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Hand delivery is faster but worse for proof: it leaves no independent record that the letter was delivered. Mailing, especially certified or registered mail, creates a paper trail a third party can verify later. If the letter's delivery might ever be disputed, mail it; if speed and personal touch are all that matter, hand delivery wins.
| Hand delivery | Mailing | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Immediate | A few business days |
| Proof of delivery | None, unless you arrange it yourself | Built in: postmark, tracking, certified/registered records |
| Cost | Your time and travel | Postage |
| Personal touch | High: face-to-face | None |
| Works for legal notices | Sometimes, with a witness or process server | Often required by statute |
"I handed it to him" is a claim, not evidence. If the recipient later says they never got the letter, you have nothing but your word: no postmark, no tracking scan, no third party who handled it. A witness helps, but a friendly witness is still just your word with company, and courts know it. For anything where timing matters, a notice, a demand, a cancellation, that gap is the whole ballgame.
You can patch the problem: have the recipient sign and date a copy on the spot, bring a neutral witness, or photograph the handover. But notice what you're doing: recreating, by hand, the proof the postal service generates automatically. A signed acknowledgment copy is solid evidence, but it depends on the recipient cooperating in the moment, which is exactly when uncooperative recipients stop cooperating.
When the relationship matters more than the record. Thank-you notes, condolences, invitations to neighbors, anything where showing up in person is part of the message: hand delivery is warmer, faster, and free. It's also the right call for true emergencies, when even overnight mail is too slow and you need the document in someone's hands now.
For business, hand delivery works for routine internal items where nobody will ever dispute receipt: interoffice memos, documents for a colleague down the hall. The dividing line is simple: if you'd care about proving delivery six months from now, don't hand-deliver. If the letter's job is done the moment it's read, hand delivery is fine and often nicer.
Certified mail (US) or registered mail (Canada) is the standard answer: you get a mailing receipt, tracking, and a delivery record, all without leaving your desk. For formal legal service, a process server hand-delivers and then files a sworn affidavit of service with the court: that's hand delivery plus proof, and it's why process servers exist. Some situations also accept a certificate of service, a signed statement that you mailed or delivered the document on a certain date.
One more thing to know: some notices are legally required to go by mail. Landlord-tenant statutes, debt collection rules, and court procedures often specify mailed notice, and hand-delivering instead can mean you haven't legally given notice at all, even though the person physically held the letter. When a law or contract names a delivery method, follow it exactly.
This is general information, not legal advice.
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