USPS mail delivery changes begin: Here's what to know

Changes to service standards for the U.S. Postal Service began this month, in an effort to provide "more reliable service" for Americans. 

Under the new approach, most will get their mail in the same service window, some will get it faster, and some a little slower. 

Here’s what to know:

What we know:

The USPS said it’s adjusting service standards for first-class mail, periodicals, marketing mail, and package services.  It will deliver 75% of first-class mail at the same service standard, 14% will be upgraded to a faster standard, and 11% will have a slower standard, but all will still be within the current range of one to five days.

USPS Ground Advantage range of two to five days is also staying the same, while the day ranges for end-to-end Marketing Mail, Periodicals, and Package Services are being shortened.

"All mail will benefit from more reliable service," a USPS press release said.

Dig deeper:

Postal workers will be allowed to dispatch earlier and travel farther distances in an effort to improve "service reliability and enable critical revenue growth."

Additionally, mail tracking is now being organized into three "legs": Leg 1 is the path from collection to origin processing, Leg 2 is the path from origin processing to destination processing, and Leg 3 is the path from destination processing to final delivery. The current service standards only account for Leg 2, according to the agency – and the new changes will more "accurately reflect how mail travels through the postal network."

The changes are projected to save $36 billion over the next 10 years "from transportation, mail processing, and real estate cost reductions."

Timeline:

USPS said these service standard changes will be implemented in two phases to "facilitate effective operational execution," with the first having already begun on April 1 and the second on July 1. 

Big picture view:

USPS has been struggling financially in recent years and fought calls from President Donald Trump and others that it be privatized. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, appointed during Trump’s first term in 2020, announced a 10-year turnaround plan last year, but announced plans to step down in February and asked the Postal Service Board of Governors to look for his successor.

By the numbers:

Since a reorganization in 1970, the USPS has been largely self-funded. The bulk of its annual $78.5 billion budget comes from customer fees, according to the Congressional Research Service. Congress provides a relatively small annual appropriation — about $50 million in fiscal year 2023 — to subsidize free and reduced-cost mail services.

Amid challenges that include the decline in profitable first-class mail and the cost of retiree benefits, the Postal Service accumulated $87 billion in losses from 2007 to 2020. However, the service reported a $144 million profit last quarter, attributing it to DeJoy’s 10-year plan to modernize operations and stem losses. The service reported a net loss of $2.1 billion for the same quarter last year.

USPS currently employs about 640,000 workers tasked with making deliveries from inner cities to rural areas and even far-flung islands.

What they're saying:

"By implementing the new standards and the operational initiatives to which they are aligned, we will be better able to achieve the goals of our modernization plans and create a high-performing, financially sustainable organization, which is necessary to achieve the statutory policies and objectives established for the Postal Service by law," Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement.

USPS shipping times 2025

What you can do:

The USPS also implemented a new Service Standards Map that customers can use to find out estimated mailing times from one ZIP code to the next. The search results show the expected delivery dates based on which mail service is used.