Certified Mail From the IRS: What It Means & Which Letters Come That Way

Here's what the green card or the "certified mail" tracking notice actually means: the IRS sends certified mail when the law requires proof that it warned you — which means a certified letter almost always starts a legal clock: 30 days on levy and lien notices, 90 days on a Notice of Deficiency. Regular bills come by regular mail; certified mail is reserved for the letters with teeth.

That's the reason to pick it up the same day. Here's what's probably in the envelope, why refusing it is the worst move available, and what to do with each letter.

The letters that come certified

Letter	What it is	Your clock
LT11 / Letter 1058	Final notice of intent to levy (wages, bank accounts)	30 days to request a CDP hearing
CP90	Final notice of intent to levy, incl. Social Security	30 days
CP297	Final levy notice for businesses (often payroll tax)	30 days
CP3219A	Notice of Deficiency — the IRS is assessing proposed tax	90 days to petition Tax Court
Letter 3172	A federal tax lien was filed against you	30 days to request a CDP hearing
CP523	Your payment plan is being terminated	~30 days to cure or appeal

(Certified isn't a guarantee of which letter — occasionally other correspondence comes certified — but these are the overwhelming majority. The letter number in the corner settles it: look yours up in the Notice Decoder, or use the deadline calculator to turn the printed date into your actual deadline.)

Refusing the letter doesn't refuse the deadline

The most expensive myth in IRS mail: "if I don't sign for it, it doesn't count." It counts. The IRS meets its legal obligation by sending the notice to your last known address — your signature is not required for the clock to start. Refuse the letter or let it sit at the post office, and the only thing you've accomplished is spending your 30 or 90 days not knowing what's coming.

The same logic applies to a stale address: if you've moved and never told the IRS (Form 8822), certified letters go to the old address and the clocks run anyway. Update your address the moment you move — it's the cheapest insurance in tax life.

What to do, by letter

• Final levy notice (LT11/CP90/CP297): the 30-day Collection Due Process window is the whole game — a timely Form 12153 generally freezes levies while your case is heard. Where this sits in the collection sequence, and what happens if garnishment has already started.
• Notice of Deficiency (CP3219A): 90 days to petition Tax Court — the only way to dispute without paying first. If the underlying CP2000 was simply wrong, documentation can still fix it inside the window.
• Lien filing (Letter 3172): the lien is a claim, not a seizure — but it clouds titles and loans. Appeal rights plus release/withdrawal routes are on the 3172 guide.
• Payment plan termination (CP523): cure it inside the window and the plan usually survives — the full playbook.

The one-paragraph strategy

Open it today, find the letter number, calculate the real deadline from the printed date, and use the window while it exists — every certified letter carries a right that expires with it. If the deadline is close or already past, that's exactly the moment a free consultation earns its keep: we'll identify the letter, confirm the clock, and get the response moving the same week.