Can You Handwrite a Shipping Label?

Each package needs a shipping label to get to its destination because the label provides all the necessary information to identify a shipment and its recipient. You can have a shipping label printed at a post office or purchase it online and print it out yourself, but can you handwrite it? Let’s figure it out together.

A shipping label is a sticker or a piece of paper that includes all information required to deliver a package such as sender name and address, recipient name and address, package weight, service type, barcode, and tracking number. Most carriers usually have a standard shipping label template that can be printed out at a post office/carrier’s location or even by the sender.

But what if you don’t want to spend time driving to the nearest post office and don’t have a printer either? Can you write a shipping label by hand? The answer is yes… and no. Most carriers allow to write the sender’s and recipient’s names and addresses by hand, as long as everything is clear and legible. However, the addresses are not enough to have your package delivered.

Each package needs a carrier-issued barcode that plays several important roles. A shipping barcode contains all information from the shipping label in the encoded form for identification purposes. When you ship a package, the barcode is scanned to add it into the tracking system. After that, the barcode is scanned at every sorting facility the package goes through to record the package’s whereabouts and figure out where it should be transported next. In addition, a carrier-issued barcode usually serves as proof of postage payment, playing the same role as postage stamp on a letter or postcard.

So even if you decide to handwrite the addresses on your package, you will still need to go to a post office to pay postage and get a barcode. Another option is to purchase a shipping label online and print it out; in this case, you won’t need to write anything by hand because you will submit all the required information about your package while filling out the shipping label template.

But what if you don’t own a printer and cannot print a shipping label at home? This is really not a big problem because most shipping label services allow to save shipping labels as PDF files to print them at you convenience. You can email your prepaid shipping label to a friend who has a printer, or print it out at the nearest print shop or public library.

Most carriers allow customers to purchase shipping labels on their official website using special tools and services such as USPS Click-N-Ship, UPS Internet Shipping, or FedEx Ship Manager. You can also generate a shipping label online using an authorized third-party shipping platform like PostageMaker. Shipping label printing services usually work with several carries and offer shipping discounts to their customers. For example, PostageMaker works with two major United States carriers, the USPS and UPS, and offers discounts of up to 50%.

So, what is the takeaway? While you can handwrite some of the information required on a shipping label, you still need to get a carrier-issued barcode and pay postage to have your package delivered. To do this, you can take your package to a post office or purchase a shipping label online, print it out, and affix it to your package. In the latter case, you won’t need to write the addresses by hand because the shipping label will already contain all the required information.

If you decide to handwrite the addresses on your package, make sure to write legibly and boldly, preferably using a permanent black marker because it is resistant to smudging and fading. Always write the address on the side of your package with the largest surface area, placing it in the center and parallel to the longest side. Double check that the recipient’s address is complete and there are no errors.