---
title: "What is USPS Informed Delivery?"
description: "USPS Informed Delivery is a service that emails subscribers grayscale previews of incoming letter-size mail and can pair a mailpiece with clickable sender content."
canonical: https://trysincerely.com/glossary/informed-delivery
last_updated: 2026-08-25
---
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# What is USPS Informed Delivery?

> USPS Informed Delivery is a service that emails subscribers grayscale previews of incoming letter-size mail and can pair a mailpiece with clickable sender content.

Source: https://trysincerely.com/glossary/informed-delivery

USPS Informed Delivery is a service that gives subscribers a digital preview of incoming letter-size mail. The daily email or dashboard can show a grayscale image of the address side of a piece before delivery. USPS creates that image while processing the mail through its sorting equipment.

Mailers can also set up an interactive campaign for an eligible mailing. That campaign can add a color image and clickable ride-along content beside the preview, giving the recipient a direct path to a website. USPS explains the consumer service on its [Informed Delivery page](https://www.usps.com/manage/informed-delivery.htm).

## Why it matters

For a mailer, Informed Delivery can create a second impression of the same piece. The envelope or postcard still goes to the mailbox, while the preview appears in a channel the subscriber may check earlier that day.

The clickable content also gives a physical piece a digital response path. A recipient can visit the offer without typing a URL from the mail. That can support [direct response](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/direct-response) measurement when the campaign uses a tagged destination.

There are limits. Only enrolled users see Informed Delivery, not every address or recipient. The preview generally shows the address side of letter-size mail, so it may not reveal the message on the other side or inside the envelope. The notification also does not prove that the physical piece reached the mailbox or that anyone read it.

Treat the digital content as part of the same campaign. Its image, link, and timing should agree with the piece waiting in the mailbox.

Sincerely orchestrates the mail channel end to end, from per-recipient writing through delivery tracking on its printed pieces, and keeps delivery signals like these separate from proof of response, which comes from its holdout readouts.

## Example

A company mails a letter announcing a local event. Its Informed Delivery campaign places a branded image and registration link next to the grayscale envelope preview. A subscriber can click that link from the email, then receive the same letter in the mailbox.

Informed Delivery gives one mailpiece a digital companion, not a replacement for the physical delivery.

## Related questions

- [What is a direct mail drop date?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/drop-date): A direct mail drop date is the date a finished mailing enters the postal stream, not the date recipients are expected to receive it.
- [What is a seed list in direct mail?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/seed-mailing): A direct mail seed list adds controlled postal addresses to a real campaign so the sender can inspect what arrived, where it arrived, and when.
- [What is an IMb (Intelligent Mail barcode)?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/imb): The IMb is the 65-bar USPS barcode on every automated mailpiece. It carries routing data plus a tracking ID, so you can see each piece move through the mail stream.
- [What is direct response?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/direct-response): Direct response is marketing built to trigger a measurable action now, like a scan, reply, or booked meeting, so every dollar can be traced to a result.

---

Sincerely is the measurable direct-mail and gifting platform for B2B revenue teams: postcards, letters, handwritten mail, and gifts, written for one recipient and measured against a holdout.

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