The U.S. Postal Service has issued new guidance clarifying that postmarks may not always reflect the actual date you mailed your letter or package, a change that could significantly impact time-sensitive documents like ballots, tax returns and legal papers.
Under the USPS Final Rule on Postmarks and Postal Possession, most postmarks are now applied at large processing plants and show the date mail is first processed, not necessarily when the Post Office accepted it from you.
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With new transportation schedules called Regional Transportation Optimization, your letter might sit for a day before receiving that familiar round black stamp, even if you dropped it off on time.
For documents with hard deadlines, the Postal Service recommends bringing items to a Post Office counter and requesting a manual local postmark. This service is free and will always show the date you handed over your mail.
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The Postal Service also suggests mailing items at least a week before deadlines and purchasing a Certificate of Mailing for proof of submission when necessary.
The change doesn't affect how the Postal Service handles mail but aims to help customers understand what postmarks mean so they can plan accordingly for important deadlines.
This story was originally published by the Scripps News Group in Norfolk, Virginia.
