A mailpiece can only be canceled if your cancellation window has not yet elapsed. For all accounts, a default cancellation window of 5 minutes is set for letters. Furthermore, accounts with a Growth Edition subscription have the ability to modify their cancellation windows to be set between 1 minute to 3 days. If you'd like the ability to modify your cancellation window, check out our Growth edition. If you do not wish to upgrade, then we recommend having your developer write buffer time into your Lob integration that gives you time to cancel before submitting a request to Lob.
Our API is designed to process mailings on a continuous, real-time basis, very much like email. Once mailings are processed, they get intermingled with tens of thousands of orders from all our other customers so it is difficult to pull them back.
You can cancel a mailpiece one of two ways:
- To cancel via an API request, please see our documentation here
- To cancel via the dashboard:
- Go to the letters tab of your dashboard
- Search for the letter you'd like to cancel, click it
- Click the cancel icon in the upper right-hand corner
Canceling Checks
If you were unable to stop a check sent through Lob, you can still prevent it from being deposited by contacting your bank and placing a Stop Payment on the check. This can be done by contacting and providing your bank with the check number.
Cancellation Window
The cancellation window on your account will delay the sending of all postcards, letters, and checks by the desired window as a precautionary measure. This allows you to be able to audit your mailpieces sent to Lob to ensure they are rendered and designed as intended. Editable cancellation windows are available for Growth and Enterprise subscriptions.
You can modify your cancellation window for postcards, letters, and checks individually in your Dashboard Settings. Keep in mind that any changes submitted on this page will only apply to mailings sent afterward, not mailings that have already been submitted.
You can edit your cancellation window following these steps:
- Go to your account settings using this link here.
- On the cancellation window, under accounts, click on the pen icon to edit your cancellation window.
- Once you’ve set up the new cancellation window for either of the mailpieces, hit the save button and you’re all set.