Does Mail Run on Columbus Day?

Columbus Day, also known as Indigenous People’s Day, is a federal holiday in the US. If you need to ship this October 11th, you might wonder:

Does the mail run on Columbus Day?

It depends on which courier you ship with. Each common US courier – USPS, UPS, FedEx – has a different policy about mail sent on Columbus Day.

Rather than miss a delivery day, check out our quick overview of which couriers do and don’t deliver on October 11, 2021.

USPS Is Closed on Columbus Day

As the national postal service, USPS takes off all federal holidays. Every United States Post Office will be closed on Columbus Day, and no mail will be delivered. If you’ve scheduled a pickup or were expecting a delivery, service will resume the next day.

USPS doesn’t deliver on Columbus Day or any of the following federal holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday
• President’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Veterans Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

UPS In Full Service on Columbus Day

Yes, UPS does deliver on Columbus Day. For 2021 at least, all UPS services and pickups will be available. While UPS says it observes Indigenous People’s Day, it’s only closed for four days per year:

• New Years Day
• Independence Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

Even for the holidays listed above, UPS Express Critical® is still in service. Although, it’s quite an expensive service, and used when vital. If you do need holiday delivery, be sure you’re getting a discounted shipping rate from Easyship or another shipping platform to reduce your costs.

FedEx All Open with One Exception

Does FedEx deliver on Columbus Day? Yes, generally – but not for FedEx SmartPost. This means that all FedEx locations will be open. All FedEx mail services, except SmartPost, will run on Columbus Day.

The reason for the delay with SmartPost? FedEx relies on USPS to ship its SmartPost packages and USPS shutters for Columbus Day. If you need to ship FedEx for Columbus Days, you can use FedEx Ground or FedEx Home Delivery as another cost-effective option. Otherwise, your delivery will be delayed by at least one day.

Questions about other holiday openings for FedEx? Check the chart below for your day. FedEx offers modified service on most holidays, so it’s never 100% closed. However, like UPS, its Express Critical® services can cost hundreds of dollars.

Ship with FedEx or UPS for Columbus Day

Does the mail run on Columbus Day? For USPS, no. Private couriers like FedEx and UPS remain open, though. If you’re banking on the rock-bottom prices of USPS, using Easyship is a great way to get affordable FedEx and UPS rates. Our discounted shipping rates for all couriers instantly save you up to 91%.

For an instant estimate on your discounted rates, try our free shipping rate calculator.

And if you like what you see, you can create a free Easyship account. You’ll get instant access to these discounts on your first 50 shipments sent with Easyship each month. Why pay full retail for shipping, anyway?

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If you found this article informative, you may enjoy the following:

• The UPS Holiday Schedule
• The USPS Holiday Schedule
• The FedEx Holiday Schedule