Courier job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

9

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

Couriers and Messengers

O*NET-SOC 43-5021.00

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$39,200

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Couriers and Messengers (O*NET-SOC 43-5021.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “Courier” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: O*NET's Sample of Reported Titles (titles job holders report), O*NET job-incumbent data, the SOC Index and employer job postings). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities. importance 4.4 of 5
2. Walk, ride bicycles, drive vehicles, or use public conveyances to reach destinations to deliver messages or materials. importance 4.2 of 5
3. Load vehicles with listed goods, ensuring goods are loaded correctly and taking precautions with hazardous goods. importance 4.1 of 5
4. Deliver messages and items, such as newspapers, documents, and packages, between establishment departments and to other establishments and private homes. importance 4.0 of 5
5. Record information, such as items received and delivered and recipients' responses to messages. importance 4.0 of 5
6. Unload and sort items collected along delivery routes. importance 3.9 of 5
7. Sort items to be delivered according to the delivery route. importance 3.9 of 5
8. Plan and follow the most efficient routes for delivering goods. importance 3.9 of 5
9. Perform routine maintenance on delivery vehicles, such as monitoring fluid levels and replenishing fuel. importance 3.8 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Getting Information, Handling and Moving Objects and Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Obtain signatures and payments, or arrange for recipients to make payments.
• Unload goods from large trucks, and load them onto smaller delivery vehicles.
• Open, sort, and distribute incoming mail.
• Check with home offices after completed deliveries to confirm deliveries and collections and to receive instructions for other deliveries.
• Use telephone to deliver verbal messages.
• Perform general office or clerical work, such as filing materials, operating duplicating machines, or running errands.

Knowledge areas: Transportation and Customer and Personal Service.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Route mapping software. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

Most couriers surveyed by O*NET (80%) name a high school diploma or equivalent as the education the job requires.

Job title: Courier
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Courier to 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.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications to and from hospitals and other medical facilities.
- Walk, ride bicycles, drive vehicles, or use public conveyances to reach destinations to deliver messages or materials.
- Load vehicles with listed goods, ensuring goods are loaded correctly and taking precautions with hazardous goods.
- Deliver messages and items, such as newspapers, documents, and packages, between establishment departments and to other establishments and private homes.
- Record information, such as items received and delivered and recipients' responses to messages.
- Unload and sort items collected along delivery routes.
- Sort items to be delivered according to the delivery route.
- Plan and follow the most efficient routes for delivering goods.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in time management, active listening and speaking
- Working knowledge of Transportation and Customer and Personal Service
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For Couriers and Messengers, the median annual wage was $39,200 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $18.85. BLS estimates about 68,640 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Couriers and Messengers to grow 8.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 23,800 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real courier posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Deliver and pick up medical records, lab specimens, and medications…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only courier work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (time management and active listening): a real situation, what you did and what changed.