the need to manually fill out old-fashioned Certified Mail forms. Plus, it allows you to avoid standing in long lines at the Post Office.

Certified Mail #10 envelope using SimpleCertifiedMail.com with cover sheet and letter inside.

Step 3: Attach the label to the envelope

At the Post Office, once you have completed PS Form 3800, peel the green and white barcode label and attach it to the front of the envelope, above the delivery address and to the right of your return address. The green and white sticker includes a tracking number that allows you to track the delivery of your Certified Mail letter. PS Form 3800 also includes a receipt below the barcode, which the sender removes and keeps as proof the item was mailed, known as “Proof of Mailing.”

The red circle shows the Certified Mail tracking number on PS Form 3800

Best option: Certified Mail software eliminates manual forms and human error

Using Certified Mail software like SimpleCertifiedMail.com enables you to track your Certified Mail online. With SimpleCertifiedMail.com, a PDF titled USPS Proof of Acceptance (Mailing) is posted to your account soon after the letter’s first outbound USPS scan, and you track delivery from the same screen.

An electronic PDF version of the USPS Proof of Acceptance (Mailing) document

Where the label goes. On a standard #10 envelope, place the PS Form 3800 barcode on the front, above the delivery address and to the right of your return address, and keep the top right corner clear for postage. On a large envelope or flat, use the same position: above the address block, right of the return address, postage corner open. Do not fold the barcode over an edge or cover it with tape; the carrier scans it at every step.

Step 4: Add Return Receipt if you need a signature

If you need the recipient’s signature, add Return Receipt for an extra fee. The paper version is PS Form 3811, the green card attached to the back of the envelope. At delivery the carrier has the recipient sign the card, then USPS mails it back to you as a postcard, which takes several business days and occasionally goes missing.

Example of Return Receipt “Green Card” (PS Form 3811) Attached to Envelope

Better option: Certified Mail software makes adding Return Receipt easy

Using Certified Mail software enables you to take advantage of the USPS Return Receipt Electronic, a digital option the USPS created. When the USPS delivers the Certified Mail letter, they ask the recipient to sign on a tablet the Mail Carrier has with them. This signature is automatically uploaded to USPS systems that post the signature to the mailer’s account within a PDF file called Return Receipt Electronic.

SimpleCertifiedMail.com posts Return Receipt Electronic to a customer’s account within 24 hours of the Mail Carrier delivering the envelope and collecting the signature. This speeds up delivery confirmation by eliminating the lengthy time it can take for the green card to be returned. Plus, the Return Receipt Electronic is stored online for ten years and can be printed or downloaded at any time.

Example of Return Receipt Electronic in SimpleCertifiedMail.com

How to send Certified Mail with Return Receipt

At the Post Office: fill out PS Form 3800, then fill out PS Form 3811 (the green card) with the recipient’s address on the front and your address on the back, peel the backing, and stick it to the back of the envelope. Tell the clerk you want Return Receipt so the fee is added.

Online: when you create the label, select Return Receipt Electronic. No green card is needed. The signed PDF is posted to your account after delivery. Compare the two in Certified Mail vs. Certified Mail Return Receipt.

Step 5: Mail the letter and save your proof

If you paid with stamps and used the paper PS Form 3800, take the letter to the counter so the clerk can round-date your receipt; that postmark is your proof of mailing. If you printed the label and postage online, drop the letter in any blue collection box or hand it to your carrier. Keep the 20-digit tracking number and watch USPS Tracking for the acceptance scan, the delivery scan, or a Notice Left status. With SimpleCertifiedMail.com the Proof of Acceptance posts to your account after the first USPS scan and the signed Return Receipt Electronic within 24 hours of delivery; both stay on file for 10 years.

Lower your Certified Mail costs

SimpleCertifiedMail.com offers great opportunities to lower your Certified Mail costs using discounts that are only available when postage is purchased online. Using Return Receipt Electronic provides savings of $1.74 compared to purchasing regular Return Receipt at the Post Office. You also save on First Class Mail by automatically receiving the Metered Mail rate, which offers a $0.04 discount for a one-ounce letter compared to buying postage stamps at the Post Office.

More information on USPS postal rates.

Plus, our Certified Mail software keeps track of your mailing expenses, making it easy to allocate expenses for specific projects and to seek reimbursement from clients by supplying them with production reports.