Shipping damage claims by carrier: deadlines, photos and packaging rules

Most sellers meet the carrier claims process the same way: a buyer sends a photo of a broken item, and suddenly you need a deadline, a portal, and a set of photos you may not have. This hub collects the rules for the carriers and insurers e-commerce sellers actually use, explains the one test they all apply, and links to a detailed guide for each.

The figures here were checked on each carrier's or insurer's own page in October 2026 and are linked where they appear. Rules change; treat the table as a map and confirm the current wording before you file.

What a shipping damage claim covers, and who pays it

A shipping damage claim is a request for compensation from whoever carries the financial risk for a parcel in transit. That party is not always the carrier. Four layers can sit on the same parcel, and each has its own claims desk:

Two things follow from that table. First, the portal you file in depends on how you bought the label, not only on the truck that carried it: a UPS label bought through Pirate Ship is claimed through the InsureShield portal, according to Pirate Ship's UPS carrier liability article. Second, the evidence requirements barely change between layers. Everyone wants to see the damage, the packaging and the value.

This hub covers parcel claims for online sellers. Pallet and truckload freight runs under different rules, covered in documenting freight damage at warehouse receiving. The buyer-facing side of the same incident, what you owe the customer and how to answer the dispute, is in customer says it arrived damaged.

Shipping damage claim requirements by carrier: the master table

This is the reference table. Each row links to the page that states the rule. Deadlines are for damage claims unless noted.

The one question every claim desk asks: was it packed adequately?

Every carrier in that table, and the insurers behind the label platforms, applies the same test before paying: could this packaging have protected this item through normal handling? They phrase it differently, but the test is the same.

• UPS says damaged or lost packages that end in a claim are often connected with boxes too large or too small and poor cushioning, and publishes packaging guidelines such as at least two inches of loose fill around lightweight items.
• USPS lists as non-payable any item "packaged in such a manner that it could not have reached its destination undamaged in the normal course of the mail" (DMM 609, section 4.3).
• Royal Mail will not accept liability for items not secured or packaged to prevent damage during the normal rigors of transit.
• Canada Post makes items in packaging that does not follow its guidelines ineligible for any claim.
• InsureShield, via Pirate Ship, says insurers need to see how the items were packed and whether the packaging was sufficient.
• XCover excludes goods damaged before shipment, which is the same question asked from the other side: was it intact and protected when it left?

Here is the problem. The evidence the claim desk uses to answer that question is usually the recipient's photo of the inner packaging, taken after transit, after the box was opened, often after half the packing peanuts went in the recycling. If those photos are missing or unclear, the reviewer fills the gap with the most common explanation, which is thin packing.

The only record that shows the packaging as it was before the carrier touched it is the one you make at the bench: the item intact, the cushioning going in on every side, the carton sealed, the label applied. Made before handoff, tied to the order and sealed so a later edit would show, it answers the packaging question with something better than the shipper's word. That is the core idea of proof of packing, and the reason every guide in this cluster comes back to it.

How to file a shipping damage claim with any carrier

The procedure is the same everywhere, even though the portals differ. Run it in this order.

UPS damage claims: three photos, box dimensions and serial numbers

UPS damage claims must be started within 60 days of the scheduled delivery date, and UPS asks for three specific photos: the damaged item and how it was packaged inside the box, a close-up of the shipping label with the tracking number, and the outside of the package showing the damage. It also wants the box's length, width and height, and an invoice to prove value.

Two details catch sellers out. UPS requires serial numbers for certain merchandise, including electronic items over $500, and says an investigation can be closed for an insufficient description without one. And UPS's upload list does not include video formats, so footage has to reach the claim as stills in a PDF or as images.

When UPS denies a claim for improper packaging, the decision usually rests on that first photo of the inner packaging. The full walk-through, including a copy-ready claim description and appeal letter, is in UPS damage claim photo requirements.

FedEx damage and missing-contents claims: the ship-date clock

FedEx gives 60 calendar days from the ship date for U.S. damage and missing-contents claims and 21 days for international parcels, and asks you to keep the original packaging and contents until the claim is resolved. Supporting documents include photos of the package and damaged contents, serial numbers, and proof of value such as the vendor invoice or the online order confirmation with payment.

FedEx also lets you run your own inspection for U.S. parcels with a declared value above $100 and below $1,000, and it handles disputes by letting you add documents and a signed statement to the existing claim. Pallet shipments now go through FedEx Freight's separate claims process.

Missing-contents claims are where a pack-out recording does the most work: the question is not how the box was treated but what went into it. The details are in FedEx damage claim photos and requirements.

USPS Ground Advantage and Priority Mail: the included $100

USPS Ground Advantage includes $100 of insurance on outbound and return shipments, and Priority Mail includes up to $100 when the parcel carries a USPS Tracking barcode. Damage claims can be filed immediately and must be filed within 60 days of the mailing date, with proof of insurance, proof of value and photos that clearly show the damage.

USPS also has the most explicit list of reasons it will not pay. Besides inadequate packaging, its Domestic Mail Manual excludes damage from shock or transportation conditions "without evidence of damage to the mailing container," which makes concealed damage hard to recover. Everything must be kept until the claim is settled, and you may be asked to bring the parcel to a Post Office.

Labels bought through eBay or Pirate Ship still claim the included $100 directly with USPS. The steps, the appeal timeline and the label-platform details are in USPS Ground Advantage damage claims.

Claims denied for packaging: the most common and most avoidable denial

Packaging denials come in three forms: the inner packaging was thrown away before photos, the packaging was judged improper, or the item is presumed to have been damaged before shipment. All three are decided by evidence about the inside of the box.

