How long do I have to file a UPS late-delivery claim?

15 days, counted from the later of the scheduled delivery date, the tracking date, or the proof-of-delivery date, on eligible services.

Does the refund cover my whole shipping cost?

No. UPS refunds base transportation charges, not fuel or accessorial surcharges, so the amount is smaller than the full label price.

Is UPS Ground covered?

No. UPS Ground and the day-definite economy services are not money-back guaranteed. The guarantee is on time-definite air services like Next Day Air.

Carrier rules

UPS Money-Back Guarantee: What's Covered and How to Claim (2026)

Updated 2026-06-18 · rendered from our live eligibility table.

UPS backs its time-definite air services with a money-back guarantee: miss the committed delivery time, and the transportation charge for that shipment is refundable. The catch is that the guarantee is narrow, the filing window is short, and UPS stopped paying it automatically. You have to notice the miss and file inside the window, which is built to be easy to forget.

Here is what carries the guarantee right now, straight from the table we keep current:

Carrier	Service	Guaranteed?	Claim window	Refund basis
UPS	Next Day Air EarlyUS domestic time-definite, money-back guarantee.	Yes (money-back)	15 days	Base transportation
UPS	2Nd Day Air Am2nd Day Air A.M. is guaranteed; plain 2nd Day Air is not.	Yes (money-back)	15 days	Base transportation
UPS	Worldwide Express PlusIntl is the most-suspended segment; the guarantee flips on/off by lane and date. Verify coverage for the specific origin country and ship date before filing.	Yes (verify lane and date)	15 days	Base transportation
UPS	2Nd Day AirStandard 2nd Day Air lost the guarantee.	No	n/a	n/a
UPS	Ground SaverGround family / 3 Day Select / Mail Innovations are not guaranteed.	No	n/a	n/a

Rendered from The Privateer’s eligibility table v2026-06-14, last verified 2026-06-14. Source: www.ups.com. The claim window runs from the later of the scheduled, tracking, or proof-of-delivery date. Rules change every few months; we keep this current.

What's covered, and what isn't

The guarantee lives on the time-definite air services — Next Day Air, and the 2nd Day Air A.M. variant. Plain 2nd Day Air, 3 Day Select, and the whole Ground family are not guaranteed: they are day-definite, and a late day-definite parcel has no contractual refund behind it.

International express is its own story. The guarantee exists on worldwide express services, but it is the most-suspended segment there is — it flips on and off by lane and by date. Treat international as "verify before you file," never as an automatic yes.

The window, and what comes back

You have 15 days to file, counted from the later of the scheduled, tracking, or proof-of-delivery date. Two honest notes on the money:

The refund is base transportation only — not fuel, not surcharges. It is smaller than the full price on the label.
Standing exceptions apply. There is no guarantee during weather, peak periods, or service disruptions, and those exceptions are not always announced.

How to file (and keep all of it)

You file the claim yourself, through the UPS Billing Center, and the refund goes back to you in full. You stay the account holder of record the whole time; no one needs to take over your account, and no one needs to take a cut to collect it for you. For the steps, see how to file a UPS late-delivery claim.

The only hard part is catching the miss before the 15 days run out. That is the part we watch for you: point your shipments at us and we flag the ones that failed a guarantee while the window is still open, with the claim prepared and ready to file.