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Home > Guides > Certified vs registered vs regular
Regular mail proves nothing: you can't show you sent it or that it arrived. A certificate of mailing proves you handed a letter to the post office, but says nothing about delivery. Certified mail (US) and registered mail prove delivery: tracking plus a signature or delivery record. Registered is the strongest, logging every handoff from counter to doorstep.
This is general information, not legal advice.
| Service | Proves you sent it | Proves it was delivered | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular mail | No | No | Cheapest; no record of any kind. |
| Certificate of mailing | Yes | No | A stamped receipt from the counter: proof of mailing only. |
| US Certified Mail | Yes | Yes | Tracking number plus a signature/electronic delivery record; refusals are recorded too. |
| Registered mail (US & Canada) | Yes | Yes | Strongest: chain-of-custody tracking at every handoff, signature required. The original "proof" service. |
History and cost. In the US, Registered Mail is the old, high-security service: every item is logged at each handoff, kept under lock, and signed for at delivery. It was built for valuables, and it still is the most secure postal service USPS offers. Certified Mail came later as a cheaper middle ground: it gives you a tracking number and a delivery/signature record without the full chain-of-custody machinery. That is why many statutes and courts name "certified mail" specifically: it is the affordable proof-of-delivery standard.
In Canada, the naming is simpler: Canada Post's Registered mail is the tracked, signature-confirmed service, and it is the equivalent of what Americans mean by certified. LetterAgent offers the registered option on both sides of the border: US Certified Mail for American recipients, Canada Registered Mail for Canadian ones, so the right proof is available wherever the recipient sits.
A certificate of mailing is the classic trap. It costs little and feels official: a postal clerk stamps a form proving you mailed a letter on a certain date, but it says nothing about whether the letter arrived. If the question is "did they get it?", a certificate of mailing doesn't answer it. Similarly, regular mail with tracking-style scans from third-party mailers is not proof of delivery; only the postal service's own delivery record carries weight.
Match the proof to the stakes. Regular mail is fine for ordinary correspondence. A certificate of mailing fits when the law requires proof of sending: some tax and government filings accept it. Certified (US) or registered (Canada) is the right call whenever you may later need to prove the letter was actually delivered or attempted: demand letters, contract notices, lien deadlines, tenancy notices. Registered specifically is worth it for irreplaceable documents or where a court or statute names it. A refused certified or registered letter still leaves a record: many courts treat a documented refusal as notice given, which is itself a form of proof.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it's printed and mailed.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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