Shipping guide

What is a USPS SCAN form and do I need one?

A USPS SCAN form is PS Form 5630, the Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice. It carries one master barcode for every package in a shipment, and USPS scans that barcode, not each parcel, to enter all of them in USPS Tracking as Shipment Accepted. It is worth having when you hand over a stack of prepaid parcels, as long as you treat it as a record that the batch was accepted and keep your own record of what was in it.

Reviewed by Jared Ford

What the one barcode does

The form links all the packages in the shipment to one barcode. The clerk or carrier scans the form in place of each parcel. USPS says that single scan enters all of the associated packages into USPS Tracking as Shipment Accepted, and that the form lets customers see that the shipment containing their package has been received by USPS and the package is pending acceptance.

The procedure USPS published for the form (Postal Bulletin 22194, November 23, 2006) has the employee compare the number of parcels presented with the total on the form, scan the form, and collect the mail whether or not the two match. That is a check of the count, not of which parcels are in the stack. So the event is evidence that the batch was accepted. It is not evidence that a particular parcel was in it.

Each label still tracks on its own number, and each parcel picks up its own scans as it is processed. Look the event up with the label's tracking number, not the barcode on the form.

USPS's tracking help also lists a status named Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending. USPS defines it as a facility having received a container or pallet of multiple packages whose processing has not started, and says each package gets a scan indicating postal acceptance once the container is opened.

One scan of the form, and every label it lists shows Shipment Accepted. The form scan does not show which parcels were in the stack. A bin drop gets the parcels moving, but nothing records that until the first one is scanned somewhere down the line.

Where the form comes from

PS Form 5630 comes from a PC Postage application rather than from the counter's own system. In Click-N-Ship it lives on the SCAN Forms tab, where eligible labels are added to a form and the form downloads as a PDF.

Buy the day's labels first. Only labels that are eligible appear as available to add.
Open the SCAN Forms tab and add the labels you are shipping.
Note the split: a separate form is created for each ship-from ZIP Code for each ship date.
Mind the deadline. Reprints of the form are available until 11:59 PM Central Time of the ship date, so print it before then.
Print it and hand it over with the parcels, at the Post Office or to your carrier at pickup.
Keep the scanned form. It is your record of the handover.

Labels listed on a SCAN form are ineligible for refund if they are not shipped with that form, and no changes can be made to the form after printing. USPS also says that if you want a refund for a label on a SCAN form, do not use the form for the remaining labels: have them scanned individually.

What to do if your label tool does not print one

The form is generated by the postage application that bought the labels, not by the counter, so a tool with no manifest feature cannot produce one for you. Two routes cover that. Buy the day's labels in Click-N-Ship or another PC Postage product that creates SCAN forms, or hand the parcels over at the counter and have every label scanned individually.

Either way the goal is the same: a scan at handover, rather than a bin drop that records nothing until the first parcel is scanned somewhere down the line. Individual scans go further than the form, because each one is a scan of that parcel.

When you do not need one

A single parcel handed over at the counter can be scanned on its own label, and so can a drop-off small enough that every label gets handled at the window. A scan of the parcel itself is stronger evidence than a scan of a form that lists it. The form earns its place once the stack is big enough that individual scanning gets skipped, which is exactly when a missing acceptance scan costs you.

Why the acceptance scan is the one that counts

eBay measures handling time from the moment you receive payment until your package is scanned by your shipping carrier. Printing the label does nothing to that clock. When a late shipment is reviewed, an acceptance scan within handling time is one of the things that can get it removed. Delivery by the latest estimated delivery date is another.

A day's parcels left in a bin with no scan sit as label created while the handling time runs out. eBay's help pages describe an acceptance scan by the carrier and do not name the USPS tracking event they read. A SCAN form scan puts Shipment Accepted on every label the form lists, and the individual scans that follow are what show each parcel moving.

An eBay order paid Monday on 1-day handling, weekdays only. The form is scanned Tuesday and the labels on it show Shipment Accepted; the parcels in the bin still read Label created while the window closes.

Key takeaways

PS Form 5630 is one barcode standing in for a whole day's shipment.
USPS scans the form, not each parcel, and that one scan marks every listed package Shipment Accepted.
USPS's published check is of the parcel count against the form's total, so the scan is evidence the batch was accepted, not that one parcel was in it.
One form per ship-from ZIP Code per ship date, with reprints until 11:59 PM Central.
Keep the scanned form, the label records, and your own count or photo of what you handed over.
eBay's handling time ends when the carrier scans the package.

With I'd Ship That

The scan is what your store is waiting for

We price and buy USPS and UPS labels and print the day's batch as one merged PDF, with the pick list and packing slips in the same sequence as the boxes. Tracking is posted back to the connected store when the label is bought, so an eBay order is already marked Shipped before you leave for the Post Office.

eBay's handling time ends when the carrier scans the package, so get the whole drop-off scanned. For eligible USPS labels bought in I'd Ship That, you can create a SCAN form from My Labels or for a batch in The Workbench, which is part of Pro. Keep the scanned form with the day's pick list as your record of what went out.

Create a label

Can I add a label to a SCAN form after printing it?

No. USPS states that no changes can be made to the SCAN form after printing, and that labels listed on it are ineligible for refund if they are not shipped with it. A label bought after the form was created goes on a separate form, or gets scanned on its own at the counter.

Does a SCAN form cover UPS parcels?

No. PS Form 5630 is a USPS form and it covers only the USPS labels listed on it. A mixed drop-off means the UPS parcels are handed over separately, through UPS's own pickup or drop-off, and they get their own acceptance record from that carrier.

Does the SCAN form replace the individual tracking numbers?

No. The form covers acceptance of the shipment and nothing else. Every parcel still tracks on its own label number, and the Shipment Accepted event is entered against each package the form lists. Keep the scanned form with the day's records, along with your own count or a photo of the stack, because USPS's published check is of the parcel count, not of which parcels are in the stack.

Does a SCAN form scan prove a specific package was mailed?

Not on its own. The scan records that the shipment on the form was handed to USPS, and USPS's published check is of the parcel count, not of which parcels are in it. For a claim on USPS insurance bought online, the Domestic Mail Manual asks for the online label record plus evidence of mailing, and it accepts a Form 5630 shipment acceptance scan only when it is followed by a valid acceptance scan event or a physical scan event. Keep the scanned form, the label record from the application that printed it, and your own packing record.

My tracking still says a label was created.

That means USPS has the electronic record but no physical scan against the parcel yet. It is normal for a few hours and a problem after a drop-off. See Shipping label created, not yet in system for how long to wait and what to do next.

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