What Is FedEx Home Delivery?
Anish
May 25, 2023
In the fiscal year of 2022, FedEx (Federal Express) delivered about 6.21 million packages and generated more than $93.5 billion in revenue.
Part of these deliveries consists of shipments to residential areas through FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery.
How does FedEx Home Delivery work, and how does it differ from FedEx Ground and 2Day delivery? Are there special options when using the FedEx Home Delivery service? How do you track your package?
This article discusses FedEx Home Delivery, how it works, and what to expect from this service.
This article also compares FedEx Home Delivery with other services, like FedEx 2Day and Ground.
We’ll also list and explain the specialty options FedEx Home Delivery offers and how you can track your FedEx Home Delivery packages.
FedEx Home Delivery provides senders a fast and flexible option to send packages to residential locations compared to other shipping options like FedEx Ground or 2Day delivery.
Visit FindPostOffice.org’s blog page to learn more about other FedEx services so you can learn other ways to send your mail or package with the shipping company. You can also use FindPostOffice.org’s search tool to look for a post office near you.
How FedEx Home Delivery Works and What to Expect
Home Delivery is an extension of FedEx’s standard ground shipping and deals with shipments sent to residential addresses, excluding commercial packages.
The company’s residential deliveries typically fall under a lighter weight category than commercial shipments. With home deliveries, expect FedEx to ship fewer packages, especially since delivery truck drivers have to travel longer distances between stops.
Still, having a team of dedicated employees means the company can ship your packages more efficiently.
Why Should You Use FedEx Home Delivery in the First Place?
There are instances when you need to send a package that’s guaranteed to arrive at your recipient’s home address by a specific date or time. In these cases, you may want to consider using FedEx Home Delivery.
The Details
FedEx Home Delivery considers Saturdays as business days. This option has no additional charges for Saturday deliveries and no late evening delivery fees. FedEx also implements set delivery times, so each shipping date has a money-back guarantee.
FedEx Home Delivery starts shipping at 9:00 AM and ends at 8:00 PM.
Packages can be up to 150lbs in weight, 108 inches (”) in length, and 165” in length plus girth using the formula:
Length + (2 x width) + (2 x height)
Home Delivery takes one to five business days to ship within the U.S. except for Alaska and Hawaii, which can take three to seven business days. The company does not offer Home Delivery for FedEx international shipments.
Exceptions
Because FedEx Home Delivery ships to residential addresses only, it doesn’t deliver to P.O. Boxes.
Home Delivery doesn’t accept items considered hazardous materials or containing such materials. Still, FedEx can accept items marked as ORM-D (other regulated materials for domestic transport) or those labeled as “limited quantity”.
What’s the Difference Between FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx 2Day?
FedEx 2Day provides time-specific delivery in two business days. Meanwhile, Home Delivery ships between one to five business days, depending on the location within the contiguous United States.
What’s the Difference Between FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery?
Home Delivery operates under the FedEx Ground network that delivers packages 150lbs or less to residential addresses every day of the week.
Meanwhile, FedEx Ground delivers packages of at most 150lbs to commercial or business destinations from Monday to Friday.
How FedEx SmartPost Works
With SmartPost, FedEx picks up packages from the shipper’s location and sorts them on the same day at the company’s distribution facility. Afterward, FedEx transports the packages through its Ground shipping network.
FedEx sorts the shipments at one of its 34 destination hubs, then brings them to the bulk mail center or local post office nearest the final delivery location.
Afterward, FedEx hands the packages to USPS (United States Postal Service) for the delivery’s final leg to bring them to the residence.
FedEx Smart Post is now FedEx Ground Economy.
FedEx SmartPost Pros and Cons
SmartPost pros include the following:
- No surcharges for residential deliveries
- FedEx tracking is available
- 100% U.S. coverage
On the other hand, SmartPost has the following cons:
- FedEx SmartPost doesn’t pick up shipments from outside the contiguous U.S.
- SmartPost takes a longer time to arrive than FedEx Home
- No money-back guarantee for deliveries that don’t arrive on time
- Loss and damage claims aren’t always available
FedEx Home Delivery Pros and Cons
Compared to SmartPost, FedEx Home Delivery has the following pros:
- No surcharge for Saturday deliveries
- Delivery is guaranteed and faster than SmartPost
- The package can be held at a FedEx location if the recipient is not home
Meanwhile, Home Delivery cons are the following:
- Available within the 50 U.S. states only
- No Saturday pickup
Considerations When Choosing FedEx Home Delivery or FedEx Smartpost
To use the SmartPost service, shippers must add it to the delivery contract. Shippers should also consider the following factors when deciding whether to use Home Delivery or SmartPost:
- Fees: Both shipping services deliver packages from Monday to Saturday. The difference is that SmartPost doesn’t charge a residential delivery fee, while FedEx Home Delivery does.
