USPS will not deliver regular mail or packages on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25, 2026. So will USPS deliver on Christmas Day at all? Only Priority Mail Express may arrive, in select locations, for an extra fee.
Christmas is one of the 11 holidays USPS observes each year. Post offices close, blue collection boxes go unemptied, and everything else waits until the next day.
This page covers what runs, what stops, and what to do if a package was due that day. It also covers the Saturday calendar quirk in 2027 and the shipping deadlines that matter before the holiday.
Will USPS deliver on Christmas Day? Service by service
The table below uses the pattern from USPS’s Christmas 2025 operations letter and its public holiday release. USPS has not yet published a 2026 Christmas release, so confirm closer to the date.
| Service | Status on December 25 |
|---|---|
| Regular mail delivery | None |
| Package delivery (Ground Advantage, Priority Mail) | None |
| Priority Mail Express | Select locations only, extra fee, not guaranteed everywhere |
| Blue collection box pickup | None |
| Retail counters | Closed, except facilities that normally open on holidays |
| PO Box lobby access | Varies by location, offered when possible |
| usps.com and online label purchase | Available |
Online tools stay available because they do not depend on a carrier or a counter. A label you buy that day simply sits until the next mail pickup.
Does USPS deliver on Christmas with Priority Mail Express?
Only through Priority Mail Express, and only in some places. USPS’s operations letter says Priority Mail Express holiday delivery operates on Christmas and New Year’s Day. Other deliveries on those days need approval from a vice president.
The public release is more cautious, and it says select locations only. USPS’s Priority Mail Express service page puts the general rule as Sunday and holiday delivery available in many major markets for an additional fee.
Treat it as a possible delivery, not a promise, and do not plan a gift around it. USPS lists its seasonal cutoffs on its holiday shipping dates page.
Does USPS deliver on Xmas in a Saturday year?
This is where the calendar matters. Christmas 2027 falls on a Saturday, and OPM lists Friday, December 24, 2027, as the federal observed holiday. USPS employee rules move a Saturday holiday to the preceding Friday for time off.
What USPS will do on Saturday, December 25, 2027, itself has not been published. Do not assume a normal Saturday delivery. Check the Postal Holiday Checker once USPS releases its 2027 plan.
Does USPS deliver the day after Christmas, December 26?
Yes, based on last year’s pattern. USPS’s 2025 letter says service returns to normal levels on December 26, and its public release says all post offices open and regular delivery resumes that day. Hours still vary by location.
December 26, 2026, is a Saturday. Saturday is a regular delivery day for USPS, and you can read how it works in our guide on weekend mail delivery. USPS has not confirmed its Saturday plan for 2026 yet, so treat it as the expected result, not a guarantee.
The letter also notes that Sunday Priority Mail Express and same day package delivery resume the Sunday after the holiday.
What to do if your package was due on December 25
A package scheduled for Christmas Day will almost always slide to the next delivery day. Use this order.
- Check the tracking page on December 25 and December 26 for a new estimate.
- Do not file a missing package claim yet. Normal service restarts on December 26, and a delay of one or two days is common after a holiday. Carriers work through a double load that day, so check how late a route can run before assuming it missed you.
- If tracking has not moved after the first business days following the holiday, contact USPS and ask for a trace. The customer care line, 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777), lists Monday to Saturday hours and none for federal holidays.
- For a gift that must arrive, plan a backup such as a store pickup or a printed card.
Tracking shows the last scan, and USPS adds no holiday note to it. Expect the status to hold until mail moves again. Use the Delivery Time Estimator to see how long a normal transit window runs after the holiday.
Will USPS deliver on Christmas Day if I ship late?
No amount of rush changes the holiday. A parcel mailed after the cutoffs below may still arrive in the days around Christmas, but USPS does not promise delivery on December 25 itself. If a gift matters, treat the cutoff as the last safe date and not as a target.
Priority Mail Express has the latest cutoff, and it carries the only possible holiday delivery. Even then, USPS says select locations only, so a fallback plan is wise.
Shipping deadlines to arrive before December 25, 2026
These are the USPS dates for the contiguous United States, from the official holiday shipping page.
| Service | Ship by (contiguous US) | Ship by (AK, HI, PR, territories) |
|---|---|---|
| Ground Advantage | Thursday, December 17 | Wednesday, December 16 |
| First-Class Mail | Thursday, December 17 | Thursday, December 17 |
| Priority Mail | Friday, December 18 | Friday, December 18 |
| Priority Mail Express | Saturday, December 19 | Saturday, December 19 |
Shipping on the last date leaves no room for a delay. Aim a few days earlier, especially for gifts that cannot be replaced.
Do UPS and FedEx deliver on Christmas Day?
Not for standard service. UPS lists no service on December 25, 2026. FedEx lists its main operations and FedEx Office as closed, and its Custom Critical unit as open.
A package handed to another carrier will not arrive that day either. Plan the same December 26 restart for all three carriers.
What about Christmas Eve and store hours?
Christmas Eve is a different day with different rules, and carriers do work that day. Our page on Christmas Eve delivery covers it in full.
On Christmas Day, post offices are closed unless they are among the few facilities that normally open on holidays. A store being open is not the same as a carrier delivering. Our guide to Labor Day delivery shows the same holiday pattern.
Planning around the closure
Mail the cards and gifts early, and ask recipients to expect nothing on December 25. Hold any item you must receive until the week after if the sender is late. Postal customers who use PO boxes should call their office, since lobby access on the holiday varies.
How the holiday weekend rule works
USPS follows the federal pattern for observed holidays. A Saturday holiday is observed on the preceding Friday, and a Sunday holiday on the following Monday. That rule governs employee time off, not what customers see on the route.
In 2026 none of this applies, because Christmas lands on a Friday. The date you plan around is simply December 25.
The 2026 answer in one line
So, will USPS deliver on Christmas Day in 2026? Expect no mail, no packages, and no collection on December 25. Priority Mail Express is the only maybe, and everything else picks up again on December 26.
