---
id: KB-LG-012
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/logistics/proof-of-delivery-in-parcel-services
idioma: en
categoria: sector-logistica
subcategoria: paqueteria
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-LG-007, KB-LG-006]
citadoPor: [KB-LG-021, KB-LG-025]
---

# Proof of delivery in parcel services

_A scrawl on a screen or a photo at a doorway: what each proves when the customer says it never arrived._

**Responde a:** parcel proof of delivery · customer says the order never arrived · is a doorstep photo enough · delivery to a neighbour dispute

In parcel work the argument is not whether the parcel left: it is whether it reached the right person. And the usual proofs carry very different weight, even though the system shows them all as "delivered".

## What each proves

| Proof | What it evidences | Where it is weak |
| --- | --- | --- |
| On-screen signature | That someone signed there | A scrawl identifies nobody on its own |
| Recipient's name and ID | Who collected it | Depends on the courier actually asking |
| Photo at the delivery point | That the parcel was left there | It does not prove the recipient took it |
| One-time code | That whoever received it had the code | Only if it is genuinely required, not skipped |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The third row gives the most false confidence. A photo of the parcel on the doormat proves the courier arrived and left it — not that the addressee received it. For valuable shipments, that photo does not close a claim: it opens it looking tidier.

## What decides a consumer claim

**En corto**

- Whether the addressee authorised leaving it without a signature, and where that authorisation is recorded.
- If it went to a third party, who they were and whether they were authorised.
- The exact time and delivery point, not just the day.
- And whether there were previous attempts, with their records.

With a business customer you argue the contract; with a consumer, the burden of proof tends to fall on whoever delivers. The more valuable the shipment, the more it pays to step up: a code, an ID, or an identified signature.

> [!WARNING]
> The point that wrong-foots people coming from pallet freight: at a residential address, **delivering to a neighbour is not delivering**, unless the addressee authorised it beforehand. Many claims that look absurd — "someone did take it" — are lost exactly there, and not over the fact but over being unable to show the authorisation.

## How to capture it without slowing the round

1. **Capture the proof at the moment and at the place** — From the phone, not back at the depot.
2. **Keep it linked to the shipment, not loose** — A photo in the courier's gallery is not proof of delivery.
3. **And retain it for the claim period** — Which is usually longer than the delivery system's memory.

> [!NOTE]
> Claim windows and who bears the burden of proof vary by shipment type, recipient and country. **Confirm that with your adviser or in the transport contract**; what is compared here is what each type of proof evidences in practice.

**Is an on-screen signature enough?**

It helps, and alone it identifies nobody. With a name or a code, much more.

**What if the customer authorised leaving it at the door?**

Then the photo is worth considerably more: what you must be able to show is the authorisation.

**How long should proofs be kept?**

Longer than the applicable claim period, with margin.

## Ejemplos

**A courier firm loses a claim despite having a doorstep delivery photo.**

- Starts requiring a one-time code on valuable shipments
- Records the authorisation when a customer asks for no-signature delivery

→ Claims on expensive shipments start being settled with proof that actually identifies the recipient.

**The on-screen signature does not say who signed.**

- Records the name alongside the signature

→ Half the disputes disappear.

**Delivery happens with nobody authorised and is signed anyway.**

- Gives the courier a rule and records their decision

→ What was decided is documented.

**The proof lives in the partner's system.**

- Collects and stores what they provide

→ The proof stops depending on someone else.

**A client complains months later.**

- Keeps evidence beyond the order

→ The answer exists when the complaint arrives.

**The delivery arrives damaged and there is no photo.**

- Captures a photo when the delivery is not clean

→ The condition is documented as it happens.