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Letter Carriers · CCA Basics

Probation Period

How to survive your 90 days

⚠️ Please Read

This crowdsourced website launched in August 2026, and much of its information is currently placeholder content. We’re asking mail carriers to help us identify errors and submit corrections as we add practical, professional insights from experienced carriers to every page.

🕐 Daily Schedule and Breaks for CCAs

The most important thing to learn is to try to do your assigned tasks as efficiently as possible and to communicate any problems or delays with your Manager.  But ALSO, realize that most management demands are unrealistice, trying to push you into times that are usually too fast to be safe and accurate.  But you will have to navigate the communication here with your Manager and your Union Steward, to survive your 90 days.

📅 Reporting to Work

  • You'll be given a report time — typically early morning — when you are expected to clock in using your MDD scanner.
  • Use the "Begin Tour" function to start your workday and ensure accurate pay tracking.
  • .

🥪 Lunch Breaks

  • CCAs are entitled to an unpaid lunch break, usually 30 minutes.
  • You must scan "Begin Lunch" and "End Lunch" on your MDD scanner.
  • Lunch should be taken at the time and location assigned by your supervisor (typically on the street or at the station).
  • If your schedule is disrupted, communicate with management before skipping or delaying lunch.

☕ Comfort (Rest) Breaks

  • CCAs are generally allowed a paid 10-minute break in the first half and second half of their shift (per local practice or MOU).
  • These are not required to be scanned but should be taken responsibly.
  • If conditions prevent a break (e.g., bad weather, no facilities), report this to your supervisor.

📲 Communicating Delays or Schedule Changes

  • If you anticipate running late on your route, notify your supervisor before your expected return time.
  • Use PS Form 3996 to request overtime or auxiliary help if you can't complete your assignment on time.
  • Unexpected delays (dogs, blocked access, customer issues) should be logged with your scanner and reported as needed.

⏰ Common Scanning Events Related to Time

  • Begin Tour – Start of your workday
  • Leave to Street – When you begin delivery
  • Begin Lunch / End Lunch – Used for unpaid break
  • Return to Office – After delivery is complete
  • End Tour – When you officially clock out

🧾 Helpful Forms

  • PS Form 3996: Used to request additional time or assistance
  • PS Form 1571: Documents curtailed or undelivered mail due to time or workload constraints

📚 Related Topics

Final Tip

Staying on schedule as a CCA is about more than just speed — it's about accuracy, safety, and clear communication. Use your scanner, breaks, and USPS policies to your advantage, and never hesitate to request help if needed.

📝 Test Your Knowledge: Stage 2 Badge: Daily Schedule and Breaks

10 questions — 70% to pass, 80% Skilled, 90% Mastered, 100% Perfect.

1. Which scanner function does the page say starts your workday and ensures accurate pay tracking?
2. According to the page, a CCA's lunch break is:
3. Which two scans does the page say you must make for lunch?
4. If your schedule is disrupted, what does the page say to do before skipping or delaying lunch?
5. How does the page describe comfort (rest) breaks?
6. Per the page, do comfort breaks have to be scanned?
7. If you anticipate running late on your route, when does the page say to notify your supervisor?
8. Which form does the page say to use to request overtime or auxiliary help when you can't finish on time?
9. What does PS Form 1571 document, according to the page?
10. Which scanning event does the page say is used after delivery is complete?

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Stage 2 continues

This stage has 2 more parts below. Read on in order, and take each test as you reach it: it opens on the course's own page and brings you back here when you're done.

Stage 2 · Course 1 of 2

Timekeeping and Rings

How to clock in, clock out, and scan the key events that drive your pay and route evaluation.

Open this course on its own page →

📊 Clock Rings & Timekeeping for CCAs

Understanding how to properly clock in, clock out, and scan key events is essential to your pay, route evaluation, and performance documentation. This guide walks you through the basic clock ring functions every CCA needs to know, plus how to protect yourself with proper timekeeping practices.

⏱️ What Are Clock Rings?

Clock rings are time entries recorded in the USPS TACS (Time and Attendance Collection System). Each scan you make during the day — starting, stopping, leaving the office, returning — creates a timestamp that determines your work hours, route time, and overtime eligibility.

