2015 Holiday Shipping Deadlines: USPS, FedEx, and UPS
by Jarrett Streebin
One of the most important components of a successful holiday shipping operation is hitting your holiday shipping cutoffs. If it's not on the truck in time, the carrier can't guarantee it will get there in times for the holidays. Below is the full list of cutoffs for USPS, FedEx, and UPS.
Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.
Service Level | Send-by Date |
|---|---|
First Class | Saturday, Dec. 21 |
Priority Mail | Saturday, Dec. 21 |
Priority Mail Express | Tuesday, Dec. 23 |
Standard Post | Monday, Dec. 15 |
Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.
Service Level | Send-by Date |
|---|---|
FedEx SmartPost® (certain exceptions apply)³ | Friday, Dec. 14 |
FedEx Ground² ³ | Wednesday, Dec. 16 |
FedEx Home Delivery | Wednesday, Dec. 16 |
FedEx Express Saver | Saturday, Dec. 21 |
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. 17 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. 14 is the last day to ship for FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery® shipments to Alaska or Hawaii.
⁴ 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. 24 | Normal pickup and delivery service. UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered Friday, Nov. 27. |
Wednesday, Nov. 25 | Normal pickup and delivery service. UPS Next Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered Friday, Nov. 27. UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered Monday, Nov. 30 (except those processed and labeled for delivery Saturday, Nov. 28). |
Thursday, Nov. 26, Thanksgiving Day | No UPS pickup or delivery service. (UPS Express Critical service is available for urgent packages. Call 1-800-714-8779.) |
Friday, Nov. 27 | Normal pickup and delivery service in most areas.
For select rural areas: No pickup or delivery of UPS Ground, UPS 3 Day Select® and UPS® Standard packages. Normal delivery of Air and international Air packages*. Pickup of Air and international Air packages if prearranged by Wednesday, Nov. 25. Visit UPS Holiday Schedule beginning Aug. 20 for details on operational changes to pickups and deliveries by ZIP code.
|
Saturday, Nov. 28 | Delivery of UPS Worldwide Express®, UPS Next Day Air and UPS 2nd Day Air packages processed and labeled for Saturday Delivery.
Pickup service provided to regular Saturday pickup customers for Air and international Air packages*. UPS On-Call Pickup® service is available to all customers for Air and international Air packages. |
Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.
Send-by Date | |
|---|---|
Friday, Dec. 18 | Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship UPS 3 Day Select packages to be delivered before Christmas Day (delivery on Wednesday, Dec. 23). |
Monday, Dec. 21 | Normal pickup and delivery service. All UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered by Dec. 24. UPS 3 Day Select packages picked up today will be delivered after Christmas Day. Track your package for detailed delivery information. |
Tuesday, Dec. 22 | Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship all UPS 2nd Day Air packages in time for Christmas Day (delivery on Thursday, Dec. 24). |
Wednesday, Dec. 23 | Normal pickup and delivery service. This is the last day to ship all UPS Next Day Air packages in time for Christmas Day (delivery on Thursday, Dec. 24). |
Thursday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve | Normal delivery of Air, international Air*, UPS Standard and UPS Ground packages.
Pickup service available for Air and international Air packages* if prearranged by Wednesday, Dec. 23. UPS On-Call Pickup service and UPS Drop Boxes are available to all customers for Air and international Air packages. No UPS Ground, UPS 3 Day Select or UPS Standard pickups until Monday, Dec. 28. |
Thursday, Dec. 25, Christmas Day | No UPS pickup or delivery service. |
Friday, Dec. 26 | Delivery of UPS Worldwide Express, UPS Next Day Air and UPS 2nd Day Air packages processed and labeled for Saturday Delivery.
Pickup service provided to regular Saturday pickup customers for Air and international Air packages*. UPS On-Call Pickup service is available to all customers for Air and international Air packages. |
New Year's
Tuesday, Dec. 29 | Normal pickup and delivery service. All UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered on Thursday, Dec. 31. |
Wednesday, Dec. 30 | Normal pickup and delivery service. All UPS Next Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered on Thursday, Dec. 31. All UPS 2nd Day Air packages picked up today will be delivered on Monday, Jan. 4 (except those processed and labeled for delivery on Saturday, Jan. 2). |
Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014, New Year's Eve | Delivery of UPS Air and international Air packages only.
Pickup service provided for Air and international Air packages* if prearranged by Wednesday, Dec. 30. UPS On-Call Pickup service and UPS Drop Boxes are available to all customers for Air and international Air packages. No UPS Ground, UPS 3 Day Select or UPS Standard pickups until Monday, Jan. 4, 2016. |
Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, New Year's Day | No UPS pickup or delivery service. (UPS Express Critical service is available for urgent packages. Call 1-800-714-8779. |
Additional time in transit: From Nov. 23 to Dec. 30, a limited number of UPS Ground and UPS Standard packages, with transit times of three or more days, and with specific origins and destinations, will require an additional day in transit. Visit ups.com/holidays beginning Oct. 12 for affected ZIP codes. All UPS 2nd Day Air and UPS 3 Day Select packages tendered Dec. 21 will require an additional day in transit. The most up-to-date time in transit details will be available at ups.com/ctc at the time of shipping.
Time-in-transit notes: On UPS holidays – Nov. 26, 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 Air packages"* only. UPS Express Critical ® service is available for urgent packages every day of the year, including on UPS holidays. Call 1-800-714-8779 or visit upsexpresscritical.com
Holiday season service guarantees: UPS Air and international Air packages* picked up or delivered within the United States are guaranteed throughout the holiday season. Commitment times for Air and international Air packages* delivered within the United States will be extended by 90 minutes on the following days: Nov. 27, 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/tariff for the UPS Tariff/Terms and Conditions.
*"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.
As always, email us if you have any questions or difficulty getting started.