“Awaiting Delivery Scan”: what USPS tracking means

USPS's September 2026 known-issues list puts it another way: “Event Code DX is a generated event that occurs when a package is Out for Delivery and does not receive a stop the clock scan.” (USPS PTR2 known-issues list (v13), section 2.4) On timing it adds “In PTR, the DX generates between 9pm and 10pm local time.” “In PTR2, the time on the scan could be slightly different.” Its example from the new system reads “PTR2 Awaiting Delivery January 5, 2026 9:00 PM”. So the line usually shows up the same evening, well before 18 hours have passed.

USPS files it under “Alert”. In the scan data USPS sends mailers, the same event is labeled “AWAITING DELIVERY SCAN”, so apps that read USPS's scan data may show that wording instead.

Words in capitals (TIME, DATE, LOCATION and so on) are USPS's placeholders; the real tracking page fills them in.

• Arrived at Post Office: “Usually, if the item arrives before 9:30 am, it will be delivered that day; if after 9:30 am, on the next business day.”
• Out for Delivery is usually set by “the employee indicating that the item will go out that day, next day, Sunday, or holiday.” The line “may also include the expected delivery date, an expected delivery time window or an expected delivery by end of day time.”
• Out for Redelivery is a physical scan: “A physical scan event stating that the article has left the delivery office with a carrier, and delivery is intended on that day.” “This scan is generally used for items that are being redelivered (following a failed first attempt).”

USPS's known-issues list says Awaiting Delivery is generated when an out-for-delivery package “does not receive a stop the clock scan”, and USPS's PTR2 list marks every event “Stop the Clock” yes or no. So a “yes” line after Out for Delivery heads off Awaiting Delivery; a “no” line doesn't.

Two rows share the line “Rescheduled to Next Delivery Day”, and the sentence under it tells them apart. When it says the item was “returned to the Post Office for address verification”, that is event 70, marked “Yes”; when it cites “an unforeseen operational issue”, that is event 71, marked “No”. The weather (event 57) and animal (event 72) delays are both marked “Yes”. More on those lines: Delivery Attempted.

Tracking shows “Out for Delivery” at 7:42 AM on Tuesday, Nov 17, 2026. By evening there is no delivery, notice or other “Stop the Clock” scan. By USPS's known-issues list, “Awaiting Delivery” posts that night, between 9 and 10 PM local time in USPS's older system (around 9:00 PM in its PTR2 example), not 18 hours later. USPS's text then says it expects delivery the next business day: Wednesday, Nov 18, 2026.

• If it still hasn't come by the end of Wednesday, Nov 18, 2026, call USPS's tracking line or the Post Office; if you mailed it on Monday, Nov 2, 2026, a Missing Mail search has been open to you since Nov 9, 2026.
• If it shows “Delivered” the next day but the buyer can't find it, see Delivered.

Mercari's help page on delayed packages lists these first steps for buyers: “Look for an attempted delivery notice.” “Wait up to 48 hours, since some packages may show as delivered while still in transit.” (Mercari, delayed, missing or returned packages, "Package hasn't updated or appears delayed") For orders shipped without a Mercari label: “If you shipped on your own, contact the carrier to check the delivery status. Mercari may not be able to assist without proof of tracking or delivery.” (Mercari, delayed, missing or returned packages, "Package hasn't updated or appears delayed")