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If a shipping label barcode will not scan, first check for smudges, wrinkles, or tape glare, then reprint the label at full size on plain white paper. At a counter, staff can type the tracking number in by hand, so a bad barcode does not have to stop your parcel.
A barcode is just printed bars that a scanner reads as numbers. Anything that breaks up those bars, or that confuses the scanner about where one bar ends and the next begins, can make it unreadable. The good news: the tracking number printed under the barcode carries the same information, and a person can enter it manually. Most scan failures are fixable at home in a few minutes.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Scanner beeps but reads nothing | Faded or thin bars from low toner | Reprint at best quality, fresh cartridge if needed |
| Reads sometimes, not always | Wrinkle, glare, or partial smudge | Reprint and place flat, no tape over the bars |
| Reads at home but not at the depot | Label shrunk during printing | Reprint at full size on plain white paper |
| Bars look fine but nothing reads | Label printed over a box seam or old label | Move the label to a flat, blank area |
Reprint from the original label file or PDF, not from a photo or a screenshot of the label. Photos add blur and distortion that scanners hate. Set the printer to its best quality setting, use plain white paper, and check that the print dialog is set to full size. After printing, hold the label flat and look at the barcode: the bars should be crisp, solid black, with clean white gaps between them.
If you use a thermal label printer, check that the label stock is the right size for the file. A label file made for a larger format, squeezed onto a smaller label, shrinks the barcode past the point where scanners can read it. Match the file size to the label size, or print on regular paper instead.
Take the parcel to a staffed counter and explain the problem. Counter staff can key in the tracking number printed beneath the barcode. That number is the real identifier; the barcode is only a shortcut for reading it fast. Keep the tracking number handy on your phone as well, so you can read it out if the printed digits are themselves damaged.
Do not hand-draw a barcode, and do not tape a second, different label over the first. Two labels on one parcel can send it in two directions, and a hand-drawn barcode will not scan at all. One clean label, with the tracking number readable, beats any improvised fix.
Unstaffed drop-off points rely on scanning, so a parcel with an unreadable barcode may sit unscanned or be returned. If the barcode will not scan and you cannot reprint, use a staffed counter instead. The staff member's manual entry creates the first tracking event, and the parcel then moves through the network normally.
Print labels on plain white paper with a laser printer when you can: laser toner does not run in rain the way inkjet ink does. Cover the label with clear tape, but keep the tape flat and avoid taping directly over the barcode if the tape is cloudy or textured. Put the label on the largest flat side of the box, never across a seam or an edge. And print a spare copy: if one label gets damaged on the way to the counter, the spare saves a second trip.
LetterAgent provides Canada Post Xpresspost shipping labels for parcels within Canada, up to 5 kg, as a label PDF after a one-time Stripe payment. If a LetterAgent label barcode will not scan, reprint the PDF at full size on plain white paper and take the parcel to a staffed counter if needed, where staff can enter the tracking number by hand. LetterAgent labels cannot cover parcels over 5 kg or shipments outside Canada.
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