Is USPS open on Columbus Day? No, post offices are closed on Monday, October 12, 2026, and again on Monday, October 11, 2027. The counters stay shut because Columbus Day is one of the 11 holidays USPS observes, and regular service picks up on Tuesday.
The rest of this page covers what works and what does not on that Monday. It also covers the weekend before, the Tuesday after, and the other carriers. If you only need to check a date, the Postal Holiday Checker lists every USPS closure in one place.
Is USPS closed on Columbus Day?
Yes. Columbus Day falls on the second Monday of October, and it is on the federal holiday list kept by the Office of Personnel Management. USPS follows that calendar and lists Columbus Day among its 11 observed holidays in its Employee and Labor Relations Manual.
A USPS local release for the 2024 holiday said all retail locations were closed, with no residential or business mail delivery. The same pattern applies each year. Many states and cities call the day Indigenous Peoples’ Day or skip it, but USPS runs on the federal calendar everywhere.
Is USPS open on Columbus Day? Dates for 2025, 2026 and 2027
The holiday moves each year because it is tied to the second Monday, and OPM’s list supplies the 2026 and 2027 dates. Many readers still ask is USPS open on Columbus Day 2025, so the earlier date is included.
USPS confirmed it in its national notice for the 2025 holiday. Post Offices closed on Monday, October 13. Only Priority Mail Express items were delivered, and regular delivery and retail resumed on Tuesday, October 14.
| Year | Columbus Day | Regular service resumes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Monday, October 13 | Tuesday, October 14 |
| 2026 | Monday, October 12 | Tuesday, October 13 |
| 2027 | Monday, October 11 | Tuesday, October 12 |
What is open and closed on Columbus Day
The short version is that anything with a staffed counter or a carrier route is off for the day. Anything you can do on a website keeps running. This table shows the usual pattern.
| Service | Columbus Day status |
|---|---|
| Post office retail counters | Closed |
| Regular mail and package delivery | None |
| Blue collection box pickup | None, based on the holiday pattern |
| Priority Mail Express delivery | Select areas only, for an additional fee |
| usps.com labels, stamps and supplies | Available 24/7, including holidays |
| Self service kiosks | Available in select lobbies, many 24/7 |
| Rapid Dropoff Stations and Smart Lockers | At modernized locations, lockers often with 24/7 access |
| PO Box lobbies | Varies by location |
The kiosk rows come from USPS itself. Its 2025 Columbus Day notice points customers to more than 2,600 self service kiosks in select lobbies, and many are available 24/7. A kiosk prints Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express and international postage, and it sells stamps, weighs packages and shows tracking.
The same notice lists Rapid Dropoff Stations for parcels with labels already printed online. Smart Lockers handle drop off and pickup, often with 24/7 access.
PO Box lobbies are the local question. Some stay open around the clock and some lock with the counter, so check the posted hours on the door first.
What still works on the holiday
You can still do most of the paperwork. According to USPS, you can buy shipping supplies, print shipping labels and buy stamps online at any hour, holidays included. That lets you prepare a package on Monday and hand it over when counters reopen on Tuesday.
Labels you print are handled when the mail stream starts again, not on the holiday itself. That holds even for a parcel left in a Rapid Dropoff Station on Monday.
If a deadline matters, do not count Monday as a mailing day. Build the schedule around Tuesday instead, and use the Delivery Time Estimator to see how a Tuesday drop off changes the arrival date.
Customer service and PO Box access
The customer care line is 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777). The USPS contact page lists its hours as Monday to Friday 8 AM to 8:30 PM ET and Saturday 8 AM to 6 PM ET. No hours are listed for Sundays or federal holidays, so call by Saturday if a question cannot wait.
Tracking pages on usps.com stay online. With no carriers out, most packages show no new scan until Tuesday. For any ordinary date, the USPS open today page lists current hours.
PO Box access depends on the building. A USPS operations letter for Christmas 2025 told post offices to provide box access when possible. That wording suggests it is decided site by site, and Columbus Day is likely the same.
The day before and the day after
Sunday, October 11, 2026 is the day before. Retail post offices are closed on Sundays in any case, so the long weekend feels like three days without counter service. Our guide to USPS Sunday hours explains the rare exceptions.
Saturday is a normal service day, but hours vary by location. Check the Saturday hours guide before you plan a drop off. Tuesday brings normal retail hours and regular delivery.
Does mail get delivered on Columbus Day?
No regular delivery happens on the holiday. Priority Mail Express is the exception. USPS’s 2025 notice said only Priority Mail Express items would be delivered that day.
Its service page describes Sunday and holiday delivery as available in many major markets for an additional fee. Everything else waits until Tuesday.
A full breakdown of packages and tracking is in our article on whether USPS delivers on Columbus Day. Opening a store and sending a carrier out are separate decisions, so keep those two questions apart.
How to plan around a Columbus Day closure
Start with what must arrive and by when. A package that has to be in the mail stream by Monday needs to be dropped off by Saturday, since Sunday and Monday are both closed. Anything mailed after that waits for Tuesday.
Bills, tax payments and time sensitive letters need the most care. A postmark is applied when the mail is processed, not when you leave it in a box. If a deadline falls on Columbus Day, check with the sender whether it moves to the next business day.
For packages, print the label online on Sunday or Monday and bring a prepaid parcel to the counter on Tuesday. Prepaid parcels skip the payment step, so the line moves faster. Keep the receipt and tracking number in case the scan is delayed.
If the item truly cannot wait, Priority Mail Express is the only USPS option described as delivered on the holiday. Select areas only, and it costs extra. Otherwise, UPS is the better fallback.
Do UPS and FedEx run on Columbus Day?
UPS lists Columbus Day, October 12, 2026, as a regular operations day. FedEx lists it as modified service for its main network and open for FedEx Office. So a package that UPS is carrying may move on a day when USPS is dark.
Other fall holidays to plan around
Columbus Day is followed a few weeks later by another federal closure. The same closure rules apply to Veterans Day.
In winter the next one is MLK Day. Check the holiday checker above for any later date.
Columbus Day in one paragraph
Is USPS open on Columbus Day in your state? The answer is still no, since USPS shuts its counters and stops regular delivery on the second Monday of October, whatever your state calls the day.
Print labels online, use a 24/7 kiosk lobby if your office has one, and plan to mail on Tuesday. Only Priority Mail Express may arrive that day, and only in select markets.