Do All Packages Have Tracking Numbers?

The short answer is yes, most packages shipped through major U.S. parcel carriers come with a tracking number. UPS, FedEx, DHL, OnTrac, Amazon Logistics, and USPS (for any service that moves an actual parcel rather than a letter) all assign tracking numbers by default. There are still a handful of situations where a package arrives with no tracking number at all, which we cover below, but for the typical online order in 2026 the tracking number is there, you just have to know where to look for it.

We put this guide together because the carrier landscape has changed a lot in the last few years. Some services have been renamed, others have merged, and Amazon has quietly become one of the largest parcel carriers in the country while using a tracking format that only works on its own website. Here is where things actually stand today.

Quick Answer: Which U.S. Carriers Assign Tracking Numbers?

Why a Tracking Number Matters

A tracking number is the closest thing you have to a GPS for your package. It is the unique code a carrier assigns to a shipment when they pick it up, and it stays with the package until it reaches the doorstep. As long as you have that number, you can look up where the package is, when it is expected to arrive, and whether anything unusual has happened along the way.

The scale of all this is bigger than most people realize. Pitney Bowes reported 22.4 billion parcels moved through U.S. carriers in 2024, a 3.4% jump from the year before. Source: Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index. That works out to roughly 71 packages per American per year. The more orders people place, the more important it becomes to be able to track any specific one of them.

Theft plays a role too. Security.org’s 2025 report estimates 37 million packages worth more than $8 billion are stolen in the United States each year, with one in four Americans having had a package stolen at some point. A tracking number is usually the first thing a carrier or retailer asks for when a shipper reports a missing package, and without one the trail goes cold fast.

USPS Tracking Numbers, Updated for 2024 and Beyond

USPS consolidated several services in July 2023 when it launched Ground Advantage, which replaced First-Class Package Service, Retail Ground, and Parcel Select Ground. $100 of insurance is included on every Ground Advantage shipment.

USPS services that include tracking by default:

• Ground Advantage. The everyday option that replaced the older ground and First-Class parcel services.
• Priority Mail. One to three business days with tracking and insurance.
• Priority Mail Express. Overnight with full tracking.
• Media Mail and Library Mail. Slower but still tracked.

What does not get a tracking number by default is standard First-Class letter mail, postcards, and most Marketing Mail pieces. If you want a tracking record on an envelope, the sender has to pay for an add-on like Certified Mail, Registered Mail, or Signature Confirmation. That is why a birthday card or a utility bill usually cannot be tracked the way a box can.

UPS: What Changed With SurePost

UPS has always tracked its main services. The change worth knowing is that UPS SurePost was rebranded to UPS Ground Saver at the end of 2024. The service still uses USPS for final delivery on some routes, but UPS keeps the same tracking number from origin to doorstep, so visibility does not disappear at the handoff. If you have ever ordered something with SurePost and noticed the tracking number go quiet for a day or two before reappearing with a USPS update, that pattern is less of a problem now.

FedEx: The July 2024 Change Nobody Announced

FedEx made a quieter but bigger change. Ground Economy (the service formerly known as SmartPost) used to hand final-mile delivery off to USPS, which meant the tracking number sometimes went silent for a day while the package sat in a postal facility. As of July 14, 2024, FedEx ended those USPS handoffs and brought final delivery in-house. The tracking experience is now continuous from pickup to doorstep on one number.

If you have ordered from a retailer that uses FedEx Ground Economy and noticed it disappear from tracking for a while before reappearing as USPS, that pattern is largely gone. Express and Home Delivery were never affected and continue to track cleanly.

DHL, OnTrac, and the Regional Carriers

DHL provides tracking on both its Express and eCommerce tiers. On eCommerce shipments, tracking updates tend to arrive on a milestone basis rather than at every single scan, so a long quiet stretch between events is not always a reason to worry.

OnTrac absorbed LaserShip in 2021, and the combined network now operates under the OnTrac name in about 30 states. Every shipment carries a tracking number, though the prefixes can vary (you may see codes starting with C, D, 1LS, LS, LX, or BN depending on the origin system). If you received a LaserShip tracking number in the past, its descendant today is an OnTrac number.

Regional carriers like Spee-Dee and Pitt Ohio all offer tracking through their own portals. The only catch is that multi-carrier tracking aggregator tools do not always pick them up automatically, so an occasional regional carrier shipment may need a direct lookup on the carrier’s own website.

Amazon Logistics and the TBA Problem

Amazon deserves its own section because it handles a bigger share of U.S. parcels every year. Amazon has overtaken USPS to become the largest US parcel delivery provider by volume, according to ShipMatrix analysis of 2025 market data. Source: CEP-Research.

