Postage Rates Increase January 21

WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Postal Service announced today that it has delivered more than 270 million COVID-19 test kits to American households as part of President Biden’s plan to distribute free at-home tests to Americans for free. The Postal Service reported over 68 million test kit packages (with four tests per kit) have been shipped to American households across all states, Tribes and territories; each package contains four individual test kits. On average, it takes just 1.2 days for the Postal Service to deliver a test kit package once it has been received from the manufacturer, kitted and entered into the mailstream. On Tuesday, Feb. 22, the Postal Service delivered over 6 million COVID-19 test kit packages — the highest single day volume delivered since shipping began at the end of January. “There are few assignments the Postal Service has received that better exemplify our public service mission than the request of the Biden Administration to deliver America’s COVID-19 test kits,” said Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer Lou

U.S. Postal Service Proposes New Prices for 2024
The United States Postal Service filed a notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of mailing services price changes to take effect January 21, 2024.

The new rates include a 2-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp, from 66 cents to 68 cents.

The proposed adjustments, approved by the governors of the Postal Service, would raise mailing services product prices approximately 2 percent.

Planned Price
Letters (1 ounce) From $0.66 to $0.68

Letters (metered 1 ounce) From $0.63 to $0.64

Domestic Postcards From $0.51 to $0.53

International Postcards From $1.50 $1.55

International Letter (1 ounce) From $1.50 to $1.55

Additional-ounce - $0.24 - No Change

There will be no change to the additional-ounce price, which remains at 24 cents. The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for Special Services products including Certified Mail, Post Office Box rental fees, money order fees and the cost to purchase insurance when mailing an item.

As inflationary pressures on operating expenses continue and the effects of a previously defective pricing model are still being felt, these price adjustments are needed to provide the Postal Service with much needed revenue to achieve the financial stability sought by its Delivering for America 10-year plan. The prices of the Postal Service remain among the most affordable in the world.

The PRC will review the changes before they are scheduled to take effect. The complete Postal Service price filing, with prices for all products, can be found on the PRC website under the Daily Listings section at prc.arkcase.com/portal/home. The mailing services filing is Docket No. R2024-1. The price tables are also available on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website at pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index.