AliExpress Tracking: Find Your Number & Track Any Order

AliExpress tracking confuses millions of shoppers: your order ships from China, changes hands between Cainiao, China Post, and your local courier, and the number often sits still for days. When updates stall — or the number won’t work at all — it’s easy to assume your package is lost. This guide shows you exactly where to find your tracking number, how to read every status, and how to follow your parcel from the warehouse to your door.

Seeing an unfamiliar carrier on a China order? See our JCEX tracking guide — what it is, whether it’s legit, and how to track it.

Buying from DHgate? See our complete DHgate tracking guide for finding your number, fixing stuck updates, and spotting invalid tracking.

Here’s the single most useful thing to understand up front: AliExpress is not a shipping company. It’s a marketplace. When you buy, the seller chooses a shipping method — most often AliExpress Standard Shipping, which is run by Alibaba’s logistics arm, Cainiao. Your parcel then hands off between a Chinese carrier, an international line-haul, and your national postal service. One tracking number follows it the whole way, but the scans come from different systems — so gaps are normal, not a sign of trouble.

Order number vs. tracking number (they’re not the same)

This trips up more shoppers than anything else. Your AliExpress order number and your tracking number are two completely different things.

• An order number is AliExpress’s internal ID for your purchase. It looks like 8201847264920331 — all digits, usually 15–16 of them. It’s useless for tracking on any external site.




• A tracking number is issued by the carrier once the parcel physically ships. It usually mixes letters and numbers, like LP00612345678901 or YT2512345678901234, and often ends in CN for China.

If you paste your order number into a tracking tool and get “not found,” that’s almost always the reason. You need the carrier’s tracking number, and it only appears after the seller ships.

Where to find your AliExpress tracking number

You’ll find the number inside your account, once the order status changes to “Shipped.” Here’s the fastest path on both the app and the website.

1. Open My Orders (tap your profile, then Orders in the app).




2. Find the order and tap View Details.




3. Look for Tracking Number or Logistics. If the seller has shipped, the number shows there, often next to the carrier name.




4. Tap it to copy, or use the built-in Track Order button for a basic timeline.

Shortcut: No tracking number showing yet? The order is probably still in the seller’s “processing” window (1–7 days is normal). Until it ships, there’s nothing to track. If it’s been more than a week, message the seller through My Orders → Contact Seller before opening a dispute.

How to track your AliExpress package, step by step

Once you have the number, you have three ways to follow it. Each has a trade-off.

1. On AliExpress itself

The Track Order button gives you a basic timeline. It’s fine for a quick glance, but it often lags behind the carrier’s own data and shows less detail during the international leg.

2. On the carrier’s website

You can paste the number into the carrier that’s actually moving it — Cainiao, China Post, 4PX, and so on. The catch: once your parcel is handed to your local post office, the Chinese carrier’s page often stops updating, and you have to switch to your national carrier to see the last mile.

3. In one universal tracker

This is where the multi-carrier problem solves itself. A universal tracker detects the carrier automatically and stitches every hand-off — China, line-haul, customs, and your local courier — into one timeline. That’s exactly what PackageTracking.app does: we follow 1,700+ carriers, so the same AliExpress number keeps updating from the warehouse in Yiwu to the van on your street, without you hunting for which site to check today.

Which carriers does AliExpress use?

Sellers pick the carrier, so what you get depends on the shipping option you chose at checkout and where you live. These are the ones you’ll see most:

Carrier	When you’ll see it	Track it
Cainiao	Powers AliExpress Standard Shipping — the default for most orders	Cainiao tracking
China Post	Free/economy shipping and AliExpress Saver	China Post tracking
4PX	Common on Standard and consolidated parcels	4PX tracking
Yanwen	Small, lightweight orders on economy lines	Yanwen tracking
ePacket	Older economy option, still seen on cheap items	ePacket tracking
Equick	AliExpress and Shein parcels to Europe/US	Equick tracking
Local post	The last mile — USPS, Royal Mail, PostNL, Canada Post, etc.	Your national carrier

The takeaway: a single AliExpress order can involve two or three of these. That’s normal, and it’s why the tracking looks fragmented if you only check one carrier’s site.

