Updated 9.13.2019
Even in the digital age, people often need to move forms, contracts, and other physical documents in a hurry. Statista.com reports that this high demand has led to a compound annual revenue growth of five percent in the courier, express, and parcel market. This growth is anticipated to continue through 2025.
Whether you have a contract that needs to hit your client's desk tomorrow, or you need to get blueprints to your prospective buyers as soon as possible, the ability to overnight documents is key to getting it done on time.
Most carriers offer express services that claim to deliver mail to recipients the day after it's sent, but they all vary in terms of ease and cost. Still, it's good to have options, and you have several when it comes to sending documents, letters, and forms overnight:
The U.S. Postal Service is one of your options. To overnight a letter with USPS, you’ll need to follow several steps:
Find a local USPS Store. Most of them still follow typical business hours, which can limit the time of day you can use this option.
Choose the Priority Express Mail.
Check your package’s weight. Nothing over 70 pounds can be shipped this way with flat rates.
Be sure your package fits the size requirements, with most documents needing to be between 12 ½ inches by 9 ½ inches. Also, it must seal using normal folds.
Overnight delivery times differ based on your local post office, which can make it difficult to know when you have to drop off your mail.
The disadvantages to using the USPS are many. Locations are limited in terms of hours, and the actual mailing process isn't entirely flexible. As a general rule, you must drop off a USPS Priority Mail Express order at a USPS facility by 5:45 p.m. in order for it to reach its destination overnight. If you are sending your document to a smaller area, it usually has to go through a post office in a larger city first. That can turn an overnight service into a two-day service, potentially causing you to miss important deadlines.
FedEx offers overnight services at its FedEx Office stores. However, the process can be a bit daunting.
First, you need to find a FedEx Office location near you. While there are over 30,000 USPS locations, there are only around 2,000 FedEx Office stores, so your options for where to go are quite limited. If you don't live near a FedEx Office store, you may need to take the time to travel to a location in a nearby city. Pay attention to its hours of operation—they may vary from location to location.
If you are unable to find a FedEx Office location close enough to you, you cannot send overnight mail using this service.
Next, choose one of FedEx’s overnight options:
FedEx First Overnight will get your package or letter there the next morning.
FedEx Priority Overnight offers next-day delivery at various times. This is the only option available for Saturday delivery in most areas.
FedEx Standard Overnight will get most packages to their destinations by late afternoon.
The availability of overnight services from FedEx primarily depends on the zip code of your package's destination. In some areas, services are limited. If you're mailing documents to Alaska, Hawaii, or a rural or remote location, be sure to check with a FedEx employee to make sure they will arrive on time.
Sending overnight mail from a FedEx Office location might be a good option if you need a high degree of control over the time of day when your parcel will arrive.
Generally, FedEx shipments must be dropped off by 3 p.m. EST at the latest in order to get to their destination on time. At the time of sending, you will be given a tracking number. This number will allow you to log on to the FedEx website and see where your package is at all stages of the shipping process.
If you have a busy schedule, or you just have better things to do than to drive to a mailing location, Send Overnight Mail offers the most convenient option available. Their streamlined platform allows you to upload your documents, enter your recipient's details, and select your preferred shipping method without even leaving your desk. Here's what you'll need to do:
Ready your document. If you have created it in Microsoft Word or another word processing program, you'll need to save it as a PDF file. Make sure you save it in an easy-to-remember location, either on the cloud or on your computer.
Visit Send Overnight Mail and click the button at the center of the screen. Select whether your document is on your computer or in your Box or Dropbox account. Find the correct file and upload it. You may upload as many documents as you like and select the order in which you'd like them to appear in your mailing. Send Overnight Mail will print and pack them for you, saving you valuable time.
Confirm your order. In this step, you you are able to choose specific printing options, such as color, black and white, single-sided, or double-sided. You will also choose which FedEx or USPS service you'd like to use for sending your document. Estimated delivery times are clearly indicated on each option. As long as overnight orders are made by 3 p.m. EST, they will make it to their destination by the following morning.
Preview your document to make sure everything is correct. Then, hit “Pay & Send.” You'll have the option to pay postage with a credit card or via PayPal.
Enter your return address.
Enter the name and address of the person or company you're sending the documents to. If you have multiple recipients, you can upload a list of addresses as an Excel file for increased efficiency.
The key benefit here is that there is no need to leave your office to print out the documents you need to mail. You do not have to step away from your responsibilities, make time in your busy schedule, or go pay a courier to get your blueprints and documents to the desired location.
It is possible to successfully overnight documents using any of the methods listed in this article. However, only Send Overnight Mail offers ease and time savings as a major feature.
With Send Overnight Mail, you can overnight documents to any number of addresses all at once without having to worry about printer paper, ink levels, envelopes, stamps, or taking time out of your work day to figure out where the nearest overnight courier location is and whether or not you can make it there on time.
Send Overnight Mail is ideal if you have a business that needs to send large volumes of paperwork to customers on a regular basis, or if you simply can't afford to spend time traveling to a post office and waiting in line. There are several key advantages to the service:
Send Overnight Mail is available everywhere in the U.S., and can send your documents to any domestic address. You don’t have to go out of your way to use the service; you just have to access a website. It’s that easy.
Often the worst part of the document-mailing process, Send Overnight Mail completely eliminates the need for printing off documents, contracts, and legal materials at your home, place of work, or local print shop. Printing supplies aren't necessary, and a broken printer is no longer a cause for delayed shipments.
After you upload your documents, Send Overnight Mail prints them for you to your exact specifications before shipping them out. If you need single-sided documents, color photos, or multiple documents collated and stuffed into the same envelope, Send Overnight Mail can do it for you.
It's inconvenient to have to frequently travel across down to mail important documents. The process is time-consuming and can derail an otherwise productive day.
With Send Overnight Mail, you can easily upload your documents from any location, streamlining the process considerably. In the event that you realize you need to ship documents outside of work hours, you won't have to wait until the next morning.
If you're looking for a quick, affordable, and convenient way to overnight important documents, look no further. Send Overnight Mail will give you the confidence you need to be sure that your documents make it into the right hands on time, no matter when or where you choose to send them.
