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Proof of delivery: photos, signatures, and what to do when a delivery fails
Proof of delivery is the record that a specific order reached a specific place at a specific time: usually a photo of the box where it was left, sometimes a signature, always a timestamp and a location. It settles “I never got it” in seconds, and it is the first thing you need when a delivery fails. Here is what to capture, how to keep it, and what to do with a stop that didn't happen.
Last updated 6 min readBy Porch Route
Why proof matters more for local delivery
A national carrier can absorb a disputed parcel. A farm delivering to 200 households cannot: each customer is a neighbour, a subscription and a review. Bringg's 2025 survey of 1,000 US shoppers found that 55% stop buying from a retailer after a single bad delivery and 35% permanently abandon one after late deliveries, and Descartes' 2025 survey of 8,000 consumers in North America and Europe found two-thirds had experienced a delivery problem in the previous three months. Proof doesn't prevent the bad delivery; it turns “it never came” into a conversation with a photo in it.
The four kinds of proof
| Proof | Settles | Doesn't settle | Require it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photo of the box where it was left | That it was delivered, and where | Who took it in afterwards | Every unattended delivery |
| Signature | That a person received it | Which person, unless a name is typed too | Alcohol, high-value orders, wholesale drops |
| Timestamp and location | When and roughly where the driver stood | What was in the box | Always — it should be automatic |
| Driver note | Context: “left with neighbour at 14”, “gate code didn't work” | Anything that needs a picture | Whenever the stop wasn't textbook |
Most small businesses need the first and third on every stop, the fourth when something was unusual, and the second for a short list of order types.
Photo proof that actually proves something
- Show the box and the door, or the box in the cooler, lid open. A close-up of a box on concrete could be any porch.
- Include a house number or a landmark when the address is ambiguous.
- Take it before knocking, so the photo exists even if the customer opens the door and takes the box.
- One photo is enough when it's the right photo; two when the delivery is split or the cooler is around the side.
- Let the software stamp time and place. Drivers shouldn't type either.
Signatures: when the doorstep wait is worth it
A signature costs a minute at the door and a customer who has to be home. Require it where the law or the loss justifies it — alcohol and other age-restricted goods, an order worth a week's revenue, a wholesale drop where the receiver is a business — and skip it for the weekly box, where the customer would rather be at work and the photo does the job. When you do collect one, collect the name as well; a squiggle proves someone was there, not who.
A typed name and a signature also give the customer a moment to check the order at the door, which is when a missing item gets noticed — rather than after the van has gone and the photo shows a box that looked complete.
Storing proof: privacy and retention
Proof photos are pictures of people's homes, and sometimes of people. Keep them in private storage, not in a shared folder or a public link; share them only through links that expire; and decide how long you keep them — long enough to cover disputes and chargebacks, which is months, not years. If your order system needs the photo, copy it there when the webhook arrives rather than relying on a link that will stop working.
When a delivery fails
A failed stop is not a failure of the process if the process was ready for it. Five steps, every time:
Mark it failed, with the reason
Nobody home, gate locked, wrong address, refused, unsafe to leave. The reason decides everything after it, so give drivers a short list to pick from and room for a note.
Take the proof anyway
A photo of the locked gate or the wrong house number is the record that the driver was there and tried.
Tell the customer quickly
A couldn't-deliver message with the reason and what happens next. The customer who learns at 2 PM can fix a gate code; the one who learns at 8 PM is angry.
Decide the disposition
For perishables this is a food-safety call: a box above 40°F is not redelivered tomorrow. Bring it back, log it, and re-pack from stock.
Put the order back in the queue
A failed delivery becomes an open order again, so it appears in the next build instead of living in someone's memory.
The mistake that costs the most: a false “delivered”
The worst proof-of-delivery failure isn't a missing photo; it's a customer reading “your order has been delivered” while the box is still on the truck. It happens when a driver taps the wrong stop, and the notice goes out the same second. The fix is a delay: hold the delivered notice, and the update to your store, for a few minutes so a mis-tap can be undone before anyone is told. If the driver doesn't undo it, the message goes; if they do, nobody ever knew.
How Porch Route does proof
- Drivers take a photo or collect a signature in drive mode; you choose whether either is required before a stop can be finished.
- Every finished stop carries the time and, when the phone allows it, the location; arrival is captured from GPS proximity, not from the tap.
- Proof sits in private storage and is shared only through links that expire — on the customer's tracking page and in the webhook to your system, which also carries the expiry time so you can copy the files.
- A stop marked couldn't deliver takes a quick reason and a note; the customer's notice goes out after the undo window, and the order returns to the open list for the next build.
- The undo window you set holds the delivered and couldn't-deliver notices and the webhook; undo inside it sends nothing.
- Customers can rate the delivery from 1 to 5 stars on the tracking page. Letting customers reschedule a failed delivery themselves from that page is coming.
Questions
Is a photo enough proof of delivery?
For an unattended delivery, yes, if it shows the box where it was left and something that identifies the place, with the time and location stamped by the software. Require a signature only for age-restricted or high-value orders and wholesale drops, where a person must receive the goods.
How long should I keep proof-of-delivery photos?
Long enough to cover disputes and chargebacks — typically a few months — and no longer than you have a reason to. Keep them in private storage, share them through links that expire, and copy any you need into your own records.
What happens in Porch Route when a driver marks the wrong stop delivered?
The customer's notice and the webhook to your store wait for the undo window you set. The driver undoes the stop inside that window and nothing is sent to anyone. If the window has already passed, the reversal is sent as an undo event so your store can correct itself.
Sources
- Bringg — 2025 delivery experience study (press release, November 4, 2025) · seen September 2026
- Descartes — annual e-commerce consumer study (May 14, 2025) · seen September 2026
- USDA FSIS — Mail order food safety (the 40°F rule) · seen September 2026
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