by Kate Shunney
A postmark from the United States Postal Service (USPS) has long served for the public as an official confirmation of the date that a mail item was sent, especially items like tax returns or documents that have to meet certain time deadlines.
Now, those who use the U.S. Postal Service may not be guaranteed that the day they mail an item is the date that mail item will be stamped with an official postmark.
This matters when it comes to filing taxes, sending election forms or casting ballots by mail, among other occasions. 
U.S. Postal Service officials have said this is not a change in how they have long done business, but customers and others – including election officials – have brough the matter to public attention because of its importance.
According to the U.S. Postal Service, there is no change in their postmarking practice, but they have changed their “transportation operations” from originating post offices or mailboxes to regional processing facilities.
“[T]hat will result in some mailpieces not arriving at our originating processing facilities on the same day that they are mailed. This means that the date on the postmarks applied at our processing facilities will not necessarily match the date on which the customer’s mailpiece was collected by a letter carrier or dropped off at a retail location,” the U.S. Postal Service has said in their “Postmarking Myths and Facts.”
Updates to U.S. Postal procedures were proposed in August of 2025 and published in November 2025 after a public comment period.
Local postmarks available
Postal customers can ask for their item to be postmarked by hand, however, if they take that item to a post office during business hours and request a local postmark.
“As before, a customer can ensure that a postmark is applied to his or her mailpiece, and that the date on the postmark matches the date of mailing, by visiting a Postal Service retail location and requesting a manual (local) postmark at the retail counter when tendering their mailpiece. Manual postmarks will be applied free of charge,” the U.S. Postal Service wrote in their recent statement.
Postal officials say that the traditional use and meaning of the postmark – as an acknowledgement and stamped record of when and where an item was mailed – is a myth.
“A postmark date does not necessarily indicate the first day that the Postal Service took possession of the mailpiece. Rather, it confirms that the Postal Service accepted custody of a mailpiece, and that the mailpiece was in the possession of the Postal Service on the identified date.” the USPS website says.
