Tracking is dependent on the destination country's postal system and is not guaranteed. For select countries, delivery confirmation may be available for USPS First Class Package International shipments however, USPS gives no guarantee. This means no refunds, inquiries, or claims are offered, and indemnity is not provided.
Whether you are a Chit Chats client or the recipient of a shipment, you can find tracking information on the Chit Chats platform using the shipment ID. Learn more about how to search our tracking portal.
International shipments are different from domestic U.S. or Canadian shipments. This is because the shipment involves several carriers and customs agencies of the destination country along its journey. This is why it is important to format delivery addresses correctly.
Delays & Customs
Our partners provide transit through the U.S. and to the international destination. There are delays in tracking updates once a shipment departs North America due to the way international shipments are processed. International shipments are required to clear customs in the destination country before they are handed off to the local postal authority. Once customs is cleared, the shipment is then handed to the local postal authority in the destination country who will handle the final delivery to your customer.
The local postal authority may notify the recipient of any outstanding taxes or duties for the shipment. For example, the local postal authority for a shipment being sent to Germany is Deutsche Post. In the U.K., Royal Mail is the local carrier who handles delivery to your customers. Starting July 1, 2021 a recipient phone number will be required for all shipments to the European Union (EU) for this purpose.
Secondary Carrier Tracking
Since international shipments involve various carriers, we recommend checking both the partner carrier and local postal authority's tracking pages. This can be helpful as sometimes tracking details aren't regularly updated between the two tracking pages.
For example, for a shipment destined to Germany being sent with Asendia, our partner for Chit Chats International Tracked:
- Check the Asendia tracking page
- Use the secondary tracking number provided by Asendia to check Deutsche Post's tracking page.
Where to find the carrier tracking number
On our tracking portal
- Search for the shipment on our portal using your shipment ID.
- Once your shipment has been released and handed off to the partner carrier, they will provide a carrier tracking number.
In your Chit Chats Account
- Log into your Chit Chats account and locate the shipment
- Refer to the Postage column to find the partner carrier and carrier tracking number. Once you have purchased postage for your shipment, it will be displayed in this column if available.
- Alternatively, once you click on the shipment you will be able to click on the carrier tracking link.
Accessing carrier tracking pages
Timestamps for carrier tracking events may differ from the Chit Chats tracking event timestamps as carrier tracking events may not be displayed in your time zone.
Chit Chats International Tracked (Asendia)
Asendia works in collaboration with a network of carriers including USPS and SwissPost. You can view tracking updates directly on Asendia's tracking page using the carrier tracking number.
Asendia's tracking page will provide a secondary carrier tracking number. This can be used to search either USPS or Swiss Post, depending on the country.
However, you can also find tracking information by following the secondary tracking link from Asendia's page.
The final delivery to your customer for Asendia shipments is handled by the local postal authority in the destination country. For example the final delivery of a shipment going to the U.K. is handled by Royal Mail. Use the secondary tracking number from Asendia's tracking page to search the local carrier's tracking page.
Our tracking portal updates with the tracking events that we receive from partner carriers. These are passed directly from the partner carrier’s site to our tracking page until the final delivery to your customer.
Note: The shipper or the recipient may be contacted by the local postal authority via email or notice card to confirm details required for the delivery of the shipment.
If there are delays to tracking updates with the secondary carrier and the above is not noted, it is recommended you check additional carriers for the destination country. For example the secondary tracking number provided by Asendia to a destination in Germany will link to Deutsche post's tracking page, however there may be additional tracking updates with DPD.
USPS International
You can see tracking updates directly on USPS’s tracking page by using the partner carrier tracking number.
Full tracking with delivery confirmation is included only for some USPS International postage types offered on the Chit Chats platform. It is not included for USPS First Class Mail International shipments (postcards, letters & flat envelopes).
Accessing destination country tracking
To find tracking information for your shipment once it is in the destination country, please head to the local postal authority’s tracking site. You can find a list of international postal authorities here.
Other websites which may help you track your shipments include the Universal Postal Union (UPU), Parcel Monitor, Track-Trace and AfterShip.