USPS Announces 2023 Holiday Shipping Deadlines

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has announced its 2023 holiday shipping and mailing deadlines to ensure that packages, holiday cards, and letters, arrive at their domestic, international, and military destinations by December 25th.

Deadline Details for Domestic Shipping

Within the Lower 48 States

• USPS Ground Advantage & First-Class Mail: Dec. 16
• Priority Mail: Dec. 18
• Priority Mail Express: Dec. 20

Alaska and Hawaii

Both destinations observe the same deadlines, with one exception in Priority Mail for Hawaii:

• USPS Ground Advantage & First-Class Mail: Dec. 16
• Priority Mail: Dec. 18 (Alaska), Dec. 16 (Hawaii)
• Priority Mail Express: Dec. 20

Military Shipping Deadlines

The following are recommended Air/Army Post Office (APO), Fleet Post Office (FPO), and Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) destinations. Keep in mind, that USPS does not control the final transportation and delivery of these items, so waiting until the last date may not be ideal.

• USPS Ground Advantage: Nov. 6
• First-Class Mail & Priority Mail: Dec. 9
• Priority Mail Express Military Service (PMEMS): Dec. 15 (Note: PMEMS is not available for APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs 093)

New Package Shipping Option For Domestic Shipments: USPS Ground Advantage

The introduction of USPS Ground Advantage offers customers an additional option for reliable, simple, and affordable package shipping with a clear delivery time frame of 2-5 business days, distance-dependent.

It has replaced the previous array of different, but similar ground transportation services. Learn more here.

International Shipping

For international destinations, shipping deadlines are subject to variation based on the location. Detailed information regarding international mail and shipping services can be accessed through the Postal Service here.

As a general rule of thumb, First Class Mail should be mailed by no later than the end of November. Most Priority Mail International shipments can be sent as late as the first week of December and most Priority Mail Express shipments can wait until the second week of December.

However, winter weather or other logistics issues can delay shipments, and it’s advisable to mail holiday mail as early as possible.

Global Express Guaranteed (GXG) service can be utilized until about the week before Christmas for it to arrive on time.

See our international disruptions page for additional information on significant delivery challenges or suspensions around the world.

Richard Meldner

Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.

To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.