📲 Clock Ring Events You'll Use Daily

  • Begin Tour (BT): Clock in at the start of your shift.
  • Leave to Street (LTS): Scan when departing the office for your route.
  • Begin Lunch / End Lunch: Required for unpaid lunch breaks (typically 30 minutes).
  • Return to Office (RTO): Scan when you arrive back at the station.
  • End Tour (ET): Final scan of the day before clocking out.

Tip: Always check the scanner screen to confirm the event was recorded correctly. If you miss a scan, notify your supervisor immediately.

📋 What Counts as Work Time?

  • Casing mail, loading the vehicle, and preparing for delivery all count as "on the clock."
  • Driving, walking, and delivering on the route are street time and must be tracked properly.
  • Lunch breaks are unpaid — everything else should be recorded accurately with the correct ring.

🧾 What If You Need Overtime?

  • If you believe you won't complete your assignment within the scheduled time, submit a PS Form 3996 before leaving the office.
  • Supervisors may adjust your workload or approve extra time. If your request is denied but you're delayed, call the station from the street and notify them.
  • Document everything clearly — protect yourself from discipline and help maintain route accuracy.

⚠️ Common Clock Ring Mistakes

  • Forgetting to scan "Return to Office" before ending your tour
  • Not scanning "Begin/End Lunch" properly (results in incorrect pay)
  • Scanning events out of order or too early (e.g., LTS before you're actually ready)

📚 Related Pages & Tools

Final Tip

Your time is your paycheck — and your protection. Accurate clock rings ensure fair compensation, protect your route from overburdening, and support your credibility as a carrier. When uncertain, seek assistance from your station.

Stage 2 · Course 2 of 2

Safety

The habits and precautions that keep you safe in the office, on the road, and on the route.

Open this course on its own page →

🦺 Safety Is Part of the Job

Letter carriers work outdoors, drive for a living, lift heavy trays, and deal with unpredictable conditions every day — dogs, traffic, weather, uneven sidewalks. Safety isn't a separate topic from the job; it's baked into every part of it. A carrier who gets hurt can't deliver mail, so protecting yourself is also protecting your route.

🚚 Vehicle Safety

  • Complete a Vehicle Condition Report (VCR) before taking out an LLV or other postal vehicle — don't drive a vehicle with a known defect.
  • Wear your seatbelt for every mile, including short hops between blocks.
  • Set the parking brake and check your mirrors before dismounting on a delivery stop.
  • Never leave a vehicle running and unattended with the door open longer than necessary.

🐕 Dog Safety

  • Read the case and scanner notes for dog warnings before you reach an address.
  • Never enter a fenced yard or gate uninvited, even if the dog looks friendly.
  • Carry your dog spray and know how to use it — carriers are trained on this during onboarding.
  • If a dog is loose or aggressive, skip the delivery, note it in the scanner, and report it to your supervisor.

🌡️ Weather and Environmental Hazards

  • Heat: hydrate throughout the day, take shade breaks when you can, and know the signs of heat exhaustion (dizziness, heavy sweating, nausea).
  • Cold and ice: watch your footing on icy steps and walkways; a slower, careful pace beats a fall.
  • Storms: if lightning or severe weather rolls in, get to your vehicle and contact your station — no delivery is worth the risk.
Heat Safety

Heat-related illness comes on fast. If you feel dizzy, nauseated, or stop sweating on a hot day, stop, cool down, and tell your supervisor — don't try to push through it.

🏋️ Lifting and Ergonomics

  • Lift with your legs, not your back — bend your knees, keep the load close to your body.
  • Don't overload your satchel or cart beyond what you can carry comfortably and safely.
  • Ask for help with heavy parcels rather than straining alone.

📝 Reporting an Injury or Hazard

Report unsafe conditions and injuries the same day, even if they seem minor — an unreported strain today can become a bigger issue later, and a paper trail protects you either way.

  • PS Form 1767 — report a hazard: a damaged vehicle, a broken sidewalk, an aggressive animal, anything unsafe.
  • CA-1 — file for a traumatic, on-the-job injury.
  • CA-2 — file for an occupational disease or exposure that develops over time.

Your shop steward can help you through any of these forms and make sure the report actually gets filed correctly. See Section 6: Safety, Labor Rights, and Grievance Process for more on your rights around injury reporting.

Final Tip

When in doubt, report it. A documented hazard or minor injury today is far better than an undocumented one that gets worse.

End of Stage 2

Pass every test in this stage and its award is yours: Gold for an average of 90% or more, Silver 80, Bronze 70, Granite 60. Back to My Training.