The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an agency responsible for providing postal services to citizens across the country. One of the frequently asked questions about USPS is whether they deliver mail on Sundays. Interestingly, USPS does have mail delivery services on Sundays, but with some restrictions based on the location and type of mail. While the delivery may not be available for all locations, it still covers a significant number of areas and mail classes. And to answer your question, USPS does offer Sunday delivery for certain mail classes and locations.
Mail Classes Eligible for Sunday Delivery
USPS offers delivery 365 days a year. However, not all types of mail are delivered on Sundays. The main mail classes that are delivered by USPS on Sundays include:
Priority Mail Express
Priority Mail Express is guaranteed by USPS for delivery 365 days a year, including Sundays and federal holidays. This is the only mail class with this guarantee.
To receive Priority Mail Express service on a Sunday, the mailed item must:
- Originate and destinate within select ZIP Code locations that have Sunday delivery
- Meet the delivery deadline on Sunday based on the time of mailing and requested service
Most Priority Mail Express mail is delivered by 3:00 pm on Sundays. Some remote areas may have later delivery times.
Amazon Packages
USPS delivers Amazon packages on Sundays as part of its negotiated service agreement with Amazon. Sunday delivery of Amazon packages is limited to select urban areas with high package volumes.
Not all Amazon customer addresses are eligible. Sunday delivery for Amazon packages is focused on major metro areas to deal with high order volumes from Amazon Prime members.
Additional Eligible Mail Classes
In limited circumstances, other mail classes like Priority Mail and First Class packages may be delivered on Sundays. This generally only occurs in locations that have Sunday package delivery if there is extra capacity.
However, USPS does not guarantee delivery of these other mail classes on Sundays. It depends entirely on mail volume and local postal facility resources.
Areas Receiving Sunday Mail Delivery
USPS Sunday package delivery is currently available in select high-density locations, focused mostly on major metro areas. According to USPS, below are some of the areas that are eligible for Sunday mail delivery:
Major Metro Areas
- Los Angeles, CA
- New York, NY
- Chicago, IL
- Philadelphia, PA
Additional Cities
- Atlanta, GA
- Boston, MA
- Seattle, WA
- Minneapolis, MN
- Phoenix, AZ
The list of eligible ZIP code locations changes over time. USPS is focused on expanding its Sunday delivery network to more addresses and Postal Service districts in coming years.
Checking if Your Address Gets Sunday Delivery
The USPS website has a “Look Up a ZIP Code” tool that you can use to check if your address is currently eligible for Sunday mail delivery.
To use it:
- Go to USPS Look Up a ZIP Code Tool
- Enter your street address and city/state details
- Look at the “Sunday/Holiday” delivery time shown
If the “Sunday/Holiday” delivery time says “Unavailable,” then your address does not currently get USPS mail delivery on Sundays.
If it shows a delivery time, like “9:00 am,” then your address is set up for Sunday package delivery.
USPS Mail Classes Without Sunday Delivery
While Priority Mail Express and Amazon packages are delivered 7 days a week, most other mail classes do not have Sunday delivery from USPS:
First Class Mail
First-Class Mail includes standard letters, postcards, bills, invoices, etc. USPS does not deliver First-Class Mail on Sundays or federal holidays.
The estimated delivery time shown on the USPS website for First-Class Mail assumes Monday through Saturday delivery only.
USPS Retail Ground
Retail Ground is the cheapest and slowest USPS ground shipping service. It moves through USPS’s surface network without a guaranteed arrival date.
Retail Ground items are delivered Monday through Saturday only. USPS does not offer Retail Ground delivery on Sundays or federal holidays.
Media Mail
Media Mail is used to ship books, music, educational media, and other qualifying items. It offers discounted USPS shipping rates.
Media Mail is not delivered on Sundays or federal holidays. Only Monday through Saturday delivery is provided.
Priority Mail
Most Priority Mail packages are delivered Monday through Saturday only. USPS does not guarantee Sunday delivery for Priority Mail items.
In very limited cases, Priority Mail packages may be delivered on Sundays in high volume postal districts if capacity allows. But this is not typical for the majority of Priority Mail.
