San Diego County
Certified mail
Certified mail is $75. It is mailed the same day if the order is submitted before 12PM PST. If it is submitted after that, we may mail it the next business day. Say whether a green signature return receipt or standard return receipt is required. Postage fees may apply for mailings over 35 pages.
Certified mail and the $75
Certified mail service is $75. We send your documents by USPS certified mail to the address on the order. The price is higher than First-Class, which is $60, because the postal product is different. We do not treat certified mail as a door attempt, and we do not make four trips because you chose this line. A witness fee is the check written to that person. The order adds 8% or $4.00, whichever is greater. Postage does not.
You have to tell us whether a green signature return receipt or standard return receipt is required. That is part of the order, not a guess we make at the counter. If you need the receipt, say so. If you do not, say that too. A blank note is not an answer. We mail the piece either way once you have answered.
Same noon rule as First-Class
Certified mail is mailed the same day if you submit the order before 12PM PST. After 12PM PST, we may mail it the next business day. The office stays open until 5pm, but the mail bag does not wait for closing. A 3pm order may be mailed the next business day.
Orders placed after closing are processed the next business day, and this mailing follows that rule as well. Friday after noon does not leave on Friday. We may mail it the next business day, Monday if the office is open. Call 619-399-3278 if the date on your papers cannot survive that wait. We will tell you the mail schedule. We will not tell you to ignore a deadline.
The receipt, the signature, and USPS
A green signature return receipt or standard return receipt asks the postal service for a signature record. We request it when you say it is required. We do not control whether the person signs, whether they are home, or how long USPS takes. The $75 pays for the certified mailing we submit, not for a promise that a signature comes back.
If the letter is refused or unclaimed, that is a postal result. We report what we can see from the mailing. We do not convert a refused letter into a personal serve. A personal serve is same day at $195, next day at $175, or standard at $150, each with four attempts at a street address.
What else is not in the $75
First-class postage over 35 pages is a First-Class rule. Do not assume the same page break on certified mail. Ask the office if the packet is thick, because the post office prices the piece. Printing, if we print, is still $.30 per page after the first 40 pages. Those are separate from the $75.
The $40 extra person fee is for same day, next day, and standard in-person serves at one address. It is not an email fee, and it is not how this mail line is built. A second recipient at a second address is another mailing. List each address. We do not copy one envelope onto two households for free.
Proof, businesses, and the other $60 send
We can describe the certified mailing on a proof. Mailing that proof to a San Diego County court, for a self-represented person, is included with the in-person serve prices. It is not automatically included because you bought a $75 stamp product. Hand delivery to a drop box is priced on the court filing page.
Email service is $60 and leaves the same day the order is processed, with one attempt and no green signature return receipt or standard return receipt. Use certified mail when you specifically need the postal receipt question answered. Use a door serve when the papers have to be handed to a person. We do not choose among those for you.
Also on this site
Order certified mail when the papers should go by certified USPS mail, and say on the order whether a green signature return receipt or standard return receipt is required.
Office hours: Mon–Fri, 7am–5pm PSTService attempts are also made outside of these office hours.