Every Amazon package does have a tracking number. The catch is that Amazon uses its own format called a TBA code (short for “Transportation by Amazon”). TBA numbers are only visible and resolvable inside Amazon. Third-party tools like 17TRACK or ParcelsApp cannot look them up, and neither can you on any outside website.

What this means in practice: if you want to check on an Amazon delivery, the only place that will work is the Amazon app or Amazon.com itself. Go to Your Orders, find the order in question, and tap “Track Package.” If Amazon decides to hand the final delivery off to USPS, UPS, or another carrier, a second tracking number may appear once the package hits that carrier’s network, and that one will work on outside tracking tools. But the initial TBA code will not.

Same-Day Couriers and Gig Deliveries

Services like Roadie (now owned by UPS), Uber Connect, GoShare, and local courier platforms provide real-time tracking, usually with a live map of the driver on the way. These numbers work great while the delivery is in motion. The records often disappear from the service’s portal a few days later, so if you need a record for insurance or a dispute, a screenshot at the time of delivery is a good habit.

When Packages Arrive Without a Tracking Number

Even in 2026, plenty of packages still arrive without a tracking number anyone can use. The most common reasons are below.

1. Letter Mail and Small Flats

Most regular First-Class letters, postcards, and Marketing Mail pieces do not carry a tracking number. If tracking is important for a given envelope, the sender has to upgrade to Certified, Registered, or Signature Confirmation before dropping it in the mail.

2. Damaged or Missing Labels

Rain, abrasion inside a sorting machine, and labels peeling off in a hot trailer all happen. The package still has a tracking number in the carrier’s system, but the scannable link on the outside of the box is gone, which makes the tracking number effectively unreachable for anyone handling the package downstream.

3. Small Senders and Direct Shipments

A handmade item from an Etsy seller mailed in a plain padded envelope, a small business using a self-printed shipping label that never gets scanned, a gift passed through a local courier service: these sometimes arrive with no trackable record at all. The sender may think they sent it with tracking, but if the carrier never scanned the barcode into its system, there is nothing to look up.

4. Personal Drop-offs and Informal Deliveries

A family member drops off a forgotten phone charger at the front desk. A friend hands off a borrowed book. A neighbor brings over a package that showed up at the wrong address. None of these ever had a tracking number in the first place, because no carrier was ever involved.

What to Do When You Do Not Have a Tracking Number

If you are expecting a package and cannot find a tracking number, a few quick checks usually help:

• Check the order confirmation email. Tracking numbers often arrive in a separate “shipped” email that lands later than the order confirmation.
• Check the retailer’s account page. Amazon, Target, Walmart, and most other online retailers show tracking inside the order details, even when the underlying carrier is not sharing a public tracking page.
• Contact the sender. If tracking was promised but the number was never emailed, the sender can usually pull it up from their shipping platform.
• Ask the carrier with the sender’s info. USPS, UPS, and FedEx can sometimes locate a shipment using the sender’s reference number or account, especially for business accounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all Amazon packages have a tracking number?

Yes, but the tracking number (TBA format) is only usable inside Amazon’s own systems. Third-party tracking tools cannot look up TBA numbers. To track an Amazon delivery, go through the Amazon app or the Your Orders page on Amazon.com.

Does USPS First-Class Mail come with tracking?

First-Class letters and postcards do not. First-Class packages do; those moved under Ground Advantage in July 2023 and include tracking by default. For a letter, tracking only happens if the sender adds Certified Mail, Registered Mail, or Signature Confirmation.

Why does an Amazon box sometimes have two barcodes?

When Amazon hands a package off to a final-mile carrier like USPS or UPS, that carrier adds its own label, so the box ends up with two codes: Amazon’s internal TBA and the final carrier’s tracking number. Either can be used to track the package, but only the second one works on outside tracking tools.

What should you do if you lose a tracking number?

Start with the original order confirmation email, then check the retailer’s order history page, then reach out to the sender. If none of those turn it up, the carrier can sometimes locate a shipment using the sender’s account information.

Can a tracking number tell you who took a stolen package?

No. The tracking number confirms where and when the carrier handed the package off, but it cannot identify a thief. Some carriers now include a delivery photo, which is the closest thing to evidence the tracking system itself provides.

The Takeaway

Virtually every package moved by a major U.S. carrier today has a tracking number, even if it is sometimes hidden behind a retailer’s website or formatted in a way only one company can read. The exceptions (regular letter mail, damaged labels, informal drop-offs, and the occasional small shipment that never got scanned) are real but relatively rare, and most of them have a workaround for anyone who knows where to look.

If you are interested in how tracking numbers relate to package tracking software used in mailrooms, you can learn more on that page.