GLOSSARY
Signature Confirmation
By Justin Winter · Updated August 28, 2026
The short answer
A USPS extra service that requires a signature at delivery and keeps the record on file, without the mailing receipt Certified Mail gives you.
Signature Confirmation gets you the delivery half of the evidence: someone signed, USPS holds the record, and you can request a copy. What it does not give you is the postmarked mailing receipt at the front end, which is the part that proves you sent the piece on a particular date.
For legal notice that distinction usually decides it — Certified Mail is the service that documents the mailing, not just the delivery.
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.
- Restricted Delivery — A USPS extra service that limits delivery to the addressee, or to someone the addressee has authorised in writing.
- Return receipt — A USPS add-on that sends the sender a copy of the recipient’s signature as proof the piece was delivered and to whom.
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