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What Does “Departed USPS Regional Facility” Mean?

So you’ve just received a “Departed USPS Regional Facility” tracking update.

What does this mean exactly? How close to delivery is your item when you receive this update and is there anything you need to do?

Let’s take a look…

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Summary: Departed USPS Regional Facility

The “Departed USPS Regional Facilityupdate means that your package has departed a sorting facility and is now continuing its journey toward the delivery destination. Depending on the location of the regional facility and its proximity to the recipient’s address, the package will either arrive at another facility closer to the delivery destination or be sent directly to the post office that services the recipient’s area.

What is a USPS Regional Facility?

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We have created an extensive guide on USPS Regional Facilities here.

However, in summary, a regional facility is a large central warehouse (sometimes known as a “Hub”), where packages are sorted and redistributed in an onward journey toward the delivery destination.

There are over 250 regional facilities and 22 national distribution centers in the USPS network.

Package Journey After “Departed USPS Regional Facility”

Departed USPS Regional Facility

The diagram above shows the typical journey of a package once a “Departed USPS Regional Facility” tracking update has been created.

More often than not the package will make its way to another regional facility closer to the delivery destination.

This next “Hub” or Regional Facility is the one that services the area of the recipient.

NOTE: For longer-distance journeys, the package may go through two or more regional facilities before reaching the one in the district of the recipient.

Once it has arrived at the nearest regional facility to the delivery destination, the package will then be sorted for delivery by truck to the local post office.

The tracking update upon leaving this final regional facility is “Departed USPS Destination Facility”.

Receiving this update means that the package is on its way to your local post office and will be “Out for Delivery” to your door during the next USPS working delivery day.

How Long Before My Package Arrives After a “Departed USPS Regional Facility” Update

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This depends on the location of the regional facility and the class of shipment. The tracking update will tell you which facility the mail item has just left.

If this is in your state, there is a good chance that the next regional facility will be the one that services your area. Therefore you can expect your package within 24-48hrs.

If, however, the regional facility is on the other side of the USA, the package will likely go through more regional facilities on its way to you.

Depending on the class of shipment, this could mean your package is several days away.

Fast-speed USPS services across the country utilize air transport. This, in turn, reduces the number of facilities that the package has to go through.

Slower services are not expedited in the same way.

Tracking Stuck on “Departed USPS Regional Facility”

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You may have reached this article because the tracking on your latest USPS delivery is stuck on “Departed USPS Regional Facility”.

If you see no more updates for more than five business days, there may well be an issue with progress and your package has stopped moving.

That being said, there are a number of reasons your tracking has become stuck.

  • USPS is experiencing delays within the facility and the item has yet to be sorted for onward dispatch
  • Technical and staffing issues have caused a back-log in the facility
  • The item missed a scan. It is in fact in transit and you will receive a new update once the parcel reaches its next location
  • The item is temporarily lost or misplaced within the facility

The reason I recommend that you wait at least 5 business days, (assuming the method of delivery is not expedited overnight or 48hr service) is that delays or missed scans will often be rectified as normal progress resumes.

However, in cases where it seems a very real problem has occurred and you are not receiving any new updates with relevant information, you should contact USPS (1-800-275-8777) and/or your local post office for more details.

Final Words

Departed USPS Regional Facility

Overall, the “Departed USPS Regional Facility” is a standard USPS alert that signifies the mail item is moving as it should.

It has left one facility and is making its way to the destination address.

Depending on the current location it may well pass through more facilities on the way.

The important issue is that the item is making progress through the delivery infrastructure.


1 thought on “What Does “Departed USPS Regional Facility” Mean?”

  1. What if my package keeps giving me the same update for the third time that it left the extra same USPS facility, to be more specific Mine says –
    Your item departed our USPS facility in JACKSONVILLE FL NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER
    And it’s international shipping to another country, please help

    Reply

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