Registered Mail

Registered items of Mail are letters which have their details recorded in a register to enable their location to be tracked.

The item is pre-paid with the normal postage rate and an additional charge known as a registration fee. Upon payment of this fee the sender is given a receipt, and (usually) a '''registration label''' with a unique number is affixed to the letter. As the letter moves from local office to sub office and then to a main sorting office, it has to be signed for on a ledger. This process is completed when the letter is delivered and the receiver signs for the item.

In Great Britain in 1603 , a proclamation was made whereby all letters had to be recorded. This system was in effect a registration system although it was applied to all items sent via the post.

Dockwra's Penny Post , (in 1680), also recorded all details on letters accepted for onward transmission and unlike the general post office, gave compensation for losses.

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Registered Mail