What is a scan notice?
A scan notice is a page included in your scan that explains why your mail couldn't be fully scanned in the usual way. You'll see it as the second page of your scan, right after the image of your envelope or package.
You'll also see an indicator in your Mailroom on items that have scan notices attached.
Types of scan notices
Items that can't be scanned
Some items aren't compatible with our scanning equipment. In these cases, we recommend shipping the mail to yourself.
Booklet or bound item — Magazines, catalogs, manuals, pamphlets, and other bound or spiral-bound documents.
CD or disc — Physical optical media like CDs, DVDs, or Blu-rays found inside your mail.
Flash drive or USB device — USB flash drives, thumb drives, memory sticks, and similar storage devices.
Too small or fragile paper — Receipts, tickets, or other items too small or delicate to run through the scanner.
Pages too large — Oversized documents like posters, blueprints, or tabloid-size pages that exceed our scanner dimensions.
Exceeds page limit — Documents with more than 1,000 pages are beyond what we can scan in a single request.
Empty envelope or package — The envelope or package arrived with nothing inside to scan. We recommend reaching out to the sender.
Restricted contents
Certain items can't be scanned for security or legal reasons.
Ballot — Mail-in and absentee ballots must remain sealed to stay valid. We recommend shipping the ballot to yourself directly.
Cash/currency — Cash and coins can't be scanned. We recommend shipping the mail to yourself.
Credit card — Credit cards, debit cards, and prepaid cards can't be scanned for security reasons. We recommend shipping the mail to yourself.
Inappropriate content — If we determine the content is inappropriate we won't scan it. We recommend shipping it to yourself to receive the contents.
Items that will be disposed of
Some items can't be stored at our facility per our Fair Use Policy and will be responsibly disposed of.
Alcohol — For legal and safety reasons, we're unable to process or store alcoholic beverages.
Perishables — Food, snacks, and other perishable items can't be stored and will be responsibly disposed of.
Multiple items
If your package contains multiple separate mail items inside, we'll process each one individually. Each item will appear in your inbox as we complete them, and the outer packaging will show as shredded once processing is done.
Returned mail
When a shipment you requested can't be delivered, it will usually get returned to us. We recommend shipping it again but using an updated address.
Damaged or low quality
This item arrived with some damage and can't be scanned
Occasionally, mail arrives at our facility with visible damage — torn, bent, wet, or otherwise compromised. We'll note this so you have a record, and we recommend shipping the original item to yourself.
This item was damaged during handling and can't be scanned
In rare cases, an item may be inadvertently damaged while in our care. Whenever this happens we take steps to prevent future incidents.
This item may be hard to read
Some documents are faded, blurry, smudged, or otherwise hard to read, even before they reach our scanner. In these cases, the PDF may not be fully legible. We recommend shipping the original to yourself to get a closer look.
If you have questions about a specific scan notice or need help with your mail, contact our support team at [email protected].