SCAN stands for Shipment Confirmation Acceptance Notice. SCAN forms include a simple barcode that USPS officials can scan to process a large number of packages at one time, rather than having to scan the barcodes of individual packages separately. These forms can be scanned by letter carriers and retail officials alike. They’re always free of charge to create.

Using a SCAN form saves you time if you’re sending off dozens or hundreds of packages in one go. What’s more, most carriers will not accept a large number of packages at their location or for a scheduled pickup without a USPS SCAN form.

How to Generate a USPS SCAN Form [Video]

Creating a SCAN form will typically be the last step you’ll perform in a day for your shipping routine. Here are the nitty-gritty details:

• Your shipments must be mailed on the same date as the one printed on your SCAN form and forms cannot be created for shipment dates in the past. That means you must generate a manifest on the same calendar date that you create the labels.
• You can create multiple SCAN forms per day. If you create one in the morning, then create several more labels, when you create a second SCAN form, it will include only those labels that were not on the first form.
• SCAN forms are per location, meaning that if you’re shipping from two or more locations, you’ll need to separate your packages and create separate forms.
• The “Shipping From” address must match the sender address used for the labels. In the Shippo web app, the Manifest screen shows the “Shipping From” address at the top right of the page. This address must match up with the “Sender Address” you used when you created your label. It may be different than the Return Address that you see printed on the label.
• The “Shipping From” address will be pre-filled with the default Sender Address that you have on the Addresses Page. If you chose a different Sender Address when you created your label, be sure to change the “Shipping From” address before you generate the manifest or you will see an error.
• Labels created after 00:00 UTC time will be considered for the next day’s manifest. If you are missing labels for your manifest, please change the submission date, to the next calendar day.00:00 UTC time is equivalent to 5:00 PM PST, 6:00 PM MT, 7:00 PM CST & 8:00 PM EST. Keep your time zone in mind when creating the manifests, or SCAN forms. For example, if a label is created at 5:30 PM PST, on March 1, the submission date for the manifest should be March 2.
• USPS may generate more than one Manifest. USPS will often separate different types of shipments on separate SCAN Forms, so you may end up with several links to download under Manifest History. This is normal and expected, so just be sure to print each one.
• SCAN Forms may be separated by Priority Mail cubic rates only, Priority Mail rates (all other types), First Class Package, etc.

For more details, visit our Help Center article on generating USPS SCAN forms and Manifests.