- Cost: SmartPost is the option with less expensive shipping costs. Note that package size and other factors can affect pricing.
- Delivery times: FedEx Home Delivery guarantees a delivery time of one to five business days within the contiguous U.S. or three to seven business days to and from Hawaii and Alaska.
On the other hand, SmartPost delivers in two to seven business days. It can take longer if the delivery is outside the contiguous U.S.
- Sizes: SmartPost accepts packages with a maximum of 130” in length plus girth. Meanwhile, Home Delivery allows 108” in length and 165” in length plus girth.
- Non-traditional residential address: If the customer resides in a military base or wants to ship to a P.O. Box, they can’t use FedEx Home Delivery and must select another service.
- Declared value: FedEx accepts a maximum declared value of $100 for SmartPost packages. For parcels valued higher than $100, choose FedEx Home Delivery.
- Saturday pickup: Home Delivery and SmartPost offer Saturday deliveries. But while SmartPost accepts Saturday pickup, Home Delivery does not provide this service.
Instead, FedEx Ground service provides Saturday pickups for home deliveries.
- Surcharges: SmartPost package surcharges cover the following:
- Non-machinable packages
- Delivery area
- Package relabeling
- Oversized items
- Balloon items measuring 84” to 108” in length plus girth and weighing more than 20lbs
- Third-party billing to an account unrelated to the shipper
Meanwhile, Home Delivery has surcharges for the following services:
- Delivery area
- Multiweight pricing
- Convenient delivery option
- Oversized items
- Residential delivery
- Additional services: FedEx Home Delivery offers the following additional services that aren’t available with SmartPost:
- Return solutions
- Delivery signature options
- Evening or appointment delivery times
- Declared value
- Signature proof of delivery collection
- FedEx Delivery Manager
- Money-back guarantee
Types of FedEx Home Delivery Services
Customers have the option of choosing any of the following types of FedEx Home Delivery services depending on the date and time the customer wants the shipment to arrive:
- FedEx Date Certain Home Delivery
- FedEx Evening Home Delivery
- FedEx Appointment Home Delivery
Are There Specialty FedEx Home Delivery Services?
The descriptions of each FedEx Home Delivery service are as follows:
Date Certain Home Delivery
Date Certain Home Delivery lets you specify when you want your home delivery to arrive at its destination. This option allows you to pick a delivery day from Monday to Saturday, except for holidays.
Evening Home Delivery
This specialty service guarantees delivery between 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM from Monday through Sunday.
One advantage of this service is that FedEx guarantees that it will only deliver your shipments when you’re home. Evening Home Delivery is also available in all 50 U.S. states.
Appointment Home Delivery
This version of the standard home delivery option allows you to set a specific date and time for FedEx to deliver your package.
Appointment Home is like a combination of Evening and Date Certain Home Delivery. You can choose a specific time between 9:00 AM and 8:00 PM, Monday through Sunday, to have your package delivered to the recipient.
Additional Options
Delivery Signature is a standard option with Appointment Home Delivery, but you can add this service to other specialty home deliveries.
Return Solutions is another option for business shipping to residential addresses by giving customers a return label.
You can also add Delivery Manager that allows recipients to do the following:
- Receive shipping updates and alerts
- Sign their package online
- Provide additional delivery instructions
- Request to hold their package at a FedEx location for pickup
- Place the package on hold if they’re on vacation
- Manage the shipment from FedEx’s mobile app
When to Use FedEx Home Delivery
When shipping to someone’s house or apartment, FedEx recommends using FedEx Home Delivery.
But if you need to ship to a business address, consider using FedEx Ground instead.
What Addresses Are Considered Residential by FedEx?
A residential delivery charge applies to U.S. shipments to a private residence or home. These fees also apply to customers operating a business at home. FedEx considers the following locations as residential addresses:
- Convents
- Parsonages or rectories (clergy houses)
- Residences selling or distributing products
- Multi-unit dwellings, including:
- Apartment buildings
- Condominiums
- College dormitories
Locations Not Considered Residential and Do Not Qualify for FedEx Home Delivery
FedEx doesn’t consider the following locations as residential and, thus, aren’t covered under Home Delivery:
- Churches
- Farms
- Nursing homes
- Dental or medical care and veterinary offices
- Insurance agencies
- Funeral homes
- Prisons
- Firehouses
- Retail shops
How Costly Is Residential Shipping Compared to Commercial Shipping?
