What Do You Do If You Lose Your Netflix Envelope?

The small white Tyvek sleeve, or inner envelope, that protects the DVD disc gets lost easily but is important because it contains most of the identification information about the disc. Netflix recommends sticking two discs in one white sleeve if a sleeve gets lost. The existing white sleeve will help Netflix identify your account and check the second DVD in as being returned. If you don't have a second DVD at the time, you can safely return the disc alone in a sealed red outer envelope.

The envelope of the Netflix mailing package is red and contains your address, the Netflix return address and the prepaid postage information. When your red envelope is too damaged to send back or gets lost, Netflix asks customers to either reuse another red return mailer or send discs back in a normal envelope. Customers pay their own return postage when using a normal envelope. You may have to purchase a square envelope to fit the DVD disc and white sleeve.

When all you have left is a single DVD disc and no white sleeves or red return envelopes, returning your Netflix rental becomes tricky. The company says that the only acceptable way to return a orphaned DVD requires your own envelope and postage, plus the email address associated with the account. If you don't return the DVD or forget to include the information, it will be considered lost because the company can't determine which account it was rented under.

It's easy to lose your Netflix envelopes unless you develop a system for safely storing and organizing them. A simple desktop supply organizer adapts well to the task. These plastic devices are designed to hold papers and pens of varying sizes, and have separate slots to hold discs, white sleeves and the longer red envelopes. A number of specially designed plastic cases and modified DVD books also offer larger slots for saving envelopes.