Held at Delivery Depot/Delivery Office

What does held at delivery depot/delivery office mean?

This status arises after a failed delivery attempt, normally because a signature is required. It means the carrier could not deliver the package and has returned it to the local postal office.

Usually, the carrier attempts to deliver the package the next business day as seen in this example:

But they only reattempt for two, maybe three times before returning the package to sender.

What can you do?

If you’re the recipient

Be present for the next delivery attempt or leave a notice on your door/mailbox asking the carrier to waive the signature.

Or contact your local postal office and ask them to hold the package for you to pick up at your convenience.

If you’re the sender

Contact the customer. They may not be aware of the attempt.

If the customer hasn’t responded and the carrier has made two attempts (and you don’t want the package to be returned), call the customer’s local post office to ask them to hold the package until you can get in contact with the customer.

But this is a manual process and there’s a better way…

Receive notifications for failed delivery attempts

The better option is to send automatic notifications for failed delivery attempts to the customer, and optionally, to yourself.