In 2022, FedEx imposed a residential surcharge of $4.80 per package for every FedEx Home Delivery shipment.
So if you’re shipping a $10.25-package with FedEx Ground, Home Delivery will charge $15.05 ($10.25 + $4.80) if you’re shipping to a residential address.
Meanwhile, the surcharge for commercial shipments through FedEx Express services within the U.S. is $3.55 per package, based on 2022 shipping rates. On the other hand, the surcharge for FedEx Ground commercial shipments is $3.40 per package.
How Do You Get Your Packages to FedEx?
FedEx allows you to drop off your package at any of their locations and other participating stores, like Walgreens, Dollar General, and Albertsons.
If you have a FedEx account, you can use the company’s online tool to schedule package pickup for a small fee.
Having an account also lets you schedule pickups for shipping returns. If you’re a business that needs to ship frequently, you can also set up recurring pickups for convenience.
Tracking Your Home Delivery Shipment
If you’re expecting a shipment, you can use FedEx’s tracking tool on the company’s official website.
For more details and updates on your home delivery shipments, consider using FedEx Advanced Tracking.
How Do You Track Your FedEx Home Delivery Package?
To use the tracking tool, visit the FedEx website and go to the tracking page. Enter the tracking number in the search box and click “Track”.
When you open a FedEx account, you can customize your shipments using Delivery Manager. For instance, you can request the shipping company to hold packages at a FedEx location if the recipient isn’t home.
You can also use Delivery Manager to sign packages online or receive notifications when a FedEx package is sent to you.
Does FedEx Home Delivery Include Free Tracking Info?
FedEx Home Delivery services include free tracking info with your shipment. Every order processed by FedEx includes tracking information at no extra cost.
What Days Are FedEx Home Delivery Services Available?
FedEx Home Delivery lets you ship and receive packages from Monday to Sunday, except for some federal holidays, like Christmas.
Does FedEx Deliver on Weekends, Including Saturday and Sunday?
FedEx Home Delivery ships your packages any day of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays, with weekend delivery to most residential locations.
Benefits of Weekend Delivery With FedEx Home Delivery
With FedEx Home Delivery’s weekend delivery, customers can enjoy the following benefits:
- Fast delivery on Saturdays and Sundays
- No extra fees for weekend delivery
- Hassle-free weekend deliveries, as FedEx treats Saturdays and Sundays as standard delivery days across the U.S.
- Less waiting until Monday for deliveries ordered late in the week
For businesses, weekend deliveries provide the following advantages:
- Help boost sales and improve customer loyalty
- Give the business an advantage over competitors that don’t deliver packages on weekends
- Ship time-sensitive goods without expediting
- Avoid relying on a third party to fulfill package deliveries on weekends
What’s the Transit Time for Shipping Within the Contiguous U.S.?
For deliveries within the contiguous U.S., FedEx Home Delivery’s transit time is one to five business days, including Saturdays and Sundays.
What’s the Transit Time for Shipping to or From the Contiguous U.S. to or From Alaska or Hawaii?
When shipping packages to or from Alaska and Hawaii to or from the rest of the U.S., FedEx Home Delivery requires three to seven days.
Customize When Your Shipment Arrives
By customizing your FedEx Home Delivery shipment, you can take advantage of the following benefits:
- Deliver on the date you choose: FedEx Date Certain Home Delivery lets you choose the delivery date, as long as that date is within 10 days from the pickup and isn’t before the standard delivery date.
- Deliver between 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM: FedEx Evening Home Delivery is an excellent option for evening deliveries, especially if your recipient isn’t available during the daytime.
- Deliver on a specific date within your chosen two-hour window: FedEx Appointment Home Delivery allows the company to contact your recipient by phone to schedule the delivery, up to a two-hour window of the recipient’s choosing.
To use these customized home delivery options, create a shipping label online and select your choice in the Special Services section.
More to Love About FedEx Home Delivery
Other benefits of FedEx Home Delivery include:
- Getting a 15% discount upon signing up for a FedEx account and using Home Delivery
- Customizing package arrival times, including appointment and evening deliveries
- Letting customers personalize and track deliveries through FedEx Delivery Manager
- Setting up automated shipment pickups instead of making regular trips to a FedEx location to drop off packages
FedEx Home Delivery FAQs
- What’s the FedEx Home Delivery weight limit?
FedEx Home Delivery can deliver items weighing up to 150lbs.
