The Pros and Cons of Signature Confirmation Services

For the peace of mind of both senders and recipients, most postal and courier companies offer signature confirmation services that require some form of signature before the package is left at the delivery address and marked as delivered. Like most extra services, they have their upsides and downsides. What are the pros and cons of signature confirmation?

As the name implies, “signature confirmation” means that a signature is required upon delivery before the courier can leave the package at the delivery address and mark the delivery as complete and confirmed. Depending on the courier, there are different signature confirmation options with varying levels of security.

For example, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has Signature Confirmation, Adult Signature Required, and Adult Signature Restricted Delivery. Signature Confirmation and Adult Signature Required require the recipient or a responsible person at the residence to be present to sign for the item; for Adult Signature Required, the recipient/responsible person must be at least 21 years old. Adult Signature Restricted Delivery requires a specific adult recipient to sign for the package and provide proper identification. Similarly, UPS has UPS Signature Required and UPS Adult Signature Required.

The main and most obvious benefit of signature confirmation services is that they provide peace of mind for both the sender and the recipient: the sender knows that their package was delivered to the correct address, and the recipient knows that their package wasn’t just left on the porch while they were away, exposed to the elements and porch pirates. In other words, it reduces the risk of loss or theft and adds an extra layer of security for sensitive or high-value items.

Signature confirmation also provides verifiable proof that a package was delivered and received by a specific person. This can be critical in cases where a recipient claims they never received the package or when a sender needs to confirm successful delivery. The courier records the recipient’s signature, which serves as proof that the package was delivered. This can help resolve disputes between buyers and sellers, especially in e-commerce transactions, and can also be useful for insurance claims if a package goes missing.

The adult signature option is also required by law for some types of shipments, such as alcohol, tobacco, or firearms. However, this mostly applies to authorized and licensed businesses, as individuals cannot ship these types of products in the United States.

However, signature confirmation services are not without their drawbacks. First, human error is still possible, especially in cases where the delivery requires the signature of any person present at the delivery address. Delivery drivers may consider the delivery successful as long as someone signs for the package, but there’s no guarantee that the person who signs for the package will hand it over to the intended recipient.

Second, the recipient must be home to sign for the package, but not everyone has the luxury of sitting around waiting for packages to be delivered. If no one is home to sign for the package, the delivery driver will usually leave a note about the attempted delivery and either provide a date for the next delivery attempt or instructions on where the recipient can pick up the package, such as a post office or designated pickup location. If additional delivery attempts are unsuccessful, and the recipient does not pick up the package, the package will be returned to the sender.

Third, signature confirmation services are typically provided at an additional cost. While their price is usually quite affordable, the sender still ends up paying extra without 100% guarantee that the item will be delivered to the intended recipient.

Outside of situations where an adult signature is required by law, you should weigh all the pros and cons of signature confirmation services before deciding whether it’s worth the money. If guaranteed delivery is extremely important to you, you may want to consider other delivery confirmation services, such as USPS Certified Mail.