''Avis de réception'' (English: advice or acknowledgment of receipt) is a postal service returning to the sender a form or card signed by the recipient. This is evidence that the letter was received, and these forms (or cards) are frequently seen with legal endorsements. It had existed under various names in some postal entities as early as the late 18th century, and was adopted by the GPU

General Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It has 192 member states and is headquartered in Be ...

in 1875, and again by its successor, the UPU

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It has 192 member states and is headquartered in Be ...

in 1879. Equivalent terms include ''aviso de recibo'', acknowledgment of receipt (

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

), advice of receipt, advice of delivery ( UK and much of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

), return receipt requested/required/wanted/demanded (US), ''Rückschein'' (Germany), ''ricevuta di ritorno'' (Italy), ''zwrotne potwierdzenie odbioru'' (Poland), ''aviso de recepción'' (Salvador 1897 stamps),Patrick, Douglas & Mary. ''The Hodder Stamp Dictionary''. London:

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

, 1973, p. 16. and many others. The term ''accusé de réception'' is sometimes seen, although it is inaccurate. The standard abbreviations are AR and AD.

Collecting

While obscure in some countries (such as Canada, Great Britain, and Australia), AR has long been popular in others, including

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and its

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. There is a great deal of

postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and Cover (philately), covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal system ...

material associated with the AR service: postmarks, AR forms and cards, AR covers, AR covering envelopes for returning AR forms (in use until the early to middle 1920s), rates, and practices. The service is still offered by many national post offices and

postal stationery A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or Newspaper wrapper, wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage ...

continues to be issued in connection with it."Registration Stamps, but not as we Know Them! Malaysia's 'PosDAFTAR' Registration System" by Len Stanway in '' Gibbons Stamp Monthly'', Vol. 44, No. 5, October 2013, pp. 132-135.

Gallery

File:Avis de Réception AR mark on stamp of Sudan c. 1903.jpg, An AR mark on a stamp of Sudan. File:AR stamp of Chile 1894.jpg, An AR stamp of Chile, 1894. File:Montenegro 1895 Avis de Réception stamp.jpg, An AR stamp of Montenegro, 1895. File:Bolivar 1903 AR ScH1a.jpg, An AR stamp of Bolivar, 1903 File:Acknowledgment of receipt stamp of Panama.jpg, An AR stamp of Panama, 1904. File:La Poste Avis de réception stationery.jpg, Modern AR stationery of '' La Poste'', France.

Collecting

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading