An NDR, or non-delivery report, is the record a courier raises when a delivery attempt fails. Shiprocket's help page calls this status "Undelivered": a delivery executive could not deliver the shipment for any of many circumstances. The seller usually has to respond, by asking for a reattempt or correcting details, before the courier returns the parcel.
What causes an NDR?
Shiprocket's NDR explainer names a recipient who is absent or unable to take the parcel, a customer who asks for a later date, and a customer who declines the delivery. Wrong address or phone number, and a closed premises, are common in practice, but the pages above do not list them, so treat them as general experience, not sourced rules.
What happens after an NDR?
Per Shiprocket's help page, after the first failed delivery the courier makes three more attempts, and policies vary by courier. If the status does not move after you request a reattempt, you can escalate it, and use re-escalate if the response is late. After three failed attempts, the courier starts an RTO, a return to the seller.
The same page defines RTO-NDR: a delivery attempt on the returning parcel that fails for similar reasons. A parcel still undeliverable after three such attempts is marked "Disposed Of".
Shiprocket's explainer says the courier retries on the same or next day, and that responding faster shortens the gap between attempts and improves the chance of delivery.
How should a seller handle NDRs?
- Check the NDR list in your courier or aggregator panel every day.
- Call or message the buyer, confirm the address and a delivery time, then submit the reattempt request with the new details.
- Escalate if the courier does not update the status.
- For orders the buyer no longer wants, decide early whether to cancel, so you do not pay forward and return freight.
Shiprocket's March 2026 product update lists bulk NDR actions among new Cargo capabilities, and a Radar tool it says reduces NDR incidents, but it gives no figures for that claim. Treat tool claims as the vendor's own.
Why NDRs cost you money
Every NDR that ends in RTO means freight both ways and a delayed or lost sale. See RTO status meanings, the RTO return-to-origin entry and how to compare couriers on delivered-order cost in best courier for D2C in India.
Blooprint, a Bengaluru e-commerce agency, can look at your Amazon account management metrics, including late and failed deliveries that hit your account health.