The question “is the UPS Store open on New Year’s Day” has no single answer, because each location sets its own hours. UPS itself is closed on Friday, January 1, 2027. It runs no pickup or delivery that day.
That split matters because The UPS Store is a franchise network, not a UPS facility. A store can follow the carrier holiday, open for a few hours, or stay closed.
The brand does not publish central holiday hours. This guide shows what is fixed, what varies by store, and how to plan around January 1.
Is the UPS Store open on New Year’s Day 2027?
Treat your store as unconfirmed for January 1 until the store itself says otherwise. The UPS Store site tells customers its locations are individually owned and operated and lists no holiday schedule, and the UPS holiday shipping page carries only a general warning that The UPS Store locations may be closed and that you should check with your local store. Store pages on the UPS location finder also do not carry a holiday hours field.
The next New Year’s Day is Friday, January 1, 2027. The last one was Thursday, January 1, 2026, and it has passed.
An open store does not bring back UPS service. A counter that is open still cannot hand your box to a UPS driver that day.
The fastest check is the store finder on theupsstore.com. Open your location page and read the hours. Call the store if the page does not mention the holiday.
Do this by December 30, not on the morning of January 1.
What UPS itself does on January 1
UPS lists New Year’s Day as a full holiday for both 2026 and 2027. Its holiday schedule says there is no UPS pickup or delivery service on that date.
The one stated exception is UPS Express Critical. UPS describes it as available around the clock, every day of the year, for critical shipments.
Everything else waits.
Ground, Air and international packages do not move on January 1. A package due that day arrives on the next operating day. Our full UPS New Year’s Day delivery guide covers the delivery side in detail.
January 1 at a glance: what is fixed and what varies
Use this table as a planning guide. Rows marked “varies” depend on the franchise owner, and UPS does not publish them in one place.
| Service | January 1, 2027 status | Source of the answer |
|---|---|---|
| UPS package pickup | No service | UPS holiday schedule |
| UPS package delivery | No service | UPS holiday schedule |
| UPS Express Critical | Available 24 hours a day, every day | UPS holiday schedule |
| The UPS Store counter | Varies by store | Individual store owner |
| Mailbox access | Varies by store | Individual store owner |
| UPS My Choice changes online | Reschedule or redirect available | UPS site |
What happens on New Year’s Eve
December 31, 2026 is a limited service day for UPS. Ground pickup is not available, and ground delivery is suspended. Only Air and international Air services operate for delivery.
Air and international Air pickups on that day only happen if they were prearranged by December 28, 2026. A walk in customer who wants a standard Ground shipment picked up on December 31 is out of luck. Store hours on that day are again set by each owner, so confirm them before you drive over.
Say a package must reach UPS before the holiday. Drop it off by December 30 at the latest. That leaves a normal day before the limited service on New Year’s Eve.
How to plan around January 1
A few simple steps remove most of the risk. They work whether your store turns out to be open or closed.
- Look up your store on the finder. Note the posted hours for December 30, 31 and January 1.
- Call the store a day or two ahead if the page shows nothing about the holiday.
- Ship before December 30 if the package has a deadline, because December 31 is limited and January 1 has no service.
- Print labels at home or ahead of time if you plan to use a drop off.
- Expect the first normal Ground pickup and delivery after the holiday, not on it.
Our postal holiday checker shows closures across carriers on one screen.
Mailbox customers over the holiday
A mailbox at The UPS Store can receive packages from any carrier, and staff sign for them. Most locations offer 24 hour access to mailbox customers.
That access is a store policy. Is the UPS Store open on New Year’s Day for a mailbox visit? Same answer as the counter: the owner decides.
Pickup of a package you did not rent a box for is a different matter. Some stores take packages from any carrier for a per package fee, and the fee and rules are set by that store. If you expect a delivery near the holiday, ask the store how it handles receiving on January 1.
December 31 and January 2
New Year’s Eve falls on Thursday, December 31, 2026. Saturday, January 2, 2027 follows the holiday, and the UPS holiday page gives no separate rule for that date. Weekend service for UPS has its own rules, covered in our UPS weekend delivery explainer.
Ground Saver shipments need one extra business day in transit around some federal holidays, according to UPS. That note applies to the holiday period in general, so a package may arrive a day later than the tracking estimate suggested earlier in December.
If your package is stuck, UPS My Choice lets you redirect it to another address or reschedule it for a more convenient time. That works online even when no store is open.
Other carriers and the post office
January 1 is a federal holiday, and other carriers run their own calendars. USPS has its own closure rules, which we cover in our USPS New Year’s Day guide.
FedEx also publishes its own list, summarized in our FedEx New Year’s Day article.
Mixing the carriers is the most common mistake. An open UPS Store does not mean an open post office. A store takes a FedEx package only if its owner offers that service.
A worked example for a late December shipper
Suppose you plan to ship a gift on Wednesday, December 30, 2026. You check your store page and it shows normal hours. You pack the box, pay at the counter, and the store hands it to UPS for the next scheduled pickup.
Now suppose you wait until Friday, January 1, 2027. The store might be open, but UPS is not running. Your box sits until the next operating day, and any delivery date you were quoted moves with it.
The same logic applies to a return. A label printed on December 31 does not start the clock for a pickup that cannot happen until after the holiday. Plan the drop off for the last normal day, then track the package once UPS resumes.
If your store is closed
A closed store does not leave you stuck. You have a few options for a package that cannot wait.
- Use a different drop off point on a normal day before the holiday.
- Change a delivery online with UPS My Choice instead of visiting a store.
- Wait for the first normal operating day, and expect that day to be busy.
Do not assume another carrier is open because UPS is closed. Check each one for the date you need.
Bottom line on January 1
Plan as if the counter may be closed. UPS service is certain to be off, and store hours are not guaranteed. Ship early and confirm your store by phone.
So is the UPS Store open on New Year’s Day near you? Only your store can say.
For regular days, see our check on whether the store is open today.
The usual closing times are covered separately.
The full list of UPS holidays shows every closure in the year.
