2014 Holiday Shipping Deadlines: USPS, FedEx, and UPS

October 13, 2014

by Thomas Schiavone

Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.

Service Level	Send-by Date
First Class	Saturday, Dec. 20
Priority Mail	Saturday, Dec. 20
Priority Mail Express	Tuesday, Dec. 23
Standard Post	Monday, Dec. 15
DNDC Drop Ship	Friday, Dec. 19
DDU Drop Ship	Monday, Dec. 22

Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.

Service Level	Send-by Date
FedEx SmartPost® (certain exceptions apply) ³	Friday, Dec. 12
FedEx Home Delivery	Wednesday, Dec. 17
FedEx Ground ²	Wednesday, Dec. 17
FedEx Express Saver	Saturday, Dec. 20
FedEx 2Day	Monday, Dec. 22
FedEx 2Day AM	Monday, Dec. 22
FedEx Standard Overnight	Tuesday, Dec. 23
FedEx Priority Overnight	Tuesday, Dec. 23
FedEx First Overnight	Tuesday, Dec. 23
FedEx SameDay	Tuesday, Dec. 25

For delivery cutoffs on international packages, see FedEx: Last Days to Ship.

¹ Go to Get Rates and Transit Times to view transit times for specific services. For other country-specific shipping information, or for shipments to military destinations, please go to Get Rates and Transit Times or call FedEx Customer Service at 1.800.GoFedEx 1.800.463.3339. International Next Flight, please call 1.800.974.7333 for precise transit time quotations and to schedule a pickup. FedEx International First, FedEx International Priority, FedEx International Economy, and FedEx International Ground dates do not take into account time requirements for customs clearance. Please allow extra transit day(s) for delivery outside of major cities. Last day to ship using FedEx Ground is dependent on distance from origin location to destination location. Consult the FedEx Service Guide for terms of shipping. In the event of a conflict between the FedEx Service Guide and the transit time on fedex.com, the terms and conditions in the FedEx Service Guide will control. ² Dec. 12 is the last day to ship via FedEx Ground if you have a regular scheduled pickup or you drop off shipments at a staffed FedEx location. Transit times are typically 2 to 7 business days within the contiguous U.S. based on the destination ZIP code. Longer transit times to destinations outside the U.S. ³ Dec. 12 is the last day to ship via FedEx SmartPost if you have a regular scheduled FedEx Ground pickup or you drop off shipments at a staffed FedEx location. Dec. 15 is the last day to ship via FedEx SmartPost if you use a FedEx SmartPost third-party contractor or drop-ship directly to a FedEx SmartPost hub. FedEx SmartPost does not provide day‑definite delivery. Transit times are typically 2 to 7 business days within the contiguous U.S. based on the destination ZIP code. Longer transit times to destinations outside the U.S.

Thanksgiving

Send-by Date
Tuesday, Nov. 25	Normal pickup and delivery service. UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered Friday, Nov. 28.
Wednesday, Nov. 26	Normal pickup and delivery service. UPS Next Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered Friday, Nov. 28. UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered Monday, Dec. 1 (except those processed and labeled for delivery Saturday, Nov. 29).
Thursday, Nov. 27, Thanksgiving Day	No UPS pickup or delivery service. (UPS Express Critical service is available for urgent packages. Call 1-800-714-8779.)
Friday, Nov. 28	New! Normal pickup and delivery for all service levels (in past years, there was only service for UPS air and international packages * ).
Saturday, Nov. 29	Delivery of UPS Worldwide Express Pickup service provided to regular Saturday pickup customers for air and international packages. UPS On-Call Pickup service is available to all customers. *

Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.

Send-by Date
Saturday, Dec. 20	Delivery of UPS Worldwide Express, UPS Next Day Air and UPS 2nd Day Air packages processed and labeled for Saturday Delivery.
Saturday, Dec. 20	Pickup service provided to regular Saturday pickup customers for air and international packages, or if prearranged by Friday, Dec. 19. All locations of The UPS Store will be open. *
Monday, Dec. 22	Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship UPS 2nd Day Air packages in time for Christmas (arriving Wednesday, Dec. 24).
Tuesday, Dec. 23	Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship UPS Next Day Air packages in time for Christmas (arriving Wednesday, Dec. 24).
Wednesday, Dec. 24 Christmas Eve	Normal delivery of air, international and ground shipments. Pickup service available for air and international shipments if prearranged by Tuesday, Dec. 23. UPS On-Call Pickup service and UPS Drop Boxes are available to all customers for air and international shipments. * No UPS Ground, UPS Standard or 3 Day Select pickups until Friday, Dec. 26.
Thursday, Dec. 25 Christmas	No UPS pickup or delivery service. (UPS Express Critical service is available for urgent packages. Call 1-800-714-8779 ).
Friday, Dec. 26	Delivery of air and international packages. * Normal pickup service (all service levels).

New Year's

Send-by Date
Monday, Dec. 29	Normal pickup and delivery service. UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will arrive Wednesday, Dec. 31.
Tuesday, Dec. 30	Normal pickup and delivery service. UPS Next Day Air packages picked up today will arrive Wednesday, Dec. 31. UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will arrive Friday, Jan. 2.
Wednesday, Dec. 31 New Year's Eve	Delivery of air and international packages only. * Pickup service provided to scheduled pickup account customers for air and international shipments if prearranged by Tuesday, Dec. 30. UPS On-Call Pickup service and UPS Drop Boxes are available to all customers for air and international shipments. No UPS Ground, UPS Standard or UPS 3 Day Select pickups until Friday, Jan. 2.
Thursday, Jan. 1 New Year's Day	No UPS pickup or delivery service. (UPS Express Critical service is available for urgent packages. Call 1-800-714-8779.

* UPS Air and International Shipments references in the schedule above include the following UPS service options: UPS Next Day Air, Early A.M., and UPS Worldwide Express Freight.

Time-in-transit notes: On UPS holidays – Nov. 27, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 – there is no movement of any packages tendered to UPS. Also, Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 are considered for the purpose of the UPS Service Guarantee as transit days for "UPS air and international shipments" only.

Peak-season service guarantees: UPS air and international shipments picked up or delivered within the United States are guaranteed throughout the holiday season. Commitment times for air and international shipments delivered within the United States will be extended by 90 minutes on the following days: Nov. 28, Dec. 18-24, and Dec. 31. The guarantee is suspended for UPS Ground and UPS Standard packages picked up or scheduled for delivery between Dec. 11 and Dec. 24. For further details, visit ups.com for the UPS Tariff/Terms and Conditions

As always, email us if you have any questions or difficulty getting started.