Speed Post with AD is India Post's speed post service booked with the acknowledgement due option, so that the recipient signs an acknowledgement card (or an electronic proof of delivery) on delivery and it is returned to the sender. It gives a booking receipt with a tracking number, online tracking on indiapost.gov.in and signed proof of delivery. Courts accept it as a valid mode of serving legal notices, including Section 138 cheque bounce notices.
How to send a notice by speed post with AD
- Print the notice and sign it. Keep at least one signed copy for your file.
- Address the envelope to the exact legal name and address: for a company, the registered office from MCA, and separately the business address you dealt with.
- At the post office counter, ask for speed post with acknowledgement (AD).
- Fill the AD card: the sender's name and full address on the return side, and the addressee's name and the article details on the other side as the counter directs. The card is attached to the envelope.
- Pay and collect the booking receipt with the article number. Write the article number on your office copy of the notice.
- Track the article online and save or print the delivery record as soon as it shows delivered.
- Keep the signed AD card when it comes back, stapled to the receipt, tracking printout and notice copy.
Details of filling the card are on AD card post office.
Why it proves service
Under Section 27 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, where a law requires a document to be served by post, service is deemed effected by properly addressing, prepaying and posting it by registered post, and is presumed to have been made when the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course, unless proved otherwise. Courts have extended the same presumption to speed post. For Section 138 notices, the Supreme Court has held that a notice returned "refused" or "unclaimed" at the correct address can be treated as served, and that a drawer who claims non-receipt can still pay within 15 days of receiving the court summons.
The signed AD card goes further than the presumption: it is direct proof of who received it and when. That date matters, because the drawer's 15 days to pay under Section 138 run from receipt of the notice, and the complaint is filed within one month after those 15 days.
Speed post with AD vs registered post AD
| Speed post with AD | Registered post AD | |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking | Yes, online | Yes, online |
| Signed acknowledgement | Yes, with AD | Yes, AD card |
| Speed | Usually faster | Usually slower |
| Legal presumption | Courts have applied Section 27 | Expressly covered by Section 27 |
Many advocates send by both modes, or by one postal mode plus email, so that one record survives any dispute. Read registered post AD for the classic method and RPAD meaning.
Getting it right
- Never post to a guessed address; use the cheque, invoice, GST certificate or MCA record.
- For a company, send to the company and separately to each director named.
- Do not leave the AD card blank on the sender side; it will not come back to you.
- Save the tracking page the day it shows delivered; old records can become harder to retrieve.
FundRaksha Legal sends every notice by post and e-notice within 24 hours and files the proof with the case papers. Use the cheque bounce timeline calculator to work out your deadlines from the delivery date.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-20. Information for Indian businesses; not legal advice.