What AliExpress tracking numbers look like

Knowing the format helps you tell which carrier has your parcel — and spot a fake number (more on that below). These are the patterns you’ll run into most:

Carrier / method	Example format	Notes
AliExpress Standard / Cainiao	LP00612345678901	Starts with LP, digits after.
Yanwen	YT2512345678901234	Starts with YT.
China Post (registered)	RS123456785CN	2 letters, 9 digits, ends CN.
4PX / universal (UPU)	UG123456789YP	Letter-heavy, country suffix.

A tracking number that ends in CN almost always started in China — helpful when you’re working out which leg of the journey your parcel is on.

How long does AliExpress take to deliver?

Delivery time depends almost entirely on the shipping method the seller offered and where you are. AliExpress lists standard shipping as roughly 15–45 days; in practice, Cainiao’s dedicated routes have made it faster to major markets. Here’s a realistic range by method.

Shipping method	Typical to US	Typical to UK/EU	Tracking
AliExpress Premium / Cainiao Expedited	7–12 days	7–12 days	Full, end-to-end
AliExpress Standard Shipping	12–20 days	10–20 days	Full, end-to-end
AliExpress Saver	20–35 days	15–30 days	Partial
Free / economy shipping	25–45+ days	20–40 days	Limited, often China-only

Two things stretch these numbers: customs clearance and seasonal peaks (November’s 11.11 sale, Chinese New Year, and December). If your parcel goes quiet for a week during any of those, it’s queueing, not lost.

AliExpress Choice: faster shipping, better tracking

If your order carries the Choice badge, tracking behaves differently — and usually better. Choice items sit in Cainiao’s fulfilment warehouses before you buy, get bundled with other Choice orders, and travel on dedicated freight lanes. Because the parcel is already in stock, the clock starts at checkout instead of waiting on the seller.

What that means for tracking:

• Faster delivery. Independent 2026 data puts median Choice delivery at about 5–7 days to the US, UK, France and Germany — and 3–8 days when the item ships from a local warehouse.




• Denser scans. Choice parcels typically update every 12–24 hours with end-to-end Cainiao tracking, so you see far fewer of the silent gaps that standard shipping is known for.




• Free returns in major markets, which changes how a “returned” status plays out.

AliExpress tracking statuses, explained

The wording changes between carriers, but the milestones are the same. Here’s what the common ones actually mean.

Status	What it means
Order shipped / info received	The carrier has your details. The parcel may not have physically moved yet — scans usually start in 1–3 days.
Arrived at facility	It’s at a sorting hub, being routed toward the airport or your country.
Departed / in transit to destination	On the international line-haul. Expect a quiet stretch here — this is normal.
Customs clearance	Being inspected on import. Brief holds are routine; it moves on once cleared.
Handed to local carrier	Your national post now has it. Switch to their tracking for the last mile.
Out for delivery	On the van today.
Delivery exception	Something interrupted delivery — address issue, failed attempt, or a hold. Often needs a quick action from you.
Available for pickup	Waiting at a locker or post office. Collect it before the deadline.

Decoding the exact Cainiao wording

AliExpress Standard and Cainiao use their own phrasing, which can be cryptic. Here’s what the ones people search most actually mean.

What the tracking says	What’s really happening
“Order departed from selling country/region”	Your parcel has left China on the international leg. Expect the quiet stretch now.
“Handed over to airline”	Loaded for its flight — it’s about to cross borders.
“Arrived at the delivery country/region”	It landed in your country. This is not the same as cleared customs.
“Import customs clearance start / complete”	The customs step. “Complete” means it’s cleared and moving on.
“Sent to the delivery courier”	Handed to your national post — switch to their tracking for the last mile.
“Delivery has been completed”	Marked delivered. If it’s not in hand, wait 24–48 hours, then check the scan location.

Why is my AliExpress tracking not updating?

