what qualifies as certified mail?

Question

is government mail certified, like a summons?

Answer 1

You take the letter to the post office and say, "I want to send this via Certified Mail."

Certified mail provides positive proof of delivery. Optionally it provides the name and actual delivery address of the recipient, and / or restricted delivery to the recipient only.

Any mail can be certified. Whether a summons can be served by Certified Mail is up to local law and practice. I've received summonses by ordinary mail for traffic tickets.

Answer 2

Summons are almost always sent certified mail. Certified mail is a specific type of mail with the United States Postal Service that includes a return receipt. It may ONLY be signed by the addressee, and no representative thereof to be correct for service of summons per Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 4(d). Do not confuse certified mail with a service such as FedEx. They are different!

Answer 3

Certified mail is a class of postage that give the sender and receiver an "upgrade in benefits" that "regular" mail does not get, in exchange for higher postage rates.