Accurate timestamps are the foundation of reliable shipment tracking. They power delivery estimates, trigger customer notifications, and help support teams troubleshoot delays. But behind the scenes, carrier timestamp data has long been inconsistent, creating visibility gaps for shippers and platforms alike.
Today, we’re excited to announce a new feature for the EasyPost Tracking API: geocoded tracking locations with automatic time zone assignment.
What’s the issue with current timestamps?
If you’ve worked with tracking data from multiple carriers, you’ve likely noticed something: the timestamps don’t always line up.
Some carriers return timestamps in UTC, while others return them in the local time of where the package was scanned. This leads to confusion for both the shipper and recipient.
For businesses relying on tracking events to trigger customer messages, schedule deliveries, or build analytics dashboards, clarity matters.
Our solution? Geocoded time zones
With this update, EasyPost uses available carrier location data to determine the correct time zone for each tracking event. When a tracking_location object contains geographic information such as city, state, ZIP code, or country, EasyPost will:
- Map the location to a real-world geographic point.
- Determine the most likely time zone for that point.
- Store and present the event timestamp with the correct local time zone offset.
This means a scan event in Denver, CO, will now appear as “2025-01-12T07:03:00-07:00” rather than defaulting to UTC. When carrier location data is insufficient, EasyPost will use UTC to ensure consistency. For example, that Denver scan event above would appear as “2025-01-12T14:03:00Z.”
Please note that the current datetime field will still be included in the tracking response.
How accurate are the geocoded time zones?
The Tracking API will return one of the following confidence levels based on the information available. These confidence levels are designed to help you make smart decisions in your customer messaging.
For example, you might choose to display local times only when confidence is HIGH or MEDIUM, and generic templates for LOW or NULL events.
| Confidence level | Description |
| HIGH | Time zone is determined using precise city and state information provided by the carrier. |
| MEDIUM | Time zone is inferred using postal code-level data when city or state information is unavailable. |
| LOW | Time zone is estimated using carrier fallback logic or interpolated location data when precise geographic details are missing. |
| NULL | The carrier did not provide valid location information. When location data is unavailable or cannot be determined for a tracking event, associated location fields are returned as null. |
Better tracking is on its way
This feature is currently live for all tracking events processed through EasyPost.
To learn more about how tracking locations, time zones, and confidence levels work, visit our Tracking API documentation or reach out to our support team.
Track every shipment with confidence
With EasyPost’s Tracking API, you can own the customer experience with branded tracking pages, empower your business with informed delivery estimates, and increase customer satisfaction with accurate shipping notifications.
