New USPS Postmark Rules Could Delay Your Mail and Affect Important Deadlines
Shutterstock
Despite being a consistent presence in our daily lives, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is no stranger to change. Whether it’s another round of price increases or upending its behind-the-scenes operations, the organization keeps us on our toes. But an upcoming set of changes could have serious consequences for people who rely on email for critical functions. And thanks to a new set of USPS postmark rules, your mail could now be delayed further, affecting important deadlines for voting, taxes, and more.
RELATED: The #1 Way Tariffs Are Affecting Your Mail, Says the USPS .
Shutterstock
We’ve all used the mail to send important, time-sensitive documents at one point. Typically, the system has always worked so that as long as you handed over everything to the USPS in time, the postmark stamped on your envelope could serve as proof that you met the deadline. But now, the agency has made a significant update to some of its rules on how it handles outgoing mail that could upend that.
As of Christmas Eve, the USPS has redefined what a postmark signifies , clarifying that the date stamped on the envelope signifies when that particular piece of mail gets processed, per PBS News. This changes the previous procedure, where the agency would postmark them the day they were received.
Shutterstock
While it might seem innocuous when sending personal letters or non-time-sensitive documents, some fear that an important piece of mail could sit unprocessed for days in a facility, creating serious issues. Namely, this could have a major effect on things like mail-in ballots and taxes.
Since 1954, anyone sending in their tax forms to the IRS via mail could use the postmark on their envelope as their date of filing, Forbes reports. However, if a taxpayer were to hand in their documents on the deadline, a delay in processing their items could lead to fines and penalties.
In the case of voting by mail, some states require that all ballots be postmarked by Election Day to be valid. However, now that days may pass before a piece of mail reaches a processing facility, there’s a good chance many votes could be disqualified under new regulations.
The changes come at a time when voting by mail has become more commonplace. Federal data shows that 30 percent of all ballots collected in the 2024 election were sent in by mail, CNN reports.
iStock
As some voting-by-mail advocates worry this could erode significant recent changes in the democratic process, the USPS itself is downplaying the move, saying that it “does not change any existing postal operations or postmarking practices, but is instead intended to improve public understanding of postmarks and their relationship to the date of mailing,” per PBS News.
In a post on Jan. 2, the USPS released a statement in an effort to clarify the changes. While claiming that postmarking practices have been “consistent since we began moving away from hand-canceling every item at Post Offices decades ago,” the agency didn’t appear to dispel the concerns being voiced by the public of a lag time between receipt and processing.
“While we are not changing our postmarking practices, we have made adjustments to our transportation operations that will result in some mailpieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed,” the memo explains. “This means that the date on the postmarks applied at our processing facilities will not necessarily match the date on which the customer’s mailpiece was collected by a letter carrier or dropped off at a retail location.”
In the memo, the USPS does remind customers that they can request a manual local postmark at their closest retail location. They can also purchase a certificate of mailing or use registered and certified mail.
See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says
Shutterstock
Your mailbox serves a very simple purpose: receiving mail and leaving outgoing mail for a carrier to pick up. Still, some of us enjoy sprucing up our mailboxes, adding personal flair, color, or even decals to help an otherwise standard mailbox stand out. But if you notice a paw print sticker on your mailbox that you didn’t add, don’t start peeling it off just yet—it’s likely part of a program run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to help keep carriers safe. Read on to find out what these stickers mean and why you shouldn’t remove them.
RELATED: USPS Wants to Raise the Price of Your Mail Again—Here’s When It Could Happen .
Shutterstock
In 2023, more than 5,800 Postal Service workers were attacked by dogs while delivering mail, up from 5,300 in 2022, according to a USPS press release.
Larger cities had the highest numbers of attacks, with Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland claiming the top five spots.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder . “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
To her point, the USPS writes that “all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive.” In fact, many of the attacks that letter carriers report are by dogs whose owners told them, “My dog won’t bite.”
Such an attack can result in consequences for the homeowner, too. According to data from the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555, the USPS states.
“When a postal employee suffers an injury, the owner could be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee,” they explain.
RELATED: USPS Is Making These Changes to Your Mail, Starting Now .
Shutterstock
To combat dog bites, the Postal Service shared tips on how pet owners can “support safe mail delivery.” These include keeping dogs inside the house or behind a fence, away from the door or in another room, or on a leash.
“Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child,” they state.
Mail carriers also follow protocol to keep them aware of areas where dogs might be present, and they’re equipped with scanners to remind them of possible dog hazards, as well as dog warning cards that are added during mail sorting.
In 2020, the USPS added another preventive measure: the PAWS Program . First introduced in Pennsylvania, the program uses mailbox stickers to keep carriers safe.
Canva
The PAWS Program uses color-coded stickers affixed to mailboxes to inform mail carriers about dogs in the area. An orange sticker with a black paw print tells carriers that there is a dog at this home, while a yellow sticker with a black paw print tells them there is a dog at the next house.
Citizens are informed ahead of time that the stickers may appear on their mailboxes. In a notice sent to Lakewood, Ohio, residents, the Postal Service wrote, “Carriers will soon be placing a paw sticker on mailboxes to indicate that a dog or dogs live in the area —yellow indicates dog nearby/orange indicates dog at residence. The sticker will act as a reminder to the carrier that they should proceed with caution, especially when delivering packages to the door.”
RELATED: Postmaster General Louis DeJoy Resigns—What It Means for the USPS and Your Mail .
iStock
Removing these stickers may do more harm than good, as your mail service can be halted if your carrier feels unsafe. Not only does this affect the home of the dog owner, but it also applies to the entire neighborhood, the USPS said in a previous press release . Service isn’t restored in these instances “until the aggressive dog is properly restrained.”
At the end of the day, these stickers are put in place to “reduce the risk of dog bites and attacks that occur while delivering mail,” which is just another reason you should leave the sticker on your mailbox.
“We all love our dogs,” Kimberly Tilley , acting postmaster for Winston-Salem, told WGHP. “We love our animals, but we … have to take responsibility to protect the carrier and the people around us as well from our animals.”
Tilley added that dog bites are more common than you think, and they can be traumatic for carriers. “Once a carrier has been bit, it sets some fear in them long term for the rest of their life,” she told the outlet.
However, although these stickers are strongly recommended, if you object to having a sticker placed on your mailbox, you can opt out , Kyle Stevens , Southwest Carrier Annex station manager in South Dakota, told KELO in 2021. To do so, the first step would be to contact your local post office.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
