Is FedEx open on Christmas Eve? Yes, on Thursday, December 24, 2026, FedEx runs Modified Service and FedEx Office stores keep modified hours. Christmas Day, Friday, December 25, 2026, is the full closure.
The details decide whether your trip to the counter works. This guide covers stores, drop boxes, pickups, phone help and the days on either side. It relies on the official 2026 FedEx holiday schedule.
Is FedEx open on Christmas Eve 2026?
FedEx is not closed on December 24, 2026. Its business day rules exclude only six holidays. Those are Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Christmas Eve is not on that list. What changes is the level of service.
The schedule marks the date as Modified Service. It defines that as early pickups and drop box pickups, including drop box closures, in some areas. Ground pickups are also modified on December 24 and December 31.
So is FedEx open on Christmas Eve for you? That depends on your local operation, so plan for an earlier cutoff than usual. Do not count on a late afternoon handoff.
What is open and closed on December 24, 2026
| Service | Thursday, Dec 24, 2026 | Friday, Dec 25, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| FedEx (Express and Ground operations) | Modified Service | Closed |
| FedEx Office stores | Modified hours, some locations close early | Closed |
| FedEx Custom Critical | Open | Open |
| FedEx Logistics | Open | Closed |
| FedEx SameDay | Operates 24/7/365 | Operates 24/7/365 |
Custom Critical and SameDay are the exceptions to the Christmas Day closure. Both serve urgent shipments. Neither is a walk in counter service.
Logistics has one more note. Customs clearance at US and Canada land border crossings is available 24/7, subject to CBP availability.
FedEx Office stores on Christmas Eve
FedEx Office is listed as Modified Hours on December 24. The schedule’s footnote says locations will have modified hours the day before the holiday, with some closing early. No store is listed as closed on the 24th, but an early close can arrive before you do.
FedEx does not publish one set of Christmas Eve hours for every store. Hours depend on the location and local staffing. Any single number you see online is a guess.
Check your own store on fedex.com the day before, or call it directly. Our guide on what time FedEx closes by location type explains why different location types close at different times.
Drop boxes, pickups and self service
Drop boxes are where Christmas Eve changes the most. The Modified Service note says drop box pickups can be early in some areas. It also says some drop boxes may be closed.
If a package has to move that day, a staffed counter is safer than a drop box. A box emptied at noon will not take your late package out that night.
FedEx does not state anything about self service kiosk status on December 24. Assume a kiosk follows the hours of the building that hosts it.
Scheduled pickups on Christmas Eve
A standing or scheduled pickup can also run early. The schedule flags early pickups and modified Ground pickups on December 24.
If you ship from a business, ask your driver or account team for the real pickup window. Have packages sealed, labeled and ready well before the usual time.
A package that misses the cutoff does not move until FedEx runs its next business day. Christmas Day is a closure, so a late handoff on the 24th can cost you more than one day.
A worked example
Say you need to ship a gift from a FedEx Office store on the afternoon of December 24. The store may be one of the locations that closes early. You arrive in midafternoon to locked doors.
You then try the drop box, but its pickup already ran earlier in the day. Your package sits through Christmas Day and waits for the next business day.
The fix is simple. Confirm the hours by phone or on fedex.com, go in the morning, and get a scan receipt before you leave.
Phone lines and online tools
FedEx does not publish customer service line hours for Christmas Eve. Expect thinner staffing late in the day. Expect long waits, because it is one of the busiest shipping days of the year.
Online tools do not depend on store hours. You can track a package, change a delivery preference or request a hold at a FedEx location through fedex.com on any day. A held package waits up to 7 days at the location, so a hold placed on the 24th can carry a parcel safely past the closure.
For anything beyond tracking, use the help pages first. If you must call, call early in the morning.
What this means for delivery
A store being open is not the same as a package arriving. The holiday schedule lists pickup effects for December 24 but makes no statement about delivery.
For the doorstep side, read does FedEx deliver on Christmas Eve.
For the closure day itself, see will FedEx deliver on Christmas Day.
For normal Saturday and Sunday coverage, see FedEx weekend delivery.
The days around Christmas Eve
| Date | FedEx | FedEx Office |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Nov 26, 2026 (Thanksgiving) | Closed | Closed |
| Thursday, Dec 24, 2026 | Modified Service | Modified hours |
| Friday, Dec 25, 2026 | Closed | Closed |
| Saturday, Dec 26, 2026 | Open | Open |
| Thursday, Dec 31, 2026 | Modified Service | Modified hours |
| Friday, Jan 1, 2027 | Closed | Closed |
December 24 and December 31 follow the same pattern. Each is a working day with early pickups, followed by a full closure the next day.
The day after Christmas
Saturday, December 26, 2026 is listed as Open across the board: FedEx, FedEx Office, Custom Critical and Logistics. That makes it the first chance to hand over anything that missed the Christmas Eve cutoff.
Open on the schedule does not mean every service runs. Standard Ground to businesses is a Monday to Friday service, while Home Delivery runs every day including weekends. Ground transit counts business days only, so a Ground package handed over on the 26th gets its first business day on Monday, December 28.
Store hours on the 26th are the regular Saturday hours for each location. Check them the same way you checked the 24th, because the holiday schedule lists status, not opening times.
Normal versus when to worry
Some changes on December 24 are normal. An early drop box pickup, a store that closes before its usual time and a long phone queue are all expected. None of them means your package is lost.
If you are asking is FedEx open on Christmas Eve because of a hard deadline, treat the answer as store by store. Worry if the store is closed and your deadline is the 24th, or if your label is not scanned by the end of the day. In both cases, track the package online and look for a scan before you assume it moved.
If a scan is missing on the morning of December 26, call FedEx then. Asking whether FedEx is open on Christmas Eve will not help at that point, because the day has passed.
Christmas Eve 2027
Christmas Eve 2027 falls on a Friday. FedEx has not published its 2027 holiday schedule yet. That means there is no official status for that date.
Anyone who tells you now that FedEx is open on Christmas Eve 2027 is guessing.
Do not assume it will match 2026. Check FedEx again in the fall of 2027. You can also use our Postal Holiday Checker for carrier status once it is available.
How other carriers compare
If FedEx timing does not work, check the others before you choose a backup. Each carrier sets its own Christmas Eve pattern.
See whether UPS is open on Christmas Eve for UPS.
For the postal service, read USPS hours and the early close pattern.
For the rest of the season, our page on FedEx holiday service lists the other dates.
Checklist for shipping on December 24
- Call or check the hours for your exact FedEx Office store.
- Go in the morning, not the afternoon.
- Skip the drop box unless you know its pickup time.
- Keep your scan receipt and tracking number.
- Track the package online instead of calling.
Bottom line
FedEx works on December 24, 2026, but at reduced service. Expect early pickups, possible drop box closures and shortened store hours. Get packages to a staffed counter early, confirm your store’s hours that day, and plan around the full closure on Christmas Day.
