Your work. Your records.
Courier and Messenger Workplace Records
Courier work involves receiving delivery instructions, transporting items and completing handoffs. A workplace concern may depend on which instructions changed or when a recipient was unavailable. Describe your own route and responsibility in general terms, protecting sensitive materials even when the delivery involved records, specimens or medication.
Call now(800) 800-5555Free initial case evaluation. Representation depends on work state and case eligibility. This guide explains record preparation; it does not determine whether a legal claim exists.
A record map for your role
What to organize first
Handoff sequence
List pickup, attempted delivery and final custody changes using general item descriptions.
Dispatch revision
Record the changed instruction and the response to your clarification request.
Own compensation
Pair your pay entry with the relevant route period, excluding recipient or package information.
Start with the work you actually do
Pick up and deliver messages, documents, packages, and other items between offices or departments within an establishment or directly to other business concerns, traveling by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, automobile, or public conveyance.
O*NET classifies this occupation as Couriers and Messengers (43-5021.00). Its description covers a typical occupation, not every workplace or individual job. It does not establish employee status, overtime eligibility or employer misconduct.
- Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities.Source task 20903 · updated 08/2026
- Walk, ride bicycles, drive vehicles, or use public conveyances to reach destinations to deliver messages or materials.Source task 7010 · updated 08/2026
- Load vehicles with listed goods, ensuring goods are loaded correctly and taking precautions with hazardous goods.Source task 7011 · updated 08/2026
- Receive messages or materials to be delivered, and information on recipients, such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and delivery instructions, communicated via telephone, two-way radio, or in person.Source task 7013 · updated 08/2026
A reference point for your pay records
May 2025 wage estimates by state
Compare your pay records with published BLS estimates for Couriers and Messengers (SOC 43-5021). These describe an occupation across employers. They are not a required pay rate, an overtime calculation, or evidence of discrimination or unpaid wages.
Select your work state to see its published pay range. No personal pay information is requested or sent.
The 25th and 75th percentiles mark the middle half of the estimated wage distribution; the median is its midpoint. Actual pay can differ with experience, employer, location and duties. Hourly and annual figures are shown as published, without converting one into the other.
All published state estimates for this occupation
| State | Hourly 25th | Hourly median | Hourly 75th | Annual median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $14.15 | $16.74 | $18.50 | $34,820 |
| Alaska | $17.86 | $20.06 | $21.97 | $41,720 |
| Arizona | $17.75 | $18.74 | $21.38 | $38,980 |
| Arkansas | $16.28 | $17.82 | $18.72 | $37,070 |
| Connecticut | $17.42 | $18.98 | $22.52 | $39,480 |
| Delaware | $17.67 | $18.63 | $18.67 | $38,760 |
| Florida | $16.53 | $18.14 | $20.29 | $37,740 |
| Georgia | $16.88 | $18.94 | $22.09 | $39,400 |
| Hawaii | $18.19 | $18.55 | $20.43 | $38,580 |
| Idaho | $15.00 | $17.36 | $19.23 | $36,110 |
| Indiana | $17.06 | $17.92 | $19.38 | $37,270 |
| Iowa | $17.43 | $18.49 | $19.66 | $38,460 |
| Kansas | $16.71 | $18.45 | $21.63 | $38,370 |
| Kentucky | $13.53 | $17.25 | $19.11 | $35,880 |
| Louisiana | $13.95 | $16.10 | $18.57 | $33,490 |
| Maine | $18.54 | $20.06 | $23.07 | $41,710 |
| Michigan | $16.72 | $18.24 | $20.30 | $37,940 |
| Minnesota | $18.78 | $21.57 | $23.04 | $44,860 |
| Mississippi | $14.32 | $17.20 | $18.36 | $35,780 |
| Missouri | $18.40 | $19.91 | $21.51 | $41,410 |
| Montana | $16.37 | $19.27 | $21.06 | $40,080 |
| Nebraska | $13.84 | $16.64 | $20.86 | $34,600 |
| New Hampshire | $17.54 | $19.53 | $23.72 | $40,630 |
| New Mexico | $15.17 | $18.54 | $19.20 | $38,570 |
| New York | $17.66 | $18.63 | $22.57 | $38,740 |
| North Carolina | $17.11 | $18.80 | $20.07 | $39,100 |
| North Dakota | $17.64 | $18.31 | $21.28 | $38,090 |
| Ohio | $16.64 | $18.42 | $20.96 | $38,320 |
| Oklahoma | $17.24 | $18.71 | $20.83 | $38,910 |
| Pennsylvania | $17.24 | $19.09 | $22.17 | $39,700 |
| Rhode Island | $15.00 | $17.70 | $17.83 | $36,810 |
| South Dakota | $14.86 | $15.22 | $17.58 | $31,650 |
| Tennessee | $17.56 | $19.36 | $21.21 | $40,270 |
| Texas | $17.57 | $18.87 | $21.78 | $39,260 |
| Utah | $19.73 | $20.60 | $20.61 | $42,840 |
| Vermont | $19.19 | $21.92 | $22.19 | $45,600 |
| Virginia | $17.50 | $18.18 | $21.82 | $37,820 |
| West Virginia | $15.41 | $16.77 | $18.14 | $34,890 |
| Wisconsin | $17.13 | $17.75 | $20.83 | $36,910 |
| Wyoming | $11.84 | $15.23 | $23.71 | $31,680 |
“Not published” preserves unavailable or suppressed source cells. “Above reporting limit” preserves a top-coded source value without inventing a number. A missing state estimate does not establish service eligibility. The data describe wage and salary employment; they do not measure self-employment income.
Source: BLS May 2025 state workbook · OEWS tables · BLS technical notes. Use your own schedule, pay statement and compensation terms to identify the question you want reviewed.
Trace custody and instructions
Record when you received the item, the general delivery requirement and who authorized a route change. Note attempted handoffs and information received from dispatch. Distinguish a status you personally verified from one later reported by another person, without opening or photographing package contents.
Explain work around travel
List loading, waiting, delivery attempts and required return tasks relevant to your own hours or compensation question. Identify the terms in your agreement and the disputed entry. A location trace or delivery completion time does not necessarily establish every task you performed.
Protect recipients and transported material
Do not retain recipient addresses, medical labels, identity documents or proof-of-delivery images in a personal file. Identify relevant record types and dates for review. Keep your own permitted dispatch messages and pay records, without accessing a delivery platform after authorization ends.
Choose your next step
Review the workplace retaliation guide, unpaid wages guide, or discrimination guide if those concerns fit your experience. A job title alone does not establish a claim.
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