The largest U.S. carriers — the United States Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and the United Parcel Service (UPS) — have each released their holiday shipping deadlines for 2025.

The United States Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and the United Parcel Service (UPS) all posted their holiday shipping deadlines that apply to domestic deliveries in 2025. Each carrier delivers products for hundreds — if not more than a thousand — of the Top 2000 online retailers in North America.  So here, at a glance, is a guide for this year’s shipping season.

USPS holiday shipping deadlines 2025

In the continental U.S., the last day to ship a package and have it arrive at its destination by Christmas varies by USPS service.  In 2025, Christmas Day falls on a Thursday.

For USPS Ground Advantage and for First-Class Mail, the holiday shipping deadline in 2025 is Dec. 17. For Priority Mail, Dec. 18.  Dec. 20 is the last date for Priority Mail Express.

And for Alaska and Hawaii, those dates are earlier. For packages to arrive by Christmas, shippers have until Dec. 16 for USPS Ground Advantage shipments, Dec. 17 for First-Class Mail, Dec. 18 for Priority Mail, and Dec. 20 for Priority Mail Express.

The Postal Service is also implementing temporary rate increases for some package services from October through January, as it has done in previous years to manage increased holiday volume.

FedEx holiday shipping deadlines 2025

For FedEx, the last same-day delivery date (for eligible shipments) before Christmas is Dec. 24 in 2025. And for FedEx First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight or Extra Hours deliveries, the cutoff date is Dec. 23.

That moves up a bit for FedEx 2Day and 2Day AM, the cutoff for which is Dec. 20. The exception is for optional Saturday pickup that can be extended to Dec. 20, and that comes with a $16 surcharge per package. The cutoff for FedEx Express Saver is Dec. 19.

Meanwhile, FedEx Ground has different cutoff dates depending on how many days of shipping the consumer selects for his or her package. For one-day shipping, the cutoff is Dec. 23. However, for two-day shipping, the cutoff is Dec. 20. From there, the cutoff moves one day earlier. Three-day shipping’s cutoff is Dec. 19, four-day shipping’s is Dec. 18, and five-day’s is Dec. 17.

Those are similar time frames to FedEx Home Delivery. For one-day shipping, the cutoff is still Dec. 23. However, for two- and three-day shipping, it’s Dec. 20. For four-day shipping, the cutoff is Dec. 18, and it’s Dec. 17 for five-day shipping.

The Air Freight service’s holiday shipping deadlines are not the same in 2025 as the Ground division’s. For Air Freight, the last date for one-day freight is Dec. 23. For two-day, that’s Dec. 20, and for three-day, it’s Dec. 19.

The cutoff for one-day less-than-truckload (LTL) is Dec. 20. From there, it’s Dec. 19 for two-day, Dec. 18 for three-day, Dec. 17 for four-day, and Dec. 16 for five-day. For FedEx Freight Economy, the single cutoff is Dec. 11.

FedEx 2025 demand surcharges

FedEx is implementing comprehensive demand surcharges for the 2025 holiday season, with rates varying by service type and time period. The surcharges apply to most domestic package services from Sept. 29 through Jan. 18, 2026, with the highest fees taking effect Nov. 24 through Dec. 28.

For example, the Demand — Additional Handling Surcharge will be $8.25 per package from Sept. 29 to Nov. 23, jumping to $10.90 per package during the peak period of Nov. 24 to Dec. 28, then returning to $8.25 from Dec. 29, 2025, to Jan. 18, 2026. The Demand — Oversize Charge follows a similar pattern: $90 per package in the early period, $108.50 during peak, and back to $90 in the final period.

FedEx is also implementing variable demand surcharges for Express services ranging from $1.05 to $2.10 per package, and Ground residential shipments will see surcharges of $0.40 to $0.65 per package, depending on the time period.

UPS holiday shipping deadlines 2025

Like with the other carriers, for UPS, the holiday shipping deadline for 2025 depends on which service a consumer uses. The cutoff shipping date to have a package arrive by Christmas Eve is Dec. 23 for consumers who select UPS Next Day Air.

For those who select 2nd Day Air, the cutoff is Dec. 20. For UPS 3 Day Select, the cutoff is Dec. 19.

Meanwhile, UPS advises consumers to check its Calculate Time and Cost page for its Ground service’s cutoff date this holiday shipping season.

UPS 2025 peak demand surcharges

UPS is implementing peak season surcharges for 2025 that are higher compared to last year, with elevated fees taking effect Sept. 28 for packages that are bulky, oversized or require additional handling. UPS will start applying demand surcharges on Oct. 26, with all surcharges reaching their highest price from Nov. 23 to Dec. 27.

The demand surcharge for higher-volume shippers can range from $0.40 to $8.75 per package, with the exact amount depending on the service used and how much the customer’s weekly shipping activity deviates from their “baseline” volume established in June.

For enterprise-level customers who ship more than 20,000 residential and Ground Economy packages during a calculation week, UPS applies a Demand-Residential Delivery Charge that’s calculated based on a “peaking factor.” This charge varies from $1.55 to $7.50 per package for Ground and Home Delivery services, and $2.80 to $8.75 for Express services, depending on how much volume exceeds the baseline.

UPS has also implemented significant increases for oversized packages, with some charges climbing as high as $545 per package during the busiest weeks for unauthorized packages that exceed size limits.

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