Holiday shipping deadlines for 2026 fall between December 9 and December 23 for most packages. The exact date depends on the carrier, the service and the destination. USPS wants Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail sent by Thursday, December 17, while FedEx overnight can wait until December 23.
Christmas falls on a Friday this year, which shortens the final week. Thursday, December 24 is the last delivery day before the holiday for every major carrier. None of them deliver regular packages on December 25.
2026 holiday shipping deadlines at a glance
This table lists the latest recommended send date for each common service. It assumes the package must arrive by Christmas. Dates are for the contiguous United States unless the row says otherwise.
| Carrier and service | Last recommended day to ship |
|---|---|
| USPS Ground Advantage | Thursday, Dec. 17 |
| USPS First-Class Mail (cards and letters) | Thursday, Dec. 17 |
| USPS Priority Mail | Friday, Dec. 18 |
| USPS Priority Mail Express | Saturday, Dec. 19 |
| FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery | Dec. 15 to Dec. 23, based on transit time |
| FedEx Ground Economy | Monday, Dec. 21 |
| FedEx Express Saver | Monday, Dec. 21 |
| FedEx 2Day and 2Day A.M. | Tuesday, Dec. 22 |
| FedEx First, Priority and Standard Overnight | Wednesday, Dec. 23 |
| UPS (all services) | 2026 list not yet published (see below) |
These are recommended dates, not guarantees. A package handed over late in the day, or sent from a rural area, can need an extra day. Treat each date as the last safe day, not a target.
Holiday shipping deadlines 2026 by date
If you send gifts by more than one method, it helps to see every cutoff in calendar order. Here is the full 2026 countdown, from the first military date to the last overnight option.
- Wednesday, November 4: USPS Ground Advantage to APO, FPO and DPO addresses.
- Wednesday, December 9: USPS First-Class Mail and Priority Mail to military addresses, plus First-Class Package International Service and Priority Mail International to every country.
- Tuesday, December 15: earliest FedEx Ground and Home Delivery date, for the longest routes.
- Wednesday, December 16: USPS Priority Mail Express International, Priority Mail Express Military Service, and Ground Advantage to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
- Thursday, December 17: USPS Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail in the lower 48 states, and First-Class Mail to Alaska and Hawaii.
- Friday, December 18: USPS Priority Mail everywhere in the United States.
- Saturday, December 19: USPS Priority Mail Express.
- Monday, December 21: FedEx Express Saver and FedEx Ground Economy.
- Tuesday, December 22: FedEx 2Day and 2Day A.M.
- Wednesday, December 23: FedEx overnight services, FedEx SameDay and the shortest FedEx Ground routes.
USPS holiday shipping deadlines for 2026
The Postal Service published its 2026 send dates on its holiday shipping dates page. For the lower 48 states, Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail should go out by December 17. Priority Mail can wait until December 18, and Priority Mail Express until Saturday, December 19.
Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US territories follow almost the same calendar. The one change is Ground Advantage, which moves a day earlier to Wednesday, December 16. Ground packages to those places spend longer in transit.
Holiday cards count as First-Class Mail, so the December 17 date applies to them too, and the seasonal designs are listed in where to buy Christmas stamps. Thick, square or embellished cards can need extra postage, and square envelopes pay a nonmachinable surcharge. Our stamp calculator works out the stamps for heavier envelopes.
Military mail (APO, FPO and DPO)
Military addresses need the most lead time of any destination. USPS recommends sending Ground Advantage packages to every APO, FPO and DPO ZIP group by Wednesday, November 4.
First-Class Mail and Priority Mail to military addresses should be mailed by Wednesday, December 9. Priority Mail Express Military Service has a December 16 date for most ZIP groups. It is not offered to AE ZIP codes that begin with 093.
International mail from the United States
USPS gives one set of dates for every international region, from Canada and Mexico to Europe, Asia and Africa. First-Class Package International Service and Priority Mail International should be sent by Wednesday, December 9.
Priority Mail Express International has a later date of Wednesday, December 16.
Customs inspections can still add time in the destination country. A gift that must arrive by Christmas is safer going out a week early. The Priority Mail International guide explains the size limits and customs form you will need.
FedEx holiday shipping deadlines for 2026
For the days FedEx is closed or on modified service, see FedEx holiday delivery in 2026. FedEx lists its dates for delivery by Thursday, December 24 in the 2026 last day to ship schedule. First Overnight, Priority Overnight and Standard Overnight can ship as late as Wednesday, December 23. FedEx SameDay shares that date.
