USPS to Change its First-Class Mail in April: What to Know

Improved United States Postal Service (USPS) delivery times, including faster delivery times for some customers, are scheduled to begin soon. Newsweek has gathered what you need to know ahead of the changes.

Why It Matters

The changes coming to USPS services will be phased in, with the first tranche taking effect at the start of April. According to an announcement made in February, the independent federal agency’s new plan will help increase reliability and save $36 billion over 10 years.

Newsweek reached out to the USPS via email for comment.

What To Know

Beginning April 1, the USPS will adjust service standards for first-class mail, periodicals, marketing mail, and package services.

Seventy-five percent of first-class mail will maintain its current delivery standard, 14 percent will be upgraded to a faster standard, and 11 percent will experience a slower standard. However, all first-class mail will still be delivered between one and five days.

Postal workers will also be allowed to leave facilities earlier and travel longer distances for deliveries, improving reliability, especially for customers in rural areas. Mail tracking will also be broken into three phases, so customers have a clearer understanding of how the mail process works.

Stock image of U.S. Postal Service (USPS) boxes and Express Mail envelopes.

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“The changes will maintain service at existing levels for most volume and upgrade standards for more market-dominant volume than is downgraded,” the USPS said in its announcement.

It “will enhance service reliability nationwide while maintaining the existing five-day service standard day range for first-class mail, whereas the day ranges for end-to-end marketing mail, periodicals and package services will be shortened.”

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

USPS has been struggling financially, having implemented a 10-year plan to stabilize its finances in 2021. It reported a $9.5 billion loss in the fiscal year ending in September 2024, compared to a net loss of $6.5 billion in the fiscal year 2023.

The service changes come after outgoing Postmaster General Louis DeJoy confirmed he signed an agreement with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to assist USPS in “identifying and achieving further efficiencies.”

In a letter to Congress, he also confirmed plans to eliminate 10,000 jobs using a voluntary early retirement program.

What People Are Saying

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy: “The Postal Service has been historically burdened by service standard regulations and onerous business rules that have not been appropriately adjusted to account for volume and mail mix changes, forcing costly and ineffective operations.

“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.”