USPS Veterans Day Closures: When Regular Mail Service Resumes
Post Offices close November 11 for Veterans Day. Regular delivery and retail service return November 12, with some self-service options available.
U.S. Post Offices will close Wednesday, November 11, for Veterans Day, the U.S. Postal Service said in its November 6 notice. Regular mail delivery and retail counter service will resume Thursday, November 12. Some self-service options remain available while counters are closed.
The midweek closure matters if a mailing requires help from a clerk, such as weighing a package and comparing service options at the counter. Customers who need that service can check the hours for their location on Tuesday or Thursday. People who already have postage or need to prepare a label have other options.
The Postal Service lists November 11 on its 2026 holiday calendar. Its closure notice covers regular mail and retail service. For a shipment that must arrive by a particular date, check the service estimate for the origin, destination and mailing date rather than assuming normal Wednesday handling.
What remains available on Veterans Day
USPS says customers can still use its website to order stamps and boxes, arrange Hold Mail, submit a change of address and manage a Post Office Box. Click-N-Ship can prepare a prepaid shipping label. Creating the label is a step in preparing the shipment, while acceptance and delivery depend on when and how the package enters the mail system.
Some lobbies have self-service kiosks that sell stamps, weigh packages and print postage. The agency says many kiosks are accessible around the clock. Lobby access and kiosk availability can differ by branch, so check the location before heading out on Wednesday.
The agency also lists Rapid Dropoff Stations, merchant QR-code label printing and Smart Lockers among services available at some locations. If you are returning an online purchase, look at the retailer’s instructions first. A printable label and a QR code may require different drop-off steps.
Plan around the next regular service day
Thursday is the date USPS lists for the return of regular delivery and retail service. A customer who needs a receipt from a clerk can check Thursday’s counter hours before making a trip. For a drop box or a kiosk, look at the posted collection or acceptance information before assuming a package will start moving immediately.
If you expect a delivery, use USPS tracking to follow the item’s own scans. A holiday schedule describes the service generally, whereas a tracking number gives the updates for a particular shipment. Keep the number handy if someone else in the household is receiving it.
December deadlines are a separate calendar
The Postal Service has also published suggested send-by dates for items expected before December 25. For the contiguous United States, it lists December 17 for USPS Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail, December 18 for Priority Mail, and December 19 for Priority Mail Express. Alaska, Hawaii, international and military mail have separate considerations.
Those dates are recommendations for the holiday shipping period. For a package you are mailing around Veterans Day, start with the November closure notice and the service estimate for the ZIP Codes involved. Save the December calendar if you are also planning gifts or cards later in the season.
Archive photo. Photo credit: Elliott R. Plack via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Cropped.
