How to track Speed Post and other India Post items
India Post handles letters and parcels across the country and around the world. Tracking is free, and all you need is the article number from your receipt. Here’s how to find that number, read it and act on what it shows.
Find your article number
When you book an item at a post office, the receipt shows an article number, often close to a barcode. International and many domestic items use a 13-character format, such as EE 123 456 785 IN: two letters, nine digits and IN at the end.
If an online shop sent the item, look in your dispatch email or in the order details. If someone is sending you a parcel, ask them for a clear photo of the receipt. It also shows the date of booking, which you may need if there’s a problem.
What happened to Registered Post?
From 1 September 2025, India Post merged Registered Post into Speed Post. Registration is now offered as an optional feature within Speed Post rather than as a separate service. An older receipt may still say Registered Post, or use an R-style number. Its number should still be entered in the same way, if the record is still available.
How to track the item
- Paste the number into our tracker. It checks the format and the check digit, which catches most typing mistakes.
- Open the official India Post website, and go to its tracking option.
- Paste in the number. Enter it without any spaces if the site doesn’t accept them.
Tracking only needs the number. You should never be asked for card details or an OTP in order to see tracking on the India Post website.
Common statuses
The exact wording can change, but you’re likely to see phrases like these:
- Item booked
- The post office has accepted the item.
- Item bagged
- It has been sorted into a mail bag, along with others on the same route.
- Item dispatched
- The bag has left one office for the next.
- Item received
- The bag or item has arrived at another office.
- Out for delivery
- It’s with a postal delivery agent, usually that day.
- Item delivered
- Delivery has been recorded. If you don’t have the item, ask at home and at your local post office, then see our delivered-but-missing guide.
- Addressee not available, or intimation served
- Delivery couldn’t be completed. Look for a notice, and contact your local post office to arrange collection.
If there are no updates
Several days between scans doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a problem, especially on long routes or international journeys. First compare the wait with the service you booked and any estimate you were given. Our guide to parcels stuck in transit explains what’s normal.
Next, speak to the local post office at the delivery end. It may be able to tell you if an item is waiting there. Take the article number with you, and the receipt if you were the sender.
International items
An item that left India is handled by the destination country’s post. An item coming to India is handled by the sending country’s post first. The same number usually works on both websites, and either one may have the most recent scan. See how international handovers work.
Items arriving in India also pass through customs. See our guide to parcels from abroad and Indian customs.
Raising a complaint
- Gather your details: article number, receipt, addresses, date of booking and a description of the contents.
- Contact India Post: use the post office where you booked it, or the complaint and contact options on the official website.
- Keep your reference: note any complaint number and the date you raised it.
- Escalate if needed: if you get no answer, the central government’s CPGRAMS grievance portal accepts complaints about government services.
Usually, the sender is best placed to raise a complaint, because they hold the original receipt. Time limits can apply, so don’t leave it too long.