Nine times out of ten, nothing is wrong. A parcel that hasn’t updated in days is almost always mid-journey. The usual causes:

• The international leg. Once a parcel leaves China by air or sea, it can go 5–10 days with no scan until it lands and clears customs. This silent stretch is the number-one reason people panic.




• A carrier hand-off. When your parcel moves from the Chinese carrier to your local post, the old tracking page stops updating. The new scans appear under your national carrier instead.




• Weekend or holiday. Sorting hubs scan less on weekends and around Chinese New Year.

If it’s been more than 15–20 days with zero movement after the first scan, that’s worth acting on. Start with our guide to a tracking number that isn’t working, then message the seller.

Common AliExpress tracking problems (and fixes)

“Returned to sender”

This means the parcel is heading back to China — usually an undeliverable address, an unpaid customs charge, or an unclaimed pickup. Contact the seller immediately and open a dispute if a re-ship or refund isn’t offered. See what “return to sender” means for the full playbook.

“Delivered” but nothing arrived

First, wait 24–48 hours — carriers sometimes scan “delivered” a little early. Then check with neighbours and around your property, and look at the delivery scan’s location. If it’s genuinely missing, open a dispute under AliExpress Buyer Protection; you generally have 15 days after delivery is confirmed to do so.

Fake or seller-generated tracking numbers

Watch for this: Some sellers upload a placeholder number to start the clock, before the parcel actually ships. Warning signs: the number never gets a real scan, it belongs to a different country, or it shows “delivered” to an address that isn’t yours. If a number sits at “info received” for 7+ days with no movement, message the seller — and if they stall, open a dispute. A number that shows activity in the wrong country is your evidence.

Can’t find the number? Track without it

If the seller never provided a usable number, you’re not stuck. You can still push the order through AliExpress’s own logistics view, and for anything that shipped via your national post, there are ways to trace it by address or reference. We cover the options in how to track a package without a tracking number.

And if you order from AliExpress often, the real fix is to stop juggling carrier sites altogether. Add every order to one place, and let the tracker follow each parcel across every hand-off automatically — with a notification when the status changes.

The one-place fix: Paste any AliExpress, Cainiao, or China Post number into PackageTracking.app and it auto-detects the carrier, follows the hand-offs, and alerts you on every update — so a quiet international leg never feels like a lost parcel.

Customs and duties in 2026: what changed

This is where a lot of “why is my parcel stuck?” questions come from, and the rules shifted recently. If your tracking sits on customs clearance for days, an unpaid charge is usually the cause — check your email and the carrier’s site for a payment request.

Region	What you pay now
United States	The $800 duty-free “de minimis” allowance ended in 2025 — first for China and Hong Kong in May, then for all countries in August. AliExpress parcels that once arrived duty-free can now owe import duty, collected before delivery.
European Union	VAT applies from the first cent, usually collected at checkout through the IOSS scheme. From 1 July 2026, the €150 duty-free threshold was replaced by a temporary €3-per-item customs duty on low-value parcels.
United Kingdom	VAT is charged at checkout on consignments up to £135. Above that, VAT and duty are collected on import before your parcel is released.

The practical upshot: a parcel held at customs today is far more likely to be waiting on a small duty payment than genuinely stuck. Sources: White House (US), Avalara (EU).

How to open an AliExpress dispute

If a parcel is genuinely lost, arrives damaged, or never matches its description, Buyer Protection is your safety net. The key is acting inside the window — generally 15 days after delivery is confirmed, though your order page shows the exact countdown.

1. Go to My Orders and open the order.




2. Tap Open Dispute (or Returns & refunds).




3. Choose the reason — not received, not as described, or damaged.




4. Add evidence: photos, and the tracking screenshot if the number shows no real movement or a scan in the wrong country.




5. Propose a refund (full or partial). The seller has a set time to respond; if they don’t, AliExpress steps in.

A tracking history that never left “info received,” or that shows delivery to the wrong country, is your strongest evidence — another reason to keep an eye on the timeline rather than the seller’s word.

AliExpress tracking FAQ

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