Do you see a message on your tracking that says ‘Departed USPS Regional Facility?’
If you are expecting a package from USPS, paying attention to tracking messages is a great way to ensure your package is moving smoothly, and there won’t be any delays.
So, what does it actually mean when your package departs one of USPS’ regional facilities, when can you expect your package to arrive, and what should you do if it gets stuck?
In this article, I’ll be answering all of these questions and more!
What Does ‘Departed USPS Regional Facility’ Mean On USPS Tracking?’
When you see ‘Departed USPS Regional Facility’ on your USPS tracking page, this means that your package has left one of USPS’ sorting facilities that they use to process shipments.
From this point, your package is either on its way to another USPS facility, or possibly to your local post office if it is already nearby.
According to USPS’ facility list, USPS has hundreds of different ‘regional facilities’ that your package may depart from.
Therefore, your package may still be relatively early on in its journey, or close to delivery depending on what city the package is in. You can find this out by looking near where the ‘Departed USPS Regional Facility’ message appeared.
When the package does arrive at your local post office however, tracking will instead show ‘Arrival At Unit.’
How Long Will My Package Take To Arrive After Departing A Regional Facility?
The exact length of time it will take for your package to arrive can vary, depending on its location.
However, it will likely be dependent on the shipping service used for the package. For reference, you can view a list of delivery timelines for each package shipping service that USPS offers here:
| Name: | Speed (Business Days): |
|---|---|
| USPS Marketing Mail | 3-10 Days |
| Periodicals | 3-9 Days |
| Media Mail | 2-8 Days |
| USPS Retail Ground | 2-8 Days |
| Parcel Select Lightweight | 2-8 Days |
| Parcel Select Ground | 2-5 Days |
| First-Class Package Service | 1-3 Days |
| Priority Mail | 1-3 Days |
| Priority Mail Express | Next Day - 2 Days, Guaranteed |
Keep in mind that the timeline begins once USPS received the package – which may have been several days before you saw the ‘Departed USPS Regional Facility’ message first appear.
For the most accurate tracking estimate, referred to the estimated delivery date on the top of the page.
This is calculated in real-time based on all of the factors USPS knows about your shipment.
Everything from issues with specific centers, to predicted weather or forecasted delays that may not have even happened yet are taken into account.
So, this makes USPS tracking extremely accurate, and you can feel comfortable basing your delivery expectations around it.
Of course, if you want to take further control of your delivery and reschedule for another day, you can also sign up for USPS Informed Delivery as well.
It’s free!
Why Did My Package Go To A USPS Facility That’s Farther Away?
One thing that can be a bit frustrating – and certainly confusing, is if your package appears to be going farther away!
For example, it may have left one regional facility, and then ended up at a USPS sorting hub that’s even farther away from where it was before.
So, why does this happen?
The truth is, it’s entirely normal!
Although USPS has hundreds of regional facilities, they have far fewer sorting hubs and major distribution centers.
So, these packages may need to travel further away from your location to reach one of these areas, where it can be processed further.
Despite the additional miles traveled, this actually helps USPS deliver packages even quicker. And with over 425 million pieces of mail delivered a day, they sure have got to be organized!
For more information, see this article: Did Your Package Go Further Away During Shipping? Here’s Why!
My Package Is Stuck On ‘Departed USPS Regional Facility.’ Why?
In some cases, it may be possible that your package appears ‘stuck’ on the departed USPS regional facility message, with it being the most recent tracking update for several days.
So, why does this happen?
When a shipment has departed a facility, this means it’s currently in transit somewhere else. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to know exactly where it’s heading, or how long it will take to get there.
However, it’s certainly normal for USPS to remain on this message for several days as the package moves throughout their network.
If the estimated delivery date has already passed and USPS hasn’t shown any updates in a long time, it may be worth contacting them to inquire.
You can learn how to reach a real person at USPS by clicking here!
Conclusion
Seeing the ‘Departed USPS Regional Facility’ message is completely normal, and simply means that your package has left one of the USPS facilities it was previously at.
Depending on where the package is at now, it will either be delivered to another USPS facility for further processing, or end up at your local post office for final delivery.
I hope that this article has answered all of your questions. If there’s anything else you’d like to know about USPS, ask it below and I’ll get back to you right away.
Wishing you the best,
– James McAllister