Nothing is wrong with the tracking number. Carriers word this stage differently. USPS's tracking status help page calls it "Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item" or "Pre-Shipment, USPS Awaiting Item" and says "The package has not yet been given to USPS." UPS calls it Label Created, which UPS says means it has received "the shipment details and billing information from the sender of the shipment" but not the shipment itself. FedEx shows "Label created" or "Shipment information sent to FedEx," and FedEx says the latter means "the package is still at the shipper's original location."
What Does "Awaiting From Sender" Mean on USPS Tracking?
If you saw "Awaiting From Sender" on a USPS package, for example in USPS Informed Delivery, read it as USPS's "Awaiting Item" stage. Check the tracking number on USPS.com: if it reads "Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item" or "Pre-Shipment, USPS Awaiting Item," USPS has the label data but not the package.
USPS says that when the package is received, "it will be processed and transported to your delivering Post Office and a delivery date will be provided." That is why there is usually no delivery date yet. USPS's advice for this status is short: "Please contact the shipper with any questions." The post office cannot move a package it has not received.
Why Does My Package Say Awaiting From Sender?
Because the label was made before the handoff. That is the normal order of work in order fulfillment: a seller, or the fulfillment center shipping for it, creates the label when the order is packed, then hands the package over later. Common reasons the status sits for a while:
- The pickup has not happened yet. Shippers often print labels through the day and hand everything over at one scheduled pickup or drop-off.
- The sender listed the package before it left. Australia Post warns sellers that sending shipment data before the parcel leaves their facility triggers an "on its way" notice to the customer, "which isn't the case." USPS, UPS and FedEx tracking work the same way: the label data reaches the carrier before the package does.
- It is a return label. When a customer prints a return label, tracking shows this stage until the customer drops the package off.
When a seller hands over many packages at once, the first update after this stage may be a bulk one. With a USPS SCAN Form, a whole day's batch is scanned together, and tracking can then show Package Acceptance Pending before each package gets its own scan.
How Long Does "Awaiting From Sender" Last?
None of the USPS, UPS or FedEx status guides gives a time limit for this stage, because it depends entirely on the sender. It ends when the package is handed over. UPS says its status updates "once we have possession of the shipment," and FedEx says it updates "once the package has been picked up." If a label sits unscanned for days, the package has most likely not left the sender, and the sender is the only one who can say why.
What Do "En Posesión del Remitente" and "Aguardando Postagem pelo Remetente" Mean?
They are the same stage in Spanish and Portuguese. In both languages, remitente (Spanish) and remetente (Portuguese) mean the sender. UPS's Spanish-language tracking guide, for example, describes its "Etiqueta Creada" (Label Created) status as having the shipment details "del remitente de este envío," where its English guide says "from the sender of the shipment."
- "En posesión del remitente" (Spanish) translates as "in the sender's possession": the package has not been handed to the carrier yet.
- "Aguardando postagem pelo remetente" (Portuguese) translates as "awaiting posting by the sender." In the pre-posting system of Brazil's postal service, Correios, "Aguardando postagem" is the status for pre-postings that have been created but not yet posted at a Correios branch.
In each case the next status, once the carrier scans the package, means it has actually been shipped.
What Should You Do About "Awaiting From Sender"?
What to do depends on which side of the package you are on.
- If you are waiting for a package: contact the seller, as USPS advises, and ask when the package will be or was handed to the carrier. A shipping confirmation email does not mean the carrier has it yet.
- If you shipped it: get the package to the carrier. Drop it off or schedule a pickup, and if you ship many packages a day, close them out on a manifest or SCAN Form so they are accepted together (see parcel manifesting).
- If you will not ship it: void or refund the label. USPS Click-N-Ship labels, for example, can be refunded within 30 days of the label creation date if no barcode scan shows in USPS's system.
A track and trace history for a prepaid label starts with this label-only stage, so a short stay is normal. Sellers who use a fulfillment provider can ask how it hands parcels to each carrier and when the first scan usually posts; our guide to what a 3PL handles covers that handoff.