The US Postal Service delivered about 425.3M mail pieces daily in 2021. Unfortunately, some of these letters never got to their destination. They returned to the sender, and the recipient got the note 'No Access to Delivery Location.'

If such a problem occurs regularly, recipients and senders can quickly get frustrated. Delivery problems are particularly devastating for businesses that depend on offline shipments. When they fail to reach the customer, they lose money and suffer from damaged customer relationships.

The good news is there are several ways to fix delivery issues and ensure that your mail always gets to its intended recipient on time. This article explains what happens when a delivery fails and how people and businesses can prevent it.

What Does USPS No Access to Delivery Location Mean?

The USPS no access to delivery location message could have a few meanings. But the general message is that a USPS mail carrier couldn't deliver to the recipient. Often, the carrier may not be able to physically deliver the package to your doorstep because of unavoidable issues such as:

• Force majeure. An obstruction on the road from a tree brought down by extreme weather conditions, making it impossible for the worker to get to your location.
• Blocked access to the house. Inaccessible locations make the mailer unable to reach the recipient's location. A nearby road construction, renovation, or an accident blocking access to your street prevents the USPS from delivery.
• Mailbox issues. A filled, damaged, or inaccessible mailbox can make a solid reason why the recipient receives a USPS delivery failed postcard.
• Locked gate. A locked gate preventing entrance into your home or apartment could also result in a failed delivery.
• An unrestrained pet, usually dogs. Since carriers are strangers, the dog may perceive them as a threat. Hence, the recipient may get a USPS delivery failed message if an untethered dog is roaming on the premises.
• No address. There is also a good chance that the USPS has no record of the mailing address in its database. It's often a widespread cause of a USPS delivery exception.

In the recent past, there have been reports that the USPS did not try to deliver, but they say they did. This may happen on weekends and in rural areas that are more difficult to reach.

Why Won't the USPS Deliver to My Customers' Addresses?

Other than the reasons we just listed, there is also a chance that your customers get the USPS no access to delivery location if they have a problem with their address information.

There are millions of registered addresses in the United States Postal Service, but the records are never static. There are continuous and regular changes of address and new additions all over the country every year.

Suppose your customers live in new homes, streets, or apartments that have not been added to the USPS Address Management System. Then, they will likely get a 'USPS delivery attempted no access to delivery location' postcard.

Read How to Verify a Mailing List: Instructions and Tools

Troubleshooting USPS Delivery Issues: for Customers and Businesses

If your customers receive regular USPS no access to delivery location postcards or messages, the most important thing to do is to find how to troubleshoot USPS delivery issues.

Here are a few tips for customers and businesses to get started:

Buy a Porch Camera

Porch cameras are a relatively new technology that has grown in demand in the last few years. Initially, they were for security reasons (they still are). However, people also use them to monitor their deliveries to ensure that 'package pirates' aren't hijacking their deliveries.

Also, with a porch camera, your customers can confirm that a USPS mail carrier attempted to make a delivery but failed because the USPS delivery location was not accessible.

Contact the Local Post Office

When customers receive the no access to delivery location postcard, recommend they go to the post office. A postal clerk or manager will explain the problem and suggest possible solutions. The chances are your business is not guilty of misdeliveries, and the recipient often faces undelivered mail.

But if the USPS delivery attempt failed because of a missing or incorrect address, it's your responsibility to do something.

Reach out to the customer to ensure you have the correct address and then apply verification software to validate it. From here, you can go ahead and use the USPS retry delivery.

Call the USPS Customer Service

If you still could not get your case resolved at the local post office, you may have to reach out to the nationwide customer service department through the USPS.

Rest assured that they will do everything to fix the issue.

You can call (800) 275-8777 any day during business hours. You may also leave a message to receive a call back if you missed the business hours.

What Are Other Delivery Options to Prevent This Problem?

Some solutions can help keep the no access to delivery location issue at bay. The recipients may consider:

Using a Parcel Locker

The USPS and other major shipping companies offer parcel lockers across the country. So if recipients have a parcel locker service around their location, they should think about routing their deliveries there.

That would help both the sender and recipient evade the no access to delivery location postcards resulting from road construction, bad weather, etc.

Although most services are free, recipients may need to pay a minimal fee.

Renting a PO Box

This is the best solution for rural residents experiencing regular mail delivery problems and some businesses.

To avoid the 'USPS delivery failed' message, you will have to pay for a PO Box at the local post office to prevent the 'USPS delivery failed' message. Businesses that face a similar problem with incoming mail can also rent a PO box.

The only problem with this is that deliveries may be larger than the space allocated in the package/parcel lockers in the post office, especially during festive seasons.

Nevertheless, it is still a viable solution that helps significantly reduce the frequency of 'USPS delivery location not accessible' postcards.

Using a Virtual Mailbox Service

The virtual mailbox service also offers modern features, including mail scanning, forwarding, check depositing, and complete package receiving services with all major shipping partners.

Virtual mailbox services can help customers and businesses reduce the volume of no access to delivery location notes. They allow you to track the mailing and learn that something goes wrong asap.

Read Overview of Postage Rates & Prices for 2022

How Inkit Verify can Help Your Business

Inkit Verify is an all-in-one address verification and autocomplete API that prevents customers from providing wrong information in website forms. As customers start typing, they can choose from a list of matching addresses verified by USPS standards.

Give your customers a fast and easy experience when selecting their addresses from a list of automatically generated options based on their location. Accurate data enables your sales and marketing departments to reach people at the first attempt and minimize 'No access to delivery location' messages.

Test Verify for free and see how it will make your mailings more reliable.

Conclusion

While it's normal to get frustrated with a 'no access to delivery location' message,  you now know what happens when a delivery fails and how to resolve it. Businesses should start with verifying their address database. Customers can visit a local post office to speak to a clerk or postmaster for more help.