January 16, Are USPS, UPS, FedEx Open Today? Here Is What’s Closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Are USPS, UPS, or FedEx open on Monday, January 16, 2023? Today, the United States honors Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, a federal holiday observed annually on the third Monday in January as a tribute to the influential civil rights leader’s legacy.

This year, the federal holiday falls on January 16 and is sometimes also referred to as MLK Day. King’s actual birthday was January 15.

Today, most government offices, banks, and some businesses are closed.

USPS

What is closed today or not operational today at USPS?

• No counter operations at retail post offices around the country.
• No regular mail delivery.
• No regular mail pick-up.
• No mail pickup from USPS mailboxes.
• No USPS phone customer service.

What is open or operational today at USPS?

• Access PO Boxes at most locations, if separated area from counter operations/lobby.
• Use self-service machines at most locations, if separated area from counter operations/lobby.
• Online USPS Click-N-Ship is fully functional.
• Inside and outside USPS mailboxes are open 24/7 – but outside boxes could become full at busy post office locations.

UPS

All UPS service are operating a usual on January 16, with normal pick-ups and deliveries. UPS Store locations should be open as well, however, they are independently owned and so some stores may be closed.

FedEx

All FedEx services are also operating a usual today, with normal pick-ups and deliveries. FedEx Office locations are open today as well, including its FedEx SameDay City delivery service.

Amazon

Business as usual, the company is making deliveries today.

Government Offices, Banks and Businesses

• Local, State, and Federal Government Offices are closed on January 16.
• Most banks and financial services companies are also closed.
• Many large businesses are giving their employees off today as well.
• Most retailers and restaurants will be open today.

Tips for Sellers on January 16

Today can tricky for online sellers as many buyers may think this is a normal business day. Here are some tips on how to deal with shipments on January 16.

Process shipments as usual, but a good practice is to notify buyers that today is federal holiday in the U.S. and USPS is not operation today.

Buyers will still receive a tracking number, but by notifying them that today is a federal holiday, they will not expect to see any movement scans until Tuesday.

If you are using USPS Scan Forms, the best practice is to close out the day as usual. Some shipping platforms may not allow this, or may allow rolling over today’s shipments to the next business day. Check with them for details.

Avoid using outside USPS mailboxes (the blue boxes) at busy post office locations as they become very full and recently have been targeted by thieves as well.

eBay, Etsy, Poshmark, PayPal and other platforms that offer USPS shipping services will process USPS labels on January 16. However, most will not inform buyers that today is a federal holiday in their tracking notifications.

Remember, winter weather has been a major story this year already. Check our USPS domestic service disruptions page for the latest information as it still may be affecting operations this week.

Federal / USPS Holidays in 2023

Looking ahead, here is a list of the remaining federal and postal holidays in 2023, with the next federal holiday just about a month away.

• Monday, February 20 – Presidents’ Day
• Monday, May 29 – Memorial Day
• Monday, June 19 – Juneteenth National Independence Day
• Tuesday, July 4 – Independence Day
• Monday, September 4 – Labor Day
• Monday, October 9 – Columbus Day
• Friday, November 10 (observed) – Veterans Day (observed)
• Thursday, November 23 – Thanksgiving Day
• Monday, December 25 – Christmas Day
• Monday, January 1, 2024 – New Year’s Day

* Veterans Day, November 1, 2023 falls on a Saturday this year and when this occurs, workers at government agencies receive the preceding Friday as their day off.

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.