Pirate Ship's evidence guide for InsureShield is unusually direct: insurers typically reject claims where internal packaging was discarded before evidence photos were taken, claims showing no internal packaging, and photos of materials that were not used for the exact shipment. eShipper names improper packaging as the most common reason claims get denied and warns that old or reused boxes can be treated that way.

The fix is mostly done before the parcel ships. The pack-out checklist and the appeal template are in shipping insurance claim denied for packaging.

XCover claims through Shippo and Sendcloud

XCover is the insurer behind Shippo Shipping Protection and Sendcloud Shipment Protection, and its windows are short. Sendcloud lists damage claims no later than 14 days after delivery, delivered-but-not-received claims within 10 days, and says XCover prioritizes claims filed within 7 days of the event. Shippo lists 15 days from the delivery scan for parcels marked delivered but not received.

Both platforms tell you to keep all packaging and damaged items in their original form until the claim is complete, and Shippo states that goods already damaged before shipment are not covered. Sendcloud adds a practical tip: a pickup report signed by the driver counts as proof of collection.

That pre-shipment exclusion is exactly where a sealed recording of the item and its packing helps. The platform-by-platform comparison is in XCover shipping protection claims.

DHL Express, Royal Mail and Canada Post

DHL Express, Royal Mail and Canada Post each start the clock at handoff rather than delivery, and each puts packaging inside its liability rules. DHL Express requires claims in writing within 30 days of acceptance and treats a shipment with defective or inadequate packaging as unacceptable. Royal Mail's retail policy allows 80 days from posting (30 for Tracked 24 and Tracked 48) and expects the damage to be consistent with damage to the packaging or the internal wrappings.

Canada Post's general terms allow 90 days domestically and six months internationally, let only the sender start an investigation, and exclude fragile items such as glass, ceramics and vinyl records from damage claims altogether. Electronics qualify only in the manufacturer's original packaging, packaging that meets Canada Post's guidelines, or Canada Post's own electronics packaging.

DHL's own claims guidance goes furthest toward the seller's record: it asks for the shipper's original pictures of the box before it was sent, so the before and after can be compared. The full comparison is in DHL, Royal Mail and Canada Post damage claims.

Route package protection vs packing proof

Route is buyer-paid package protection: the shopper adds it at checkout, files a claim in Route's portal when something goes wrong, and Route screens the claim and triggers a refund or reorder. For damage, Route's standard policy asks for the claim within 30 days of the delivered scan.

What Route does not cover matters as much as what it does. Its merchant help center lists fulfillment issues that occurred before shipping, such as wrong or missing items, and manufacturing defects present before shipment, as outside its coverage. Those claims land back on the seller, and the seller answers them with a record of what was packed.

Route resolves the buyer's problem; a packing record resolves the question of what you shipped. How the two fit together is in Route package protection vs packing proof.

Dimensional weight adjustments: a billing dispute, not a damage claim

A dimensional weight adjustment is a charge correction the carrier applies after re-measuring your parcel, and disputing one needs the same kind of evidence as a damage claim: a record made before handoff. UPS calculates dimensional weight as length times width times height divided by a divisor (139 for Daily Rates, 166 for Retail Rates), with each measurement rounded up to the next whole inch (UPS dimensions and weight). DHL Express's terms say any piece may be re-weighed and re-measured.

An inch of difference on one side can move a parcel into a higher billed weight. A photo or short clip at the bench with a tape measure across each side, the label in frame and the scale display visible gives you something to compare the adjustment against. The dispute process is in dimensional weight adjustment disputes.

When the claim starts with the buyer, or at your own dock

Many carrier claims begin as a customer complaint. The buyer wants a replacement or refund now; the carrier claim runs on its own slower clock. Handling both at once, without refunding before you have the buyer's photos, is covered in customer says it arrived damaged.

Others begin at your receiving dock, when inbound freight arrives crushed. That process uses delivery-receipt notations, OS&D records and freight claim rules rather than parcel portals, and it is covered in documenting freight damage at warehouse receiving.

Common mistakes that sink an otherwise valid claim

Most denied claims fail on process, not on the damage itself. These are the patterns that recur across every carrier in this hub.

How PallasMark covers the whole carrier-claim file

PallasMark is built to produce the one record a claim desk cannot get anywhere else: what the parcel looked like, inside and out, before it left you.

The pack-out, tied to the order. Your team records video and photos on the phones it already has, at the bench or in the warehouse. Scanning the barcode on the picking slip or label opens the right order before the first frame, so the recording belongs to that order from the start. Photos are stamped with your company name, the order number and the upload time inside the image. No mounted cameras, no fixed station. See packing video proof.

Sealed so it holds up. Every stored file gets a SHA-256 fingerprint, and there is no edit button anywhere in the product. A carrier's claims examiner, an insurer or a buyer can open the public verification page without an account and see that the file still matches. That is what tamper-proof video means in practice.

A claim file in the format portals accept. On request, PallasMark builds an evidence PDF for the order: four stills from each recorded video, the photos, the order details, the carrier and tracking number read from your store, any buyer approval or return evidence, and the file fingerprints. You download it and upload it to UPS, FedEx, USPS, InsureShield or XCover alongside the recipient's photos. The evidence dossier is included in every plan.

The buyer on the record too. For high-value orders you can hold the parcel and send the buyer the sealed recording to approve before dispatch, which closes the "damaged before shipment" question with the buyer's own confirmation. When a return is opened, PallasMark can send the buyer a link to film the item and its packaging as received.

Warehouse flows and serial numbers. Receiving, packing, loading and dispatch records attach to a shipment, pallet or lot. On the Scale plan, AI label reading can fill a serial number or lot field from a photo of the label, which matters when UPS asks for serials.

Start with the carrier and insurance claims use case or see how it fits an online store. The free plan needs no card.