If you thought you haven’t had mail for a while because your red flag on your rural mail box hasn’t been raised, you should probably go check the box.

Canada Post carriers are no longer raising the little red flag on the side of your mailbox if they have delivered items. The company says it isn’t a change in policy, just a clarification. The corporation recently sent out a directive to rural mail carriers saying: “Customer complaints have led to the realization that there exists some confusion regarding the use of the Signal Device/Red Flag on rural mailboxes. Inaccuracies in some of our corporation documents, both internal and customer facing, have contributed to that confusion. They have been updated to accurately reflect the true purpose of the Signal Device/Red Flag.”

The company’s “Rules for Rural Mailboxes” say the flag is only to be used when you have mail the carrier is supposed to pick up.