Tracking number formats by carrier
You can often tell which company is handling a package just by looking at the tracking number. Most carriers use their own prefixes, lengths, and check-digit rules, so the format itself is usually the first clue.
UPS
Format: "1Z" + 16 letters and digits · "T" + 10 digits
Example: 1Z999AA10123456784
If a tracking number starts with 1Z, you can stop guessing: it's UPS. That’s it, yes!
USPS
Format: 20–26 digits starting with 91–95 · 13 characters ending in "US" (international)
Example: 9400100000000000000006
USPS uses several formats depending on the service. Domestic shipments are long all-digit codes starting with 94 (Priority/Ground Advantage), 93, 92, or 91. International USPS mail uses the universal postal format, e.g. LN123456789US.
You'll also see labels that begin with 420 followed by a ZIP code. In those cases, the actual tracking number is the part that starts with 9.
FedEx
Format: 12 digits (Express) · 15 digits (Ground) · 20–22 digits starting 96
Example: 449044304137821
FedEx Express uses 12 digits and FedEx Ground uses 15, both ending in a check digit. Door tags and Ground economy labels can carry 20–22 digit numbers starting with 96. FedEx SmartPost shipments use USPS-style numbers starting with 92.
DHL Express
Format: 10 digits
Example: 1234567891
DHL Express is one of the simpler ones to recognize: its air waybills are exactly 10 digits long. Other DHL services use different formats.
DHL eCommerce uses "GM" + 16–18 digits, and DHL Paket in Germany uses 20 digits starting with 00340434.
Royal Mail
Format: 2 letters + 9 digits + "GB"
Example: RR123456785GB
Royal Mail tracked and signed-for items use the universal postal format ending in GB, e.g. KZ, RR, or SF prefixes. The first letter indicates the service: R for registered, E for express, L for tracked letters.
Amazon Logistics
Format: "TBA" + 12 digits
Example: TBA123456789012
Amazon really helped us out since all their deliveries start with TBA (TBM or TBC in some countries).
International post (UPU S10)
Format: 2 letters + 9 digits + 2-letter country code
Example: EE123456785CN
Postal operators around the world share the same basic format: two letters, nine digits, and the origin country's ISO code (CN for China, FR for France, US for United States and so on).
Cainiao / AliExpress
Format: "LP" + 14–16 digits
Example: LP00123456789012
Most AliExpress shipping numbers start with LP. Yun Express, another common AliExpress courier, uses YT + 14–16 digits.
Cainiao / AliExpress tracking guide
Evri
Format: 16 digits
Example: 8701234567890123
Evri uses 16-digit numbers. Canada Post domestic parcels also use 16 digits, so the sender or destination is often the easiest way to tell them apart.
DPD
Format: 14 digits
Example: 15501234567890
DPD parcel numbers are 14 digits, and sometimes DPD UK packages are followed by a letter suffix on some labels.
PostNL
Format: "3S" + 13–15 letters and digits
Example: 3SABCD1234567890
PostNL parcel numbers begin with 3S followed by a shipper code and package reference.
OnTrac
Format: "C" + 14 digits
Example: C12345678901234
OnTrac tracking numbers start with C followed by 14 digits. It's a very different format and you'll mostly encounter it on shipments in the US east.
How we identify the carrier from a tracking number?
In many cases, the tracking number alone is enough.
Every delivery company issues numbers with a fixed structure: a prefix, a set length, and usually a check digit calculated from the other digits. A number that starts with 1Z is UPS. A 22-digit number starting with 94 is USPS. Two letters, nine digits, and a country code (like RR123456785GB) is international post, and the last two letters tell you which country it shipped from.
Whose tracking number is this?
Sometimes all you have is the tracking number itself. Maybe it came from a marketplace seller, an old email, or a text message that doesn't mention the courier.
Start by pasting it into the identifier above. If the format is distinctive, you'll usually know the carrier immediately.
If it isn't, try tracking it anyway. Spoke Package Tracker checks more than 1,600 shipping services and uses the shipment's scan history to determine which carrier is actually handling the package.
And check the sender. Amazon numbers start with TBA and only track inside Amazon. AliExpress numbers usually start with LP or YT.
One more thing: be cautious with unexpected package texts. Scammers often send fake tracking links hoping you'll click them. A real number identifies its courier and returns real scan events. Here's how to spot delivery scam texts.
How to track a package when you don't know the courier
You don't need to identify the carrier first.
Paste the tracking number into Spoke Package Tracker and it will detect the courier automatically before retrieving the shipment history. That works even for tracking numbers that are very similar and follow similar patterns.
Why some numbers can't be identified?
Not every tracking number is unique.
A 16-digit number could be Evri or Canada Post. A plain 12-digit number is usually FedEx Express, but only the check digit separates it from a bunch of regional couriers.
The biggest source of confusion is numbers beginning with 92 or 93. They can belong to USPS, FedEx SmartPost, and DHL eCommerce at the same time, because those services share USPS for final delivery. That's why the same number sometimes tracks on both the USPS and FedEx sites.
When that happens we show every possible courier. Once you query the tracking number, the carrier becomes obvious from the scan history.
Let’s hope in the future that carriers start creating different tracking numbers patterns, to make our lifes a little bit easier.
