USPS
Overview
United States Post Office (USPS) is a US postal or mail service that provides its services to both domestic and international locations. Domestic services are operational within US, its insular areas, and its associated states. However, international services have been expanded in 180 countries. Here, is the list of all countries where USPS services are functional. List of countries
Trading in sending and receiving services, it provides the following benefits to its customers:
- Sending mail and packages
- Receiving mail and packages
- Postal store (within US only)
- Shipping & Mailing solutions for small to large businesses
We, as PB-SendTech Solutions, deal with sending and receiving services only.
- Under Shipping & Mailing packages, we have USPS features like Shipping Label, IMB Labels, QR Codes, Stamps, and Insurances, available in both domestic and international locations. And for Domestic, the sending services are available for US military stations also, which includes APO (Army/Air Force Post Office), FPO (Fleet Post Office), and DPO (Diplomatic Post Office).
- While for Receiving, we have features like Tracking, Certified Mail- ERR (Electronic Read Receipt), POD (Proof of Delivery), and Schedule USPS Pickup.
IMB Label
An IMb (Intelligent Mail barcode) is the part of a USPS label for First-Class Mail (FCM) package types that provides tracking on package types LETTER, FLAT, IRRPKG, NMLETTER.
| ServiceId | Size | Parcel Type | Special Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| FCM | 6X4 | FLAT, IRRPKG, LETTER, NMLETTER | Does not support special services |
| FCM | 9X4 | FLAT, IRRPKG, LETTER, NMLETTER | Does not support special services |
Label Format & Delivery:
- Document Types: PDF, PNG, ZPL2
- Content Types: Returned as Base64 or URL
- Do not include the specialServices array. No extra services are supported with an IMb.
- Do not include the PRINT_CUSTOM_MESSAGE_1 or PRINT_CUSTOM_MESSAGE shipment options. They are not supported for FCM letters and flats.
- The label displays the postage amount as human readable and displays the return address using the information in the fromAddress in the request.
The IMb label is not refundable. You cannot request refunds for FCM letters and flats.
Onboarding of a USPS Carrier Account
We do not support USPS carrier onboarding from API as of now.
API Operations for Shipping with USPS
The APIs integrate with USPS through the following operations:
| Operations | Method | Resource Path |
|---|---|---|
| Rate a Parcel | POST | /api/v1/rates |
| Create a Shipping Label | POST | /api/v1/shipments |
| Reprint a Label | GET | /api/v1/shipments/{{shipmentId}}/reprint |
| Void a Label | PUT | /api/v1/shipments/{{shipmentId}}/cancel |
| Get Tracking Information | GET | /api/v1/tracking/{{trackingNumber}} |
Metadata
Metadata provides information about USPS carrier services, including origin and destination countries, supported carrier services, supported package types, and supported special services. Users can select specific origin and destination countries from the provided dropdown menu to dynamically view relevant metadata specific to those countries.