USPS will be releasing a series of structural updates starting July 12, 2026. Read our quick summary below to learn more about the coming changes.
When will the new rates take effect?
In November 2025, USPS migrated to a new time zone for all future price changes. Because of this, rate activation will take place at midnight Central Time (CT) instead of midnight Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). This also impacts future-dated shipments.
Parcel dimensions required for all shipments
Starting July 12, 2026, USPS requires length, width, and height on all commercial parcel manifests. As of this date, rating requests missing required dimensions will return an error.
Dimensions required by container type:
- Parcel: all 3 dimensions
- SoftPack: all 3 dimensions
- Flat Rate, Letter, Card, Flat, PMOD: no dimensions required
USPS Flat-Rate and USPS Returns shipments are exempt. USPS has deferred assessment of its Dimension Noncompliance fee until Phase Two (early 2027, tentative).
New HazMat Handling and Non-Compliance Fees
There will be two fees added related to HazMat shipments.
- HazMat Handling Fee: $7.50 charged for all packages containing HazMat
- Non-Compliance Fee: $50 charged per infraction for improperly labeled packages, including incorrect/missing STC, ESC, Service Icon or DOT marking
Shippers and consumers will need to be cautious of the Non-Compliance Fee, as it could be triggered by reusing boxes with existing HazMat labeling or markers for non-HazMat labels.
Updated Cubic tiers for Ground Advantage and Priority Mail
Cubic tiers 0.6–1.0 will be removed. Cubic tiers 0.1–0.5 will receive new length + width measurements. The max length will increase from 18″ to 22″ for all cubic packages (boxes and soft-packs). See our table below to compare the tier changes.
| Tier | Current | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 0″–16″ | 0″–21″ |
| 0.2 | 16″–21″ | 21″–27″ |
| 0.3 | 21″–24″ | 27″–31″ |
| 0.4 | 24″–26″ | 31″–34″ |
| 0.5 | 26″–28″ | 34″–36″ |
| 0.6–1.0 | — | Removed |
USPS Ground Advantage sub-pound rates unified for Commercial Pricing
Commercial USPS Ground Advantage shipments to non-continental destinations will have unified sub-pound rates. For example a 4 oz. package and a 15.99 oz. package will be priced the same given all other details are equal.
This impacts shipments to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and military addresses.
Updated USPS Dimensional Weight Divisor
USPS Dimensional Weight Divisor will change from 166 to 139. This aligns USPS’ common mail classes with the industry standard and ensures the price of the package more accurately represents the amount of space it takes in-transit.
USPS will also implement a “Round Up” rule for all package dimensions. Any fraction of an inch will be rounded up to the next whole inch.
- Before July 12, 2026: LWH of (18.1”x12.1”x11.1”) would calculate to a value of 2400 in DIM
- On/After July 12, 2026: LWH of (18.1”x12.1”x11.1”) would calculate to a value of 3520 in DIM
New Overweight/Oversize Item Fee
NOTE: This fee will not impact EasyPost customers, as our API blocks oversize shipments. However, it is important to be aware that this fee will be implemented.
USPS is implementing a new fee for packages 70 lbs or 130″ combined length + girth. This fee can be applied after manifest as well if USPS assesses the package is larger than marked.