If your shipment exceeds 150lbs and you need an affordable ground delivery option, consider shipping with FedEx Freight. This option is FedEx’s less-than-truckload (LTL) service, which is more cost-effective than expedited shipping.
- Do I have to be at home to accept FedEx Home Delivery packages?
One advantage of FedEx Home Delivery is that you don’t have to be at home to accept your package. FedEx has the Evening Home and Appointment Home specialty delivery services that provide this benefit.
To ensure that your Home Delivery packages arrive only when the recipient is home, consider Evening Home or Appointment Home Delivery. Note that either option requires extra fees.
- How long does FedEx Home Delivery take?
FedEx Home Delivery ships within one to five business days to deliver packages within the contiguous U.S. Meanwhile, shipping to or from Alaska or Hawaii requires three to seven days.
The exact time FedEx delivers your Home Delivery shipment will depend on where the package comes from and the distance to the destination.
- Can FedEx Home Delivery ship to P.O. Boxes?
FedEx Home Delivery doesn’t deliver to P.O. Boxes, but you can set up your package to be held for pickup at a local FedEx location.
- Can I ship hazardous materials with FedEx Home Delivery?
FedEx Home Delivery doesn’t allow the shipment of hazardous materials, but you can send items classified as limited quantity or ORM-D.
- My orders’ recipients need to receive their package by a specific date. What can I do?
Choose FedEx Date Certain Home Delivery for shipments that must arrive on a specific date. Packages will arrive based on the date you choose. The company ships from Monday to Sunday, except for holidays.
Note that the chosen delivery date must be within 10 days from the pickup date and must not be earlier than the standard delivery date.
If you need expedited shipping, consider using one of FedEx’s express options for next-day or two- to three-day delivery.
- My package’s recipient may be away during the day and can’t receive the delivery. What can I do?
Select FedEx Evening Home Delivery if you know the recipient won’t be home during the daytime to receive the package. This option lets you schedule the delivery between 5:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
- My package’s recipient wants to know exactly when the shipment will arrive. What can I do?
If the recipient wants to arrange a specific date and time for their residential delivery to arrive, choose FedEx Appointment Home Delivery. FedEx contacts the recipient by phone to schedule the delivery.
The recipient can also track the shipment using FedEx Delivery Manager and get updates on when their package will arrive.
- Can FedEx pick up packages on Saturday and Sunday?
Eligible shippers, like large eCommerce businesses, can qualify for Saturday and Sunday pickups. This feature can help you manage large order volumes and meet or exceed customer expectations, especially if you’re a business owner.
- Are there additional fees for Saturday and Sunday delivery?
FedEx Home Delivery does not charge additional fees for Saturday and Sunday deliveries.
- How late does FedEx Home Delivery deliver?
Packages sent through FedEx Home Delivery usually arrive by 8:00 PM.
- What time does FedEx Home Delivery deliver?
Although FedEx Home Delivery packages can arrive by a specific date and time, this service doesn’t have official delivery hours. The delivery time depends on the package and destination.
- What is FedEx Address Validation, and how does it help?
FedEx offers Address Validation as a special service to help the company confirm whether the recipient’s address is residential or commercial.
This service checks whether the address details, like the street, city, state, or ZIP code, are valid and notifies you if any detail needs to be corrected.
To use Address Validation, contact a FedEx representative and request its activation for your account.
- Does FedEx Home Delivery support collect on delivery?
FedEx COD (collect on delivery) is only available for FedEx Ground shipments. FedEx Ground specifies how much money the FedEx driver should collect from the recipient upon delivery.
- Does FedEx Home Delivery support FedEx One Rate?
FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx Ground service don’t offer FedEx One Rate. Instead, users should refer to the standard rates only.
- Why is FedEx Home Delivery more expensive?
One reason FedEx Home Delivery is relatively more expensive than other services is that Home Delivery ships every day of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays. These weekend deliveries incur additional operating costs.
FedEx Home Delivery’s money-back guarantee also means FedEx takes a risk if the company doesn’t deliver on time, as promised.
- How do you print the FedEx shipping labels?
After generating and reviewing the shipping details on your FedEx account, click “Create Shipment” to place a delivery order request.
FedEx then validates this request. If there are no issues, the company will provide you with the appropriate label. Afterward, click “Print Label” to print the shipping label.
If you need to send mail or packages through the post office in California, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Washington, Nebraska, Alabama, and other states, visit FindPostOffice.org to search for post offices near your location.
The website also allows you to search post offices by state or city for more convenience.
Reference
- Total average packages delivered daily by FedEx Express between FY 2016 and FY 2022
https://www.statista.com/statistics/878354/fedex-express-total-average-daily-packages/