What is an Authority to Leave Service?

7th February 2023, 10:10pm in Services by Laura Hurtado Isalt

Are you curious about Authority to Leave services?

While many parcels require a signature on delivery, most courier companies offer the option to leave freight unattended in a safe place. In many cases, customers are happy they don’t have to stay home and wait or plan a trip to pick it up.

There is a process that all courier companies will follow before they leave a parcel unattended, even if you haven’t chosen an ATL service. Whether you regularly opt for the authority to leave option or not, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with these steps, as it can have impacts to your transit warranty. Here are the important terms and conditions you need to know.

The Authority to Leave Service Explained

When booking an ATL service, the courier will simply leave your parcel in a secure location. If the delivery driver determines that the location is not safe, they will leave a notification card to advice you on how to collect the parcel.

When booking another service that’s not ATL, most delivery drivers will attempt to leave your parcel with the recipient or someone at the property and obtain a signature. Here are the most common steps taken. You can find this procedure in our terms and conditions.

Knock on the door as usual.
They will wait for the occupant to come to the door and greet them.
They will then ask for the recipient's name, sign the scanner with ATL and hand over the parcel to the customer.
The courier will do one of the following:
- If no one comes to the door and the courier considers the location a safe drop, the standard ATL process will be followed.
- If no one comes to the door and the courier does not consider the location a safe drop, they will follow the standard failed delivery card process.

If the driver can’t find a safe place, a notification card will be left to advise the location to collect it. Examples of properties that may not have a good place to leave the parcel include addresses with high foot traffic, apartments that aren’t accessible and locations with pets or no protection from the weather.

Which Carriers Offer ATL Services?

On the Interparcel website you’ll find multiple couriers that provide Authority to Leave Services. Some of them include:

Important Information About ATL Services

While Authority to Leave services seem like a win-win for everyone, there are some terms and conditions you need to familiarise yourself with before you place a booking. Most importantly, transit warranty doesn’t apply in the event of loss or damage. It means you won’t be able to put through a claim if the parcel is stolen or impacted by the weather before the recipient gets to it.

This rule is a universal practice for Authority to Leave services from all courier companies. You can find more details on the tax invoice for your order. It’s also in our terms and conditions under section 4.2 – Transit Warranty.

4.2 In general, each order includes $100 of Transit Warranty as standard. The exceptions to this are; i) services that are marked with ATL (Authority to Leave) and ii) orders which relate to Prohibited / Restricted Items, where no Transit Warranty is offered.

How to Book ATL Services

Authority to Leave services can result in an excellent customer experience. They don’t have to worry about being available during the day or blocking out time to collect it from an authorised pick-up location. However, it’s vital to note that ATL options are exempted from transit warranty. So if the item is lost or damaged, you can’t make a claim.

Fortunately, there are plenty of courier companies that offer 'ATL' services. They’re also easy to find on our website or in the Interparcel Shipping Manager where you can quickly validate the address and correct them as well as dispatch orders with a few clicks. You’re even able to create a set of rules for choosing providers to help you save even more time. Learn all about the Interparcel Shipping Manager here!