Do I Need to Be Home for a Delivery or Installation?

Most deliveries fall into one of three buckets:

• Doorstep packages. No signature, no entry. Nobody needs to be home.
• Signature-required packages. Someone has to sign, and for adult-signature parcels that person must be 21 or older with a photo ID.
• In-home delivery, installation, or assembly. A crew comes inside to set up an appliance, connect a washer, or build furniture. An adult has to let them in and stay while they work.

The third bucket is the one that eats a workday, because the window is wide and the crew needs a yes or no on the spot.

For appliance delivery, yes. Lowe's asks you to have an adult age 18 or older present at the appointment to sign for the delivery (Lowe's appliance delivery help).

For appliance delivery, yes. Home Depot's appliance delivery checklist says an adult at least 18 years old who is authorized to make decisions must be present. If nobody is there when the delivery agent arrives, you have to call and reschedule for the next available date (Home Depot delivery checklist, PDF).

For assembly, yes. IKEA's assembly service page says a representative 18 or older should be present when the assembler arrives (IKEA assembly service). For delivery-only orders, check your order confirmation; we didn't find a single rule on IKEA's site that covers every delivery type.

It depends on the item and the delivery partner, and we couldn't confirm one current rule on their sites. For anything carried inside and hooked up, plan on an adult needing to be there, and confirm in your order details or with customer service before the day of delivery.

Usually not. Most parcels are left without a signature. The exceptions are the ones the shipper flags:

• FedEx Indirect Signature: someone at or near the address can sign, like a neighbor or building manager. Direct Signature: someone at your address must sign. Adult Signature: someone 21 or older with a valid government-issued photo ID (FedEx signature options).
• UPS Signature Required: the package won't be left unattended unless an approved authorization is in place; if nobody can sign, UPS may try again the next business day or you can redirect it. Adult Signature Required: someone 21 or older must be present (UPS signature-required deliveries).

No. Safelite says you don't need to wait with your vehicle, but the technician needs your keys and will call the phone numbers on your order. If they can't reach you after multiple attempts, the appointment gets rescheduled (Safelite mobile service help). That one is about your car, not your house, so it's usually the easiest to work around.

You have a few honest options:

• Ask for the first window of the day, or a weekend slot if the retailer offers one.
• Ask a neighbor or family member, and give the retailer their name and number ahead of time.
• Ask the retailer whether a person you designate can accept the delivery for you. Their policy decides this, not ours.
• Book a Bell Rep.

When the visit happens inside your home, a Bell Rep is built for it. Your Bell Rep is 21 or older and background-checked, arrives before the crew, verifies the service provider's ID, and sends you photo updates while you stay at work. Read what a Bell Rep does, or if a contractor (not a delivery) is on the calendar, see do I need to be home for a contractor.

Bell is launching in New Braunfels and Carrollton, with Dallas next.