Rural addresses are unlikely to receive Priority Mail on Sundays since those areas usually don’t have Sunday staffing.
Tracking USPS Packages Scheduled for Sunday Delivery
If you have a USPS package that you suspect is supposed to be delivered on a Sunday, the USPS tracking system can confirm its status and estimated delivery details.
Here is how to track USPS packages to see if Sunday delivery is scheduled:
Use USPS Tracking on USPS.com
To track any USPS package and confirm if Sunday delivery is expected:
- Go to USPS Tracking on USPS.com
- Enter your tracking number
- Scroll down to the “Expected Delivery Date” field
If it shows Sunday as the estimated delivery date, then the tracking details have locked in Sunday as the target delivery day.
Check Tracking History Details
In addition to the expected delivery date, USPS tracking provides detailed scans and event updates at each stage of transit and delivery.
To check if those scans align with expected Sunday delivery:
- Go to USPS Tracking and enter your number
- Click on “See tracking history”
- Scan through the shown events and scans
If you see Sunday noted as an expected delivery date in those tracking history logs, then USPS is planning delivery for that Sunday.
Matching scans aligned to that day will confirm Sunday delivery operations are underway.
Review the USPS Interactive Map
The USPS package tracker also offers an interactive tracking map. This visually plots each scan location on a map:
- Enter your USPS tracking number
- Scroll down to the map
- Toggle open to enlarge it
As you follow the tracking path on the map, see if the trail ends on Sunday based on the number of days in transit:
- Counting each previous day on the map
- USPS plots expected Sunday delivery with an early morning arrival scan
If their Sunday projection shows in the tracking map timeline, they expect Sunday final delivery.
USPS Sunday Delivery Time Frame
USPS has some variability in exactly what hours they deliver mail during Sunday operations. There are general delivery windows to expect, based on mail class.
Here are the common USPS Sunday mail delivery times to anticipate for eligible item
Priority Mail Express: Morning Hours
For guaranteed Priority Mail Express items, Sunday delivery usually occurs in the morning hours between 9:00 am and 12:00 noon.
Some exceptional cases may receive delivery by 3:00 pm if destined for distant or remote areas. But the norm is morning delivery.
So if you have an Express Mail package with Sunday delivery scheduled, plan for its arrival sometime Sunday morning.
Amazon Packages: Morning & Afternoon
Amazon packages handled through the USPS Sunday operations are delivered in two main waves:
- Early morning through noon
- Afternoon between 12 pm and 3 pm
Some post offices divide their routes into morning and afternoon groups. So Amazon packages may arrive either in the early or late half of the day.
Afternoon delivery allows USPS staff to handle non-Amazon Priority Mail in the mornings. So plan for either a morning or afternoon arrival for Amazon items on Sundays.
Priority Mail: Varies by Area
If you happen to live in an area where non-guaranteed Priority Mail packages also get delivered on Sundays, the timing varies.
Some locations schedule Priority Mail delivery simultaneously with Amazon parcels. So both morning and afternoon waves occur.
Other areashandle Priority Mail solely in the mornings. Then the local post office focuses on Amazon volume in the afternoons.
There is no standardized delivery window for Priority Mail without Express guarantees. Check your local patterns for typical Sunday arrival times.
Why Sunday Delivery Differs by Location
USPS Sunday delivery capability depends greatly on the local postal district. Logistics like staffing levels, mail volume, and delivery density impact what days delivery can occur.
Here are some key reasons why Sunday USPS delivery varies across different regions:
Personnel Capacity
Having enough staff is necessary to handle packages on Sundays. Postal facilities must assign teams specifically to operate that day.
In rural areas and small towns, gaining adequate staff coverage is difficult. But major cities have more personnel flexibility to allocate employees to Sundays.
So staffing capacity directly impacts which locations can accommodate extra work days.
Transportation Logistics
Postal service transportation needs dedicated Sunday routes and drivers. Trucks and carriers need to run special trips to convey packages on an unscheduled day.
