UPS holidays 2026: the days UPS is closed and the days it delivers

Does UPS deliver on Christmas Eve?

UPS delivers on Christmas Eve: its 2026 year-end schedule lists normal delivery service for Thursday, December 24, across all services. Pickup is the part that changes (UPS 2026 year-end schedule, read October 26, 2026).

On December 24, UPS collects only Air and International Air packages, and only where the pickup was prearranged by Friday, December 18. There is no UPS Ground pickup that day. A Next Day Air package picked up on Christmas Eve is scheduled for delivery on Monday, December 28, because Friday is a UPS holiday.

For a seller, December 24 is a day when parcels reach buyers but Ground parcels do not leave your dock. UPS says The UPS Store locations are open on Christmas Eve; they are independently owned, so check the hours of the one you use (UPS holiday schedule page, read October 26, 2026).

Is UPS open on Black Friday and the day before Thanksgiving?

Black Friday, November 27, 2026, is a normal UPS day, with regular pickup and delivery. Wednesday, November 25 is normal too, and Thursday, November 26 is the UPS holiday between them (UPS holiday schedule page and year-end schedule, read October 26, 2026).

The closed Thursday moves air deliveries. UPS schedules a Next Day Air package picked up on Wednesday, November 25 for Friday, November 27, and a 2nd Day Air package picked up that Wednesday for Monday, November 30, unless it was processed and labeled for Saturday, November 28 delivery.

UPS says The UPS Store locations are open on Black Friday. Orders that arrive on Wednesday afternoon and on Thanksgiving Day can go out on Friday, so a shop that ships that day does not carry a backlog into the week after.

Does UPS deliver on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day?

On New Year's Eve, Thursday, December 31, 2026, UPS delivers Air and International Air packages only, and on New Year's Day, Friday, January 1, 2027, it has no pickup or delivery at all (UPS 2026 year-end schedule, read October 26, 2026).

New Year's Eve is tighter than Christmas Eve. UPS Ground gets neither pickup nor delivery on December 31. Pickup is available only for Air and International Air packages, and only where it was prearranged by Monday, December 28. A Next Day Air package picked up on December 31 is scheduled for Monday, January 4.

UPS says The UPS Store locations may be closed on New Year's Eve. After the season, the UPS holiday page lists Martin Luther King Jr. Day among the days UPS is closed; in 2027 that is Monday, January 18 (UPS holiday schedule page, read October 26, 2026).

Does UPS deliver on the Saturdays after Christmas and New Year's Day?

On Saturday, December 26, 2026 and Saturday, January 2, 2027, UPS lists normal pickup and delivery for Air and International Air services only, so UPS Ground does not move on either day (UPS 2026 year-end schedule, read October 26, 2026).

The schedule spells out what Air and International Air means: Next Day Air Early, Next Day Air, Next Day Air Saver, 2nd Day Air A.M., 2nd Day Air, Worldwide Express Plus, Worldwide Express, Worldwide Saver, Worldwide Expedited and Worldwide Express Freight. UPS 3 Day Select is not on the list as printed.

That one list controls four days: the pickups on December 24 and December 31, and all service on December 26 and January 2. A seller who offers 3 Day Select should plan it like Ground on those days. The fees UPS adds to air and residential packages in the same weeks are on UPS demand surcharges 2026; the highest UPS demand period runs November 22 to December 26, 2026 (UPS Demand Surcharges, August 26, 2026 Update, read October 26, 2026).

How does a UPS closed day change transit time?

The UPS schedule itself shows how a closed day moves the count: a Next Day Air package picked up on Wednesday, November 25 is scheduled for Friday, November 27, not Thursday. UPS prints five such cases, and in each one the holiday, and the weekend where there is one, is passed over.

Pickup and scheduled days from the UPS 2026 Year-End Holiday Schedule (PDF), read October 26, 2026. The last column is our reading of the calendar between the two days.

UPS prints no such example for UPS Ground. For a Ground parcel, look up the lane with the holiday week as the ship date in UPS Calculate Time and Cost rather than adding days by hand. How UPS counts Ground days in an ordinary week is on UPS Ground shipping time.

What does a UPS closed day do to a seller's handling time?

A UPS closed day adds a day, or several, between the order and the first scan, because a packed parcel has no pickup to leave on. The longest gap is at Christmas: the schedule lists no Ground pickup on December 24, none on December 25 and Air only on December 26.

Example: a shop packs each order the business day after it arrives and hands its UPS Ground parcels to a daily UPS pickup.

UPS days from the UPS 2026 Year-End Holiday Schedule (PDF), read October 26, 2026. The order days, the one-day handling time and the daily pickup are the shop's own setup.

Three habits follow. Set the handling time your store shows to cover the gap, so an order placed on December 23 is not promised a December 24 ship day. When you buy a label ahead, set its ship date to the day the parcel will be collected, not the day it is packed. And if a Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve air pickup matters to you, book it by the date UPS gives, December 18 or December 28.

How does GoatLabels fit around the UPS holiday calendar?

GoatLabels does not change the days UPS operates or promise a delivery day; it prices each service for your packed parcel before you buy, so on a day UPS Ground does not move you can see what else is open.