The U.S. Postal Service has announced its holiday mailing and shipping deadlines for 2025.
Yes, you read that correctly. Fall may have officially just begun, but it’s already time to start planning for the holiday season, especially when it comes to sending your mail and making sure it gets to its destination on time.
The dates the USPS announced for its holiday mailing and shipping deadlines are especially important if you want your cards, gifts, and packages to arrive before Christmas. But these dates are also important in order to make sure your business-critical mail gets where it needs to go. Why? Because the holiday time is a crazy time for mail in general. Adding in all the extra gifts and letters being sent means delays for your important notices too. There’s no need to panic, just prepare.
2025 USPS Holiday Shipping Dates
Here are the recommended 2025 holiday shipping dates for people to send their holiday gifts and for organizations that rely on the timely send-out of statements, notices, invoices, and compliance letters.
For mail to arrive by December 25, USPS recommends the following send-by dates:
Contiguous U.S. (Lower 48 States)
- USPS Ground Advantage® – December 17
- First-Class Mail® – December 17
- Priority Mail® – December 18
- Priority Mail Express® – December 20
Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico & U.S. Territories
- USPS Ground Advantage® – December 16
- First-Class Mail® – December 17
- Priority Mail® – December 18
- Priority Mail Express® – December 20
What These Dates Mean for Businesses Using LetterStream
For businesses, missing a mailing deadline can mean more than just a late holiday card — it can mean delayed billing cycles, non-compliance with notification requirements, or frustrated customers.
Here’s where LetterStream comes in:
- Upload and We Handle the Rest: No need to schedule trips to the Post Office. Upload your mailing job (statements, notices, invoices), and we print, insert, and deliver directly to USPS.
- Deadline Alignment: If your job is in our system before our production cut-off on these USPS dates, we’ll ensure it enters the mail stream on time.
- Scale Doesn’t Slow Us Down: Whether it’s 100 notices or 100,000 statements, our production lines are built to handle large, business-critical mailings right up until USPS deadlines.
- Proof of Mailing When You Need It: For Certified Mail® or compliance-related mailings, you’ll have full tracking and reporting available, even during the holiday rush.
Why Planning Ahead Matters More in December
December mail volumes are the heaviest of the year, which can add stress for businesses with end-of-year or regulatory mailings. While USPS deadlines are the “last possible day,” we encourage LetterStream clients to:
- Upload at least a day early for critical mailings — this ensures both our processing and USPS delivery stay on track.
- Plan bulk jobs now — large statement runs and compliance mailings can take longer, especially if uploaded at the very end of the cycle.
- Expect longer delivery windows — even First-Class Mail may take an extra day or two (or more) in December.
Use LetterStream to Send Mail Online
USPS deadlines are designed to help customers get their mail delivered by December 25. For businesses, these dates should be treated as hard cut-offs for year-end statements, compliance letters, invoices, and other critical documents.
At LetterStream, we bridge the gap between your upload and USPS deadlines. You focus on running your business — we’ll make sure your mailings get where they need to go.
LetterStream offers bulk printing and mailing services allowing companies to send physical mail online. Whether it’s online Certified Mail, First-Class Mail, FedEx 2Day, or postcards, we give both small businesses and large corporations that time and freedom back to work on tasks that better serve the company. If you’re interested in creating a free account, you can do so, here.
