No, UPS runs no pickup and no delivery on Friday, December 25, 2026, which settles is UPS open on Christmas for shipping. The one service that keeps running is UPS Express Critical, available around the clock for urgent shipments.
That answer covers the carrier network, not every storefront, and the days on either side of the 25th behave differently. Christmas 2027 also falls on a weekend, so the dates shift. The sections below cover each day and what to do if a package is already moving.
Is UPS open on Christmas Day 2026 and 2027?
For 2026, UPS lists December 25 as a day with no UPS pickup or delivery. Normal operations return on Saturday, December 26, 2026, with full pickup and delivery.
For 2027, Christmas Day lands on a Saturday and the federal holiday is observed on Friday, December 24, 2027. UPS lists December 25, 2027 as a day with no pickup or delivery, and December 24, 2027 with the same pattern as this year. A full 2027 operations schedule is not out yet, so check the UPS holiday schedule again closer to the date.
| Date | Pickup | Delivery |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, December 24, 2026 | Air and international Air only if prearranged by December 18, 2026; no Ground pickup | Available for all services |
| Friday, December 25, 2026 | None | None |
| Saturday, December 26, 2026 | Full pickup | Full delivery |
| Saturday, December 25, 2027 | None | None |
You can check other carriers and holidays with the Postal Holiday Checker.
What is open and what is closed on December 25?
Think of Christmas Day as a day when the shipping network stops, with a few exceptions. This table sorts the common options.
| Option | Status on December 25, 2026 |
|---|---|
| UPS package pickup | Closed, no pickup service |
| UPS package delivery | Closed, no delivery service |
| UPS Express Critical | Available 24 hours a day, every day of the year |
| The UPS Store | Hours are set by each owner, so confirm locally |
| Tracking on ups.com | Works as usual; no delivery scans are made because nothing is delivered |
| Scheduling a pickup online | Request tools stay available; no pickup runs before December 26 |
UPS’s own schedule says “Limited Store locations” on Christmas Day. In practice that means local decisions, not one rule.
Is UPS open on Christmas if my package is already in transit?
A package already in the network simply pauses. It sits in a hub, on a truck or at a local facility until service resumes. Nothing is lost, and because UPS does not count its named holidays as business days, the scheduled date moves past the 25th.
Say a Ground package shows an estimated delivery of Friday, December 25, 2026. UPS has no delivery that day, so expect it on December 26 or the days after. If tracking shows no movement by December 28, contact UPS through your tracking page.
Shippers should also note that a Christmas Day delivery promise is not something UPS lists for standard services. Do not plan a gift arrival on the 25th unless you use a service built for it, such as Express Critical for urgent items.
Are UPS Stores and counters open on Christmas?
Do not assume a store is open just because the carrier has a published holiday plan. The UPS Store locations are independently owned, and each owner sets the hours, so a store that opens on Christmas Eve may still be dark on the 25th.
Call the store before you drive over, or use the store locator on the UPS site. Our guide to checking whether your UPS Store is open today walks through it.
A store being open also does not mean your package moves that day. Anything handed over on December 25 waits for the next pickup, December 26, 2026 at the earliest. UPS Access Point locations sit inside independently run shops, so check that shop’s hours before you go.
What about Christmas Eve and December 26?
Shippers asking is UPS open on Christmas often really mean the days around it, so here is the full pattern.
Christmas Eve is a working day with limits. UPS delivers all services on December 24, 2026, but Ground pickup is off. Air and international Air pickup happens only if you prearranged it by December 18, 2026.
For a package you need picked up, that means a driver will not simply swing by on the 24th. Plan to hand it over at a staffed location the week before. Our page on UPS on Christmas Eve covers hours in more detail.
Here is a worked example. A Ground box handed in on December 24 waits until December 26. The Christmas Eve delivery explainer covers what arrives that day.
December 26, 2026 is a Saturday, and UPS states standard operations resume with full pickup and delivery. UPS delivers to homes between 9am and 7pm and occasionally later, so a package held over the holiday can arrive at the late end of that window.
Does UPS deliver on Christmas Day?
No. UPS lists no delivery service on December 25, 2026, so a package due that day moves to the next delivery day. Our article on whether UPS will deliver on Christmas covers what happens to a late package.
Is UPS open on Christmas for tracking and phone help?
Tracking at ups.com stays up on Christmas Day. UPS says tracking on its site gives the most up to date information, so check there instead of calling. The status will not change much because no trucks or planes are scanning packages in the normal way.
UPS Express Critical, provided by Marken, answers at 1-800-714-8779 and is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for time critical shipments such as medical items rather than gifts. UPS does not publish customer service line hours on its holiday page, so a general support agent is not promised on the 25th. Tracking, Change Delivery and My Choice requests all run online without an agent.
How do peak surcharges affect holiday shipping?
From November 22 to December 26, 2026, standard shippers pay $0.75 per package for Ground Saver and Ground Residential. Next Day Air and all other UPS Air services carry $2.50 per package. UPS’s demand surcharge schedule sets those amounts.
The period ends on December 26, so a package you ship after that date drops to the lower rates. From December 27, 2026 to January 16, 2027 the surcharge is $0.50 for Ground and $1.35 for Air. Large shippers with more than 20,000 packages a week pay tiered amounts that reach $9.35 per package.
How to plan around the Christmas closure
- Ship gifts early. Aim to have Ground packages in UPS hands well before December 18, 2026, the date UPS uses for prearranged Air pickups.
- Prearrange any Air pickup for December 24 by December 18, 2026. Without that, there is no pickup that day.
- Check tracking on December 23 and 24. A package that has not reached your area by then will not arrive on the 25th.
- Call your local UPS Store before you visit on December 24 or 26.
- If you need the postal service as a backup, see whether USPS is open on Christmas, since its rules differ.
The New Year holiday brings its own closure, and our page on The UPS Store on New Year’s Day covers that date.
Remember that UPS also lists New Year’s Day 2027 as a day with no pickup or delivery, and December 31, 2026 as Air delivery only. For the regular weekly pattern, see whether UPS delivers on weekends.
Which days around Christmas should I avoid for time critical shipping?
Avoid December 24 for any Ground pickup, December 25 for everything, and December 31 for Ground delivery. UPS lists December 31, 2026 as Air delivery only and Freight closed. Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, 2026, is also closed, while the Friday after, November 27, runs all services.
Bottom line
UPS stops regular pickup and delivery on December 25, in 2026 and 2027 alike. Christmas Eve still brings deliveries but little pickup, and Saturday, December 26, 2026 returns to a full schedule. Treat any local store as a separate question, and use tracking online rather than waiting on the phone.