In major metro areas with concentrated delivery zones, making Sunday transportation efficient is easier. But rural routes covering long distances struggle with cost-effective Sunday logistics.
Delivery Density
The more deliveries concentrated within a close proximity, the more worthwhile Sunday operations become. Rural routes with only a few Sunday eligible packages are not cost-effective.
But urban routes with hundreds of locals Amazon orders makes Sunday delivery efficient based on volume density per trip.
So regions with sparsely situated addresses cannot leverage Sundays like clustered city stops.
Priority Mail Express Commitments
Postal districts containing guaranteed Express Mail routes must accommodate those packages 365 days a year – including Sundays.
So presence of Priority Mail Express customers ensures some basic level of Sunday service. Areas without Express Mail guarantees sometimes lack justification for Sunday work.
Amazon Delivery Partnerships
USPS districts serving big Amazon hubs take on major Sunday workload per their established contracts. Where Amazon lacks a large shipping base, USPS moves less volume on Sundays.
So the symbiotic postal relationship with Amazon directly fuels Sunday scaling for many major metro USPS regions carrying huge Amazon parcel loads.
Can You Pick Up USPS Packages on Sundays?
While Sunday delivery occurs in select areas, USPS does not offer package pickup from post offices or collection boxes on Sundays.
Retail hours and collection times are not available on Sundays or federal holidays recognized by USPS.
So if you have an item to ship and want to hand it off directly, you need to plan Monday through Saturday drop-offs.
Below are some things to keep in mind regarding direct USPS dropoffs on Sundays:
Post Office Closed
Post office retail units that sell supplies and handle package dropoffs are closed on Sundays. Their available hours run Monday through Friday or Saturday only.
Without retail access, you cannot enter the post office to hand over pre-packed parcels on Sundays. Counters are shut down and doors locked.
Blue Collection Boxes
USPS blue collection boxes located around neighborhoods have a final weekday pickup Saturday evening.
There is no USPS collection from those public boxes at any time on Sundays or federal holidays.
So do not deposit packages after the final Saturday pickup expecting Sunday forwarding. Wait until Monday for the box to reopen.
Self-Service Kiosks
In some locations, USPS offers computerized self-service kiosks for dropping off pre-labeled packages when retail centers are closed.
However, USPS disables those parcel kiosks on Sundays and federal holidays to prevent delivery delays.
Wait until Monday when the self-service equipment comes back online to handle weekend dropoffs.
Schedule Carrier Pickups
Rather than in-person dropoffs, you can schedule free USPS Carrier Pickups at your address on shipping days. A truck will swing by to grab your item.
FAQs
- Does USPS deliver mail on Sundays?
No, USPS does not typically deliver regular mail on Sundays. This includes First-Class Mail, Periodicals, and Standard Mail. However, there are some exceptions:
- Priority Mail Express: This service offers guaranteed delivery on Sundays by noon for an additional $12.50 fee.
- Amazon Packages: USPS delivers some Amazon packages on Sundays as part of their agreement with the company.
- Major metropolitan areas: In some major cities and high-volume locations, USPS is expanding its Sunday delivery offerings for packages.
- When does USPS deliver mail on Sundays?
The specific delivery times for Priority Mail Express and Amazon packages on Sundays will vary depending on your location. You can track your package online or contact your local post office for more information.
- What happens to my mail if I receive it on Sunday?
If you receive mail on Sunday, you can treat it like any other mail. There are no special handling instructions or fees.
- How can I check if my area qualifies for Sunday delivery?
You can check the USPS website or contact your local post office to see if your area qualifies for Sunday package delivery.
- How can I schedule a Sunday delivery?
You can schedule a Sunday delivery for Priority Mail Express packages online or at your local post office.
Last Words
While USPS does not deliver regular mail on Sundays, they offer Sunday delivery for certain types of packages, including Priority Mail Express and some Amazon packages. A same-day courier service ensures swift and efficient delivery of parcels and documents within a single day, catering to the urgency of time-sensitive shipments; however, the availability of Sunday delivery varies depending on your location, so be sure to check the USPS website or contact your local post office for more information.