Both FedEx 2Day services, including 2Day A.M., need to go out by Tuesday, December 22. Express Saver needs to leave by Monday, December 21.
FedEx Ground Economy also has a December 21 date. It is the slower service that often hands packages to the Postal Service for the last leg, so its date sits between the ground and air cutoffs.
FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery do not have a single date.
The cutoff runs from Tuesday, December 15 for the longest routes to Wednesday, December 23 for the shortest. Check your transit time with our delivery time estimator. Then count back from December 24.
FedEx shipments to Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico
FedEx International Priority and International First to Canada can ship until December 23. International Economy to Canada needs to leave by December 21. To Mexico, the priority services move a day earlier to December 22.
International Economy to Mexico stays at December 21. Shipments to Puerto Rico can go by International Priority until December 23, or by International Economy until December 22. FedEx notes that none of its international dates include time for customs clearance.
UPS holiday shipping deadlines for 2026
UPS has published its 2026 holiday operations schedule, covered date by date in which holidays UPS is closed. It has not yet posted a service by service list of last days to ship. Until it does, the operating schedule shows what will move.
- Thursday, December 24: UPS delivers Air, international Air, UPS Standard and UPS Ground packages. Pickups are limited to Air and international Air packages, and only if they were arranged by Friday, December 18.
- Friday, December 25: no pickup or delivery for UPS Ground, Air or international services.
- Thursday, December 31: delivery of Air and international Air packages only, with no UPS Ground delivery or pickup.
- Friday, January 1, 2027: no pickup or delivery.
For a sense of timing, UPS set its 2025 Christmas Eve dates at December 22 for 2nd Day Air and December 23 for Next Day Air. Christmas Eve moves from a Wednesday to a Thursday in 2026, so do not reuse last year’s dates. Confirm the new ones on the UPS holiday schedule before you ship.
The UPS Store locations are independently owned, so their December 24 and December 31 hours vary. Our guide to whether UPS delivers on Christmas covers the holiday itself in more detail.
DHL holiday shipping in 2026
DHL Express has not published a US list of 2026 holiday dates. Almost every DHL Express shipment from the United States is international.
The safest plan is to use the USPS international dates as a guide and ship by early December.
DHL eCommerce parcels are delivered by the Postal Service for the final mile. That means they follow the USPS ground calendar, not a separate DHL one.
What the 2026 calendar means for your planning
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, and all three major carriers close for regular service that day. Black Friday follows on November 27. That leaves about four weeks before the last delivery day on December 24.
Because Christmas is a Friday, the weekend before it does a lot of work. Saturday, December 19 is the USPS Priority Mail Express date and a normal USPS delivery day. A package dropped off that morning still has several delivery days ahead.
A simple rule works for most people. Send ground packages by December 15 and Priority Mail or FedEx 2Day by December 18. Save overnight services for true last minute gifts.
Holiday surcharges to budget for
Carriers add peak season fees while volume is high. From November 22 to December 26, 2026, UPS adds $2.50 per package on Air services and $0.75 on Ground residential packages for standard shippers. Lower fees apply in the weeks on either side of that window.
These surcharges apply to the label price, so a quote from early November can rise by Thanksgiving. Compare the options for your box with our shipping cost comparison tool before you buy postage.
What to do if you miss a holiday shipping deadline
Missing a recommended date does not mean the gift will be late. It only means the carrier no longer expects it to arrive in time. You still have a few options in the last week.
- Upgrade the service. USPS Priority Mail Express runs every day of the year. Holiday delivery is available in many areas for an extra $12.50.
- Switch to an overnight service. FedEx overnight and UPS Next Day Air are the latest options for Christmas Eve delivery.
- Ship to a closer address. A relative who lives nearby can collect the package and pass it on.
- Send a digital gift or a card with a note that the present is on its way. It costs nothing and avoids a peak season surcharge.
Once a package is on its way, watch the tracking rather than the calendar. A package that is still moving on December 22 usually arrives. One that has not been scanned in two days deserves a call to the carrier.
The bottom line on holiday shipping deadlines
For 2026, the safe window closes on December 17 for USPS ground and card mail and December 18 for Priority Mail. FedEx air services run until December 21 to 23. International and military mail needs to leave in early December or sooner.
Bookmark these holiday shipping deadlines and check back as UPS and DHL post their 2026 lists. Our postal holiday checker shows which days each carrier is closed. Use it to plan around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
