USPS set to increase shipping rates: When will they take effect?

(NEXSTAR) – The U.S. Postal Service has outlined its plans for “new competitive prices” on shipping services.

In a proposal filed earlier this month, USPS proposed price increases for Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select services to help generate “needed revenue” for the Postal Service. Specifically, the price of Priority Mail shipments would increase by 6.6% price on average, while the price of Priority Mail express would increase by 5.1%. Prices for USPS Ground Advantage services will increase by 7.8 percent, and Parcel Select services will increase by 6%, on average.

The USPS filing also proposes increases to other services in 2026, such as its premium forwarding service, its package interception service, and several international shipping services including M-bag Service, which would increase by a whopping 44%. (M-bag Service concerns “sacks of printed matter such as books or advertising material sent to a single foreign addressee,” according to the Postal Service.)

The proposed changes were first approved by the USPS Board of Governors (which includes Postmaster General David Steiner) before being sent to the Postal Regulatory Commission — an independent oversight agency — for review.

Once approved, the new prices would take effect starting Jan. 18, 2026.

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“As part of the Postal Service’s network modernization and transformation plan, these proposed changes will support creation of a revitalized organization capable of achieving its public service mission — providing a nationwide, integrated network for the delivery of mail and packages at least six days a week — in a cost-effective and financially sustainable manner over the long term, just as the U.S. Congress has intended,” USPS wrote in a news release issued on Nov. 14.

In its news release, USPS stressed that only its prices for shipping services would be increasing — not the price of a stamp.

“As the Postal Service previously announced, the organization will not raise prices in January for Mailing Services. This means the price of a First-Class Mail stamp will not change,” USPS wrote.

The price of a First Class stamp last increased from 73 cents to 78 cents in July 2025. Before that, the most recent price increases took effect in June 2024, January 2024 and July 2023, according to USPS data.