2018 Holiday Shipping Deadlines

The Postal Service recommends the following mailing and shipping deadlines for expected delivery by Dec. 25 to Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office and domestic addressees:

Nov. 6 – APO/FPO/DPO (all ZIP Codes) USPS Retail Ground
Dec. 4 – APO/FPO/DPO (ZIP Code 093 only) Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
Dec. 11 – APO/FPO/DPO (all other ZIP Codes) Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
Dec. 14 – USPS Retail Ground
Dec. 18 – APO/FPO/DPO (except ZIP Code 093) USPS Priority Mail Express
Dec. 20 – First-Class Mail (including greeting cards)
Dec. 20 – First-class packages (up to 15.99 ounces)
Dec. 20 – Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
Dec. 20 – Priority Mail
Dec. 20 – Alaska to mainland Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
Dec. 22 – Alaska to mainland Priority Mail Express
Dec. 22 – Hawaii to mainland Priority Mail Express
Dec. 22 – Priority Mail Express

Busiest Mailing and Delivery Days

Thanks to more people shopping earlier and shopping online, the Postal Service’s “busiest day” notion is now a thing of the past. Instead, the Postal Service now has a busiest time, and it starts two weeks before Christmas.

Beginning the week of Dec. 10, customer traffic is expected to increase and the Postal Service expects to deliver nearly 200 million packages per week during these two weeks. The week of Dec. 17-23 is predicted to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week. During this week alone, the Postal Service expects to process and deliver nearly 3 billion pieces of First-Class Mail, including greeting cards.