According to the official announcement published in the Federal Register by the United States Postal Service (USPS) on November 24, 2025, starting from December 24, the date stamped on mail by USPS may not necessarily reflect the actual date the sender handed over the mail to USPS.
For example, a letter deposited in a mailbox on Monday may end up showing a stamped date of Wednesday.
Prior to this, on August 12, 2025, USPS released a draft of this rule and sought public feedback.
In a statement, the Postal Service wrote, “We have not changed the way we stamp mail, but have adjusted transportation processes, leading to some mail not reaching the originating processing facilities on the day of deposit.”
The Postal Service explained that this change is part of a long-term modernization and cost-cutting plan aimed at reducing the number of transportation trips between mail processing centers and local post offices, which can lower costs and decrease vehicle emissions.
As a result, mail from small post offices may not be collected until the next day, rather than the same day.
This change may impact various individuals and organizations.
For decades, legal and administrative systems have viewed postmarks as evidence of whether applications meet certain deadline requirements. Health insurance companies also use postmarks to set appeal deadlines.
According to data from the National Conference of State Legislatures, approximately 14 states in the U.S. as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia accept mailed-in ballots, with the requirement that the postmark date be on or before Election Day (sometimes just before).
The Supreme Court will hear a case this year to determine the validity of mailed-in ballots sent on Election Day but received after the election.
However, USPS has never considered the use of postmarks for evidence preservation as part of its service offerings and claims that customers using postmarks do so as a personal preference.
Many foundations and tax advisors have started reminding donors and clients last month to ensure that mailed donations qualify for the 2025 tax deduction.
Individuals appealing health insurance coverage rejections must ensure they send their appeal documents early.
Experts recommend that to ensure documents meet deadlines and cannot be submitted electronically, individuals must physically visit a post office to obtain a postmark confirmation.
When mailing time-sensitive documents such as college applications, check payments, tax filings, insurance appeals, or ballots, and needing to prove the mailing date to meet deadlines, it is necessary to mail several days in advance or visit the post office to have the postmark manually stamped by a postal clerk, otherwise risking missing important mailing deadlines.
Elena Patel, a researcher at the Brookings Institution, pointed out that this could be particularly challenging for people residing in remote rural areas far from post offices.
(This article references reporting from The Wall Street Journal)