What to put in delivery instructions for an apartment
Delivery instructions for an apartment should lead with the entry step, in the fewest words that still make sense: your labelled buzzer code, such as Buzz 2041, and the door to use if it is not obvious. Drivers check the note on the way in or on arrival, so a paragraph gets skimmed. Never include a code that opens the door by itself.
Live with others? BuzzMeBro puts more than one of you on the buzzer. First month free. Start free
The field is useful. It is also easy to over-write, and length is what makes it stop working.
When the driver actually reads it
Each app shows the note at a slightly different moment, and none of them at a desk. What the apps themselves say:
- Uber shows the customer’s delivery notes below their name, and tells drivers to check the note before contacting the customer. On arrival, the app shows details such as intercom and floor numbers.
- Instacart suggests including building security or gate information and directions from the building entrance to your unit.
- Amazon says delivery instructions are visible only to partners delivering with Amazon Logistics. Another carrier will not see them.
- DoorDash keeps instructions on the saved address. To change them, it says to delete the address and add it again.
So the note is read by somebody walking from a car to your door, with a phone in one hand. Write for that person.
What to write
- The entry step, in one short line. Example: Buzz 2041, it rings our phones.
- A second fact only if it changes what they do. Example: front door on King, not the garage door.
- Nothing else.
Label the code. A bare 2041 can be read as a unit, a street number or half a phone number. If your buzzer code differs from your unit, say both: Buzz 2041 (unit 1203). Why the code and the unit differ, and where the code goes in each app.
What to leave out
| What people write | Why it fails |
|---|---|
| A description of the building | They are already outside it |
| Call me when you arrive | Depends on the driver calling and on that phone being answered |
| A door or entry code | A safety problem, and many buildings forbid sharing it |
| Leave at the door | Your door is upstairs, behind the lobby door |
| Two paragraphs of context | Skimmed, and the entry step gets lost in it |
The ceiling on what instructions can do
Instructions can tell a driver what to press. They cannot make a phone ring somewhere useful, and that is the part that often fails.
If the panel holds one number and that phone is in a meeting, the clearest instruction ends with your order on the lobby floor. Uber tells its drivers that if a customer they cannot find does not answer quickly, they can follow the prompts to end the delivery. Why the panel only holds one number.
BuzzMeBro makes the instruction true. The apartment gets its own local number, a buzz rings up to 4 phones at once for $9.99 a month, and Buzz 2041 reaches whoever is home. Start free.
From our own door
- BuzzMeBro has run on our founder’s own Toronto apartment door since August 2026.
- A buzz rings the phones on the apartment that are set to ring, up to 4 at the same time, and whoever answers first lets the driver in.
- When nobody answers, everyone gets a text that someone buzzed, with a number to call back.
Questions people ask
How long should delivery instructions be?
One short line for the entry step, and a second only if it changes what the driver does. The field allows far more, and extra text pushes the part that matters out of view.
Should I put my phone number in there?
The apps already let drivers call or message you, so it rarely adds much. What matters is that the phone is answered when they do.
Do the instructions carry across apps?
No. Each app stores its own, and some attach them to the address while others attach them to the order. Set them once in each app you use, and update them all when anything changes.
What about a photo of the entrance?
If your app lets you add one, it helps in confusing buildings, like a converted house with three doors. It is no substitute for the buzz being answered.
What if the instructions are perfect and it still fails?
Then the problem is downstream of the field. The panel rings one number, and BuzzMeBro is how that one number rings more than one phone in the apartment.
Sources
- Uber, How do I drop off a delivery order?
- Uber, Delivering With Uber Eats
- Instacart, Adding delivery instructions
- Amazon.ca, Deliveries from Amazon Logistics
- DoorDash, How do I change my delivery address?