Aline

I am renewing my passport online for the first time but need to mail my old passport back to the UK.

Any advice on the securest way to do this? Is there a USPS registered international mail service?

Thanks for any advice

ian-mstm

Yes - use a courier rather than USPS.

Ian

petitefrancaise

UPS ?$60.

MidAtlantic

I used USPS and it was fine, but not all services track all the way to the destination. These do:

Priority Mail International:
Small Flat Rate Box
Flat Rate Envelopes (excluding Flat Rate Gift Card Envelope)

First Class International Package Service:
Thick envelope
Package

Aline

There doesn't seem to be a courier company here in Hawaii that ships internationally...

Aline

Thanks all. I know that USPS provides tracking but I want more than that. Guess I will ask the post office...

Aline

UPS or Fedex from Hawaii to the UK would be phenomenally expensive! And to be honest, I haven't found either of them to be more reliable than USPS..

petitefrancaise

I just checked online and it costs no more than sending it from where I live in Texas. The cheapest rate takes 5 days for you in Hawaii and 4 days for me.

The service is about $10 more than the usps service. I've used both services but was not able to track the usps package all the way to durham, in spite of usps telling me I could.

FEDEX was more expensive when I checked this all out inApril.

Pulaski

I am not sure why you have formed that opinion. The reported issues with using USPS internationally, both outward and inwards is that you are relying on tracking that has a hand-off between USPS and, say, the Royal Mail, and if something goes missing it is likely because the tracking link broke at the hand-off. Several instances have been reported on BE of the sending organization insisting that they handed it over, and the receiving organization denying any record of having received it.

However with UPS and FedEx your packet is handled by the same organization from end to end (some courier deliveries in the US are subcontracted to USPS), so you can see the tracking every step of the way, and, for me at least, I get comfort from seeing that tracking data. I think it is definitely worth the extra $10 that PF noted as the cost over USPS.

sherbert

Don't scrimp on sending your passport! I sent mine with Fed-Ex, $60. As others have said, it's best to use a courier rather than the postal service.

petitefrancaise

As Pulaski says. I have sent 2 passports back via USPS and 1 was tracked all the way.,1 passport disappeared off the system. In April I had to renew 2 of our passports so used UPS.
The passports are sent back to the USA using dhl. You might check them out.

Also, please note that online quotes for USPS will give you 1lb as the smallest size but for us with 2 passports plus photos and paperwork the weight was under .5 lb so it was cheaper.

ottotheboar

I always use UPS for documents as mentioned it can be tracked at every stage.
FedEx and DHL are fine, I think FedEx is a little slower from Italy.
In any case I would never use USPS.