Certified Mail™ is a service offered by the United States Postal Service. When an article is sent by Certified Mail™, the person who sends it will receive a proof of delivery confirmation. Many people like to send things via Certified Mail™ to ensure that they know when the items arrive, and this service can be bundled with other services, such as a return receipt with the recipient's signature, and restricted delivery, which authorizes the release of the mail to a particular person only.

One important thing about Certified Mail™ which people should be aware of is that it does not include insurance, and it can only be used for First Class or Priority Mail. Therefore, it is not appropriate for valuable items, although it can be extremely useful in a situation where someone wants a delivery record. For example, legal documents may be sent via Certified Mail™ so that all parties are aware of when the documents are sent and received, and in some cases signing a receipt for Certified Mail™ is treated as proof that someone has viewed the material.

The mailing and delivery record for Certified Mail™ is stored at the post office. Users can log onto the United States Postal Service website and use a unique identifying number to look up their Certified Mail™ packages if they want to determine when and if they were delivered. In the event that delivery fails, the item will be returned to the sender.

As you might imagine, the Certified Mail™ service is more costly than just sending something via regular First Class or Priority Mail. For this reason, most people reserve the service for occasions when they really need it, although Certified Mail™ is sometimes used in vote caging, a tactic which involves the use of mass mailing to challenge the addresses of registered voters. Certified Mail™ is recommended for any situation in which someone wants to confirm that something arrived, from college applications to the results of medical testing.

For people who want insurance, Registered Mail™ is a better option. Registered Mail™ includes insurance and delivery confirmation, and it is treated differently than Certified Mail™ by postal employees. For example, much tighter security precautions are used to protect Registered Mail™, and there is a streamlined process in place for making claims against lost or stolen Registered Mail™ items.