Tracking numbers are numbers given to packages when they are shipped. Tracking numbers are useful for knowing the location of time sensitive deliveries. In the United States, some of the companies and organizations that use tracking numbers are UPS, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service.
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Formats
FedEx Ground and Express tracking numbers can be between 12 and 14 digits. Prior to January 2013, Ground tracking numbers were up to 15 digits and Express numbers were up to 12 digits.
A UPS tracking number, for domestic packages within the United States, will usually start with "1Z" followed by a 6 character shipper number (numbers and letters), a 2 digit service level indicator (e.g., 03 for GROUND, SEE UPS SERVICE CODES below), and finally 8 digits identifying the package, for a total of 18 characters.
DHL Express supports the carrier-independent ISO standard 15459-1 for the identification of single packages. Such identifiers consist of upper-case characters and numerals, and they can be up to 35 digits long. Companies that already use this standard do not require an additional identifier to track their pieces when shipping with DHL Express. In addition, DHL Express uses numeric identifiers of exactly ten digits to track transport orders (i.e. an order to transport a shipment consisting of one or more pieces from A to B). Customers can use both codes for tracking purposes.
Most Postal Services use the international S10 (UPU standard), including the United States Postal Service and most European Postal Services.
UPS Service Codes
A non-exhaustive list of service codes: