GLOSSARY
Notice Left (PS Form 3849)
By Justin Winter · Updated August 28, 2026
The slip a USPS carrier leaves when a piece requiring a signature could not be delivered, telling the recipient where to pick it up or how to request redelivery.
PS Form 3849 is the "Sorry we missed you" notice: it records which piece was attempted, why it could not be left (a required signature, a hold-for-pickup request, or similar), and gives instructions for redelivery or pickup at the post office named on the slip.
For Certified Mail, this notice is a normal part of the delivery record — a piece attempted and not immediately signed for still shows up in tracking, and a second attempt or a pickup window typically follows before the piece is treated as unclaimed.
See also
- Certified Mail — A USPS extra service that adds a dated mailing receipt and delivery tracking to a letter, with the delivery record kept by USPS.
- Refused mail — Mail that a recipient declines to accept at the point of delivery, which USPS then returns to the sender rather than leaving or re-attempting.
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