The US Postal Service generally follows the federal holiday schedule. Local and state government holiday schedules may differ significantly. On Sundays and US Postal Service holidays, no mail delivery with occur with the exception of Express Mail when a surcharge has been paid. Currently, the US Postal Service delivers Mondays through Saturday.
The following is the 2012 postal holiday schedule:
- Monday, January 2 - New Year's Day (observed)
- Monday, January 16 - MLK Jr. Day
- Monday, February 20 - President's Day (observed)
- Monday, May 28 - Memorial Day
- Wednesday, July 4 - Independence Day
- Monday, September 3 - Labor Day
- Monday, October 8 - Columbus Day
- Monday, November 12 - Veterans Day (observed)
- Thursday, November 22 - Thanksgiving Day
- Tuesday, December 26 - Christmas Day
- Tuesday, January 1, 2013 - New Year's Day
On Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, many post offices will hold holiday shortened hours by closing at noon. However, main post offices in the area may continue to offer their normal business hours. Mail delivery will not be affected by the early holiday closures.
On MLK Jr. Day, President's Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day, other delivery services such as UPS and FedEx (Federal Express) do not observe those holidays and will be open for regular delivery.
Extended Post Office Hours on April 17th, 2012 Tax Day
On Tuesday, April 17th, 2012, some post offices will be open until midnight to accept mail including federal and state tax returns. Only those who deliver their tax returns envelopes to one of the open post offices will get an April 17th, 2012 postmark. Mail dropped off in other mailboxes and at closed post offices after normal closing hours will be postmarked late.
Post Office Closures and Delays Due to Weather and Natural Events
Due to weather and other unforeseen events, post offices may close or delay service. Weather and natural events often cause problems for delivery services, including the US Postal Service.
For example, on January 9, 2010, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck just off the shore of northern California. This caused the Eureka Post Office in downtown Eureka to close. However, mail delivery did continue on that day.
According to the Associated Press, the United Postal Service has run a budget deficit into the billions of dollars. In the future, the USPS may be looking to cut the delivery schedule to a five day schedule. This does not necessarily mean that Saturday would be picked as the delivery day to be cut. However, the internet and the current recession may cause a change in the USPS delivery schedule in the near future.
Resources:
USPS Mail Service Updates (updated daily).
