How do I talk to a real person at the USPS in 2023? (2023)

This publication will teach you how to communicate with a person and a human being by phone when you call 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777).

Below are many different ways that have worked for a human to communicate over the phone. While many may not work anymore, you can always give it a try.

I try to keep up to date with the latest way to overcome automated crap. If you find this article and figure out the latest way, please leave a comment on how you did it.

I'll see your comment, take it into account, and update this post with how you got it working. We are a team against the ridiculous USPS phone system that wants to help other people!

Before you call, try USPS social media support

Since they always make it harder to reach a real person on the phone, maybe try reaching out to them on social media.

To contact a live USPS customer service person on Twitter, click:USPS Twitter Help Pageand click "Message" to send your message.

To contact a USPS customer service agent on Facebook, visit this link:USP Facebook pageand click "Send Message" to send your message.

Most recent (February 2020)

Get to a live person faster:To track a package / talk to a human about tracking a package. If you want to buy stamps, press 2 or say "Stamps" and then say "Representative". Listen and wait for him to speak. If you enter anything before that, nothing will be done. Press 1 to track a package or say "Track". Say "Representative" and you will be transferred to a representative

Surprisingly, it's actually quite easy to reach a person when you call the USPS 1800 number.

I recently sent an item through the United States Postal Service and the package was lost. But I had the tracking information, which didn't work.

Long story short, I couldn't get a real person on the phone to help me with the situation. All I heard was repeated automated messages, which didn't help.

So I decided to try a few things to get a human to talk on the phone, since I had wasted an hour using the automated system.

PLEASE read the comments at the bottom of this post for other methods people have tried. If you have a method that is currently working, please post it in the comments so I can test it and update this post.

Oldest update on 11/22/2017

Getting a human from USPS now seems to be a bit easier than previous methods.

This is what I did today and tried it several times and it worked even though it told me all agents were busy.

1. Call the phone number.
2. Enter your zip code and confirm.
3. Say no to the privacy policy message.
4. Wait a few seconds for the voice to start giving you options.
5. Di "carrier".

Is that! You'll probably have to wait some time or request a callback, but this is what seems to be working at the moment.

FYI: I don't work for USPS and there's nothing I can do about it if the courier puts you on hold for an insane amount of time or doesn't call you back.

I'm just trying to give you options to get around the horrible automated phone service they have so you can talk to a person.

FYI, the information below seems to no longer work. But I keep it here as archived information.

Thank you all for visiting this page to try to get a human being to contact USPS by phone. Today I tried my other methods listed below and they didn't seem to work anymore.

It seems like they are constantly updating their system to make it more automated and make it harder for a person to get through on the phone.

So I tried another method. A kind of brute force attack on your system.

I tried it a few times and it worked every time. The automated voice said all the reps were busy, but that's better than the bullshit loop system they have.

This is what I did.Blow up the automated system with zeros!

Oh really

I called the number. And after the message in Spanish, I hit it with zeros.

PLEASE DO NOT TRY THE METHOD BELOW00000000000. SORRY FOR THE COMMENTS THAT SAY IT DOESN'T WORK. I ONLY KEEP THIS TEXT HERE BECAUSE OF THE HIGH RANKING IN GOOGLE AND THE TRAFFIC THAT THIS PAGE RECEIVES. USE THE ABOVE METHOD. IT IS NOT THE ZERO METHOD. IF YOU SEE AGOOGLE'S SNIPPET WITH METHOD ZERO, GOOGLE INCORRECTLY DISPLAYS THE CORRECT METHOD. I CAN'T CONTROL WHAT GOOGLE SHOWS IN THE SNIPPETS BECAUSE THEY'RE LISTENING TO CONTENT LIKE MINE TO SHOW LIKE YOURS.

Then no…

1. Call the phone number.
2. After the prompt in Spanish, press zero about ten times in a row, very quickly. Then: 0000000000
3. Listen to the automated voice. It will skip and cut because of all the requests you made.
4. If it asks you to do an action after it's done, press zero like 15 times in a row, really fast, like: 000000000000000
5. Listen to the automated voice again. It will jump higher due to the number of orders.
6. If it asks you to do an action after it's done, quickly press zero about 20 times in a row, like: 0000000000000000000000
7. Then hopefully we'll send you to the party who can connect you with a person or at the very least schedule a callback.

I hope this helps! The callback message usually seems to say "about 40 minutes", but it only takes a few minutes to go through the steps above to get there.

USPS phone number

And thanks for commenting and keeping me updated when these strategies stop working. It seems to change a few times a year, and I try to keep everyone on this page up to date.

UPDATE 7/6/2016 - Based on some recent feedback, it appears that the USPS may have changed the phone system. I'll try to find a new way to get a human and update this page.

This is what has worked in the past:

First, dial 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777) during normal business hours.

Mon-Fri 8am-8:30pm ET|Saturday – 8am-6pm ET|Sunday/Holidays – Closed

UPDATE 9/3/2015: Thank you Chris and Ace for your comments! I believe the US Postal Service changed their automated system and my previous method described below no longer works.

This is what seemed to be working.

1. Call the phone number. After the message in Spanish, press 0.
2. Let the voice run through all the options. Press 6.
3. Let the voice go through the next set of options. Press 4.
4. Then he will talk about a policy. Press 2 to skip the audition.
5. Next, you need to be online to talk to someone.

So wait, wait, wait...

It may take some time for someone to respond when you call 1-800-275-8777. That's up to them, so please don't be mad aboutmiif it takes you more than 10 minutes to talk to someone or they disconnect you or something strange.

I'm just trying to help you get around all the automated crap to get a human on the phone. And make sure you have your tracking number available when someone picks it up.

USPS Customer Service Human: 1-800-275-8777

Thanks and keep me posted in the comments if I need to add or edit any of the steps listed above.

The information below is old information and will not help you reach a person when calling the US Postal Service. I am keeping it here because this post seems to be easily found on Google and I don't want to spoil it.

After you dial the 1-800 number, the recording will say thank you and ask if you want Spanish (for Spanish). Don't talk and don't press any buttons. Then it will say “Main Menu”. At this time, press 0 (zero).

The recording will then say, "You have requested customer service." Don't talk and don't press any buttons yet. Wait until the recording says, "You can say." At this time, press the 0 (zero) button on your phone. Don't talk on the phone.

You'll get another message that says, "I'd like to hear the USPS privacy statement." Press 0 (zero) again. Don't talk on the phone.

Then you will be connected with a real live person!

United States Post Office customer service phone number

You may get a message that all customer service representatives are busy, but it's better to wait for a real person than to go through the automated system. Trust me!

Here are the simplified steps. ** Remember, don't talk on the phone and 0 (zero) is the only button you have to press! **

1. Telephone 1-800-ASK-USPS (1800-275-8777)

2. When you hear "Main Menu", press 0 (zero)

3. When you hear "Can you say it?", press 0 (zero)

4. After hearing "Do you want to hear the USPS privacy statement?", press 0 (zero)

5. Talk to a real person!

Check out my free tips for selling online with Craigslist and calling a human at 1-800-275-8777 USPS.