USPS holidays 2026: closed days and delivery days for sellers

Does USPS deliver on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve?

Yes: Thursday, December 24, 2026 and Thursday, December 31, 2026 are not on the USPS holiday list, so both are regular Monday-to-Saturday delivery days.

What USPS has not published is the counter schedule. Its holiday service schedule FAQ (article 000006247) points to a schedule page for local Post Office hours, regular mail delivery and blue collection box pickup on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. On November 12, 2026 that page carried no 2026 hours, so this page gives none.

Treat both days as short until USPS says otherwise, and look up your own Post Office on usps.com before a late drop-off. The USPS release of October 22, 2026 says popular Post Office locations will have extended retail and pickup hours this season, but it names no locations and no hours.

Does USPS deliver on Black Friday, Saturdays and Sundays?

USPS delivers on Black Friday and on Saturdays, and on Sundays it delivers only Priority Mail Express pieces and Amazon parcels.

Black Friday, November 27, 2026, is not a postal holiday; the only closed day that week is Thanksgiving itself. Saturday is part of the regular week: the USPS FAQ on delayed mail and packages says all deliveries should be made by 5:00 p.m. local time Monday through Saturday.

Sunday and holiday delivery exists for one service. USPS says Priority Mail Express delivers 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with limited exceptions, and that Sunday and holiday delivery is available in many major markets for an additional fee (USPS FAQ, Priority Mail Express, checked November 12, 2026). Express prices are on USPS Priority Mail Express rates.

How does a USPS holiday change handling time and transit counting?

A USPS holiday removes one day from both counts: you cannot hand a parcel over for regular service that day, and USPS does not count the holiday in the expected delivery time of mail sent the day before.

The counting rule is on usps.com service standards: if you send mail on a Saturday or the day before a holiday, the Sunday or holiday is not included in the expected delivery time. USPS gives its own case: mail with a 3-day service standard sent on Friday is expected on Monday, and the same mail sent on Saturday is expected on Wednesday.

Example: a parcel with a 2-day expectation handed to USPS on Wednesday, November 25 skips Thanksgiving in the count, so the two days are Friday and Saturday and the expected day is Saturday, November 28, not Friday. That is our arithmetic on the USPS rule; the USPS service commitments lookup gives the expectation for your ZIP pair and mailing date.

Handling time moves the same way. A shop that ships the next day it is open cannot ship Wednesday-night orders on Thanksgiving, so they leave on Black Friday beside Thursday's orders, and the same double day follows Christmas and New Year's Day. How a marketplace counts a postal holiday against your handling time is the marketplace's rule, so read its own page. Order-by dates worked back from each service are on holiday order cutoff dates by processing time.

Can USPS pick up packages on or around a holiday?

Not on the holiday itself: USPS accepts a Package Pickup request made on a holiday or weekend, but the pickup happens on the next scheduled delivery day.

The USPS Package Pickup FAQ gives the example of a Saturday-afternoon request accepted for Monday pickup, unless Monday is a postal holiday. It also sets the cut-off: a Package Pickup can be scheduled, edited or cancelled Monday to Saturday until 2:00 a.m. Central Time on the day of the pickup. So a request sent on Christmas Day lands on Saturday, December 26.

Eligibility, limits and the paid timed option are on USPS package pickup.

How does GoatLabels fit around the USPS holiday calendar?

GoatLabels does not change the USPS calendar or promise a delivery day; it lets you buy the label ahead and date it for the day the parcel will leave.