Most everyone is aware of the fact that the USPS (very rarely) does Sunday delivery, but a lot of people are wondering whether or not the USPS is going to deliver on Saturday, too.
A lot of us know that post offices are open very limited hours on Saturday, and that’s let a lot of people to be confused about whether mail carriers and letter carriers are driving around town and dropping off packages, parcels, and envelopes on the weekend.
That’s why we have put together this detailed guide, though.
By the time you finish up the information below, you’ll have a much better idea of the USPS weekend delivery policies, good idea of whether or not your packages and parcels are going to arrive on a Saturday (and in rare circumstances on a Sunday), and what you can do to better plan around the weekend, too.
Let’s get right into it!
Does USPS Deliver on Saturday?
Right out of the gate, it’s important to know that the USPS does in fact deliver on Saturday!
Weekend delivery is available for standard mail, packages, and parcels, pretty much anything sent through the USPS that has been dropped off at the post office ready to go for weekend delivery.
Some post offices may only send out Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express items on Saturday, though, holding back first-class mail, media mail, and standard post to make sure that these express and expedited (as well as more expensive) postage services are delivered on time.
Priority Mail in specific guarantees a 1 to 3 business day delivery window, and the postage for this kind of service begins at $6.65. That’s a lot more expensive – and much faster – than what you would expect from First Class mail through the USPS.
Priority Mail Express is even more expensive, offers insurance coverage of up to $50, and to guarantee delivery – even on a Saturday (sometimes on a Sunday), no matter what.
The only time Priority Mail Express will not be delivered on a Saturday or Sunday is if a major holiday occurs on those days of the week.
In those circumstances, the USPS will do everything they can to get your packages, parcels, and envelopes to your mailbox before the holiday or immediately afterwards.
At the end of the day, it’s nice to know that the USPS is going to do everything they can to make sure that your mail arrives on a Saturday – particularly if you have spent extra money to make it happen to begin with.
What About Sunday Deliveries?
As we just highlighted a moment ago, Sunday deliveries are usually not available with standard USPS postage.
The post office has “established” business days of Monday through Saturday, and on Saturday they have business hours that are significantly shorter than what you would expect during the normal work week.
Some deliveries (like FedEx Smart Post and Amazon Partner deliveries) may go out on a Sunday using USPS letter carriers and equipment, but those are pretty rare circumstances and exceptions to USPS policy and rules.
Priority Mail Express, however, that guarantees a delivery of between one and two business days (with a moneyback promise cementing that guaranteed) will always go out on a Sunday – so long as it doesn’t fall on a holiday – to make sure that you get your packages.
Priority Mail alone (generally) won’t be entitled to that Sunday delivery window. If your mail didn’t make it to its ultimate destination by Saturday the odds are pretty good that the mail will be delivered the following Monday (so long as that is not a major holiday, too).
Will Weekend Delivery Come at the Same Time as Weekday Deliveries?
It’s impossible to know exactly when your mail is going to arrive on the weekend, mostly because a lot of USPS postal offices and organizations operate on a “5/1” work week program.
This means that five days out of the week you’re going to have your “regular” mail and letter carrier handling your packages, parcels, and envelopes for you.
These professionals almost always have a specific route that they follow, understand how to move through this route efficiently, and generally stick to the same kind of delivery window (as far as time of day is concerned) for the most part.
That sixth day of the week, though, your mail will be handled by a “floater” mail carrier.
This individual works five days of the week just like every other mail carrier at that postal office, though every day they are giving another mail carrier the opportunity to take a day off by covering their route.
These individuals are going to rotate through, and if they end up taking over the route for your regular mail carrier on the weekend the chances are your mail is going to arrive at a different time than it would have during the workweek.
Some of these “floater” mail carriers will take a day in the middle of the week, though, leaving your regular mail carrier to handle your Saturday delivery, too.
In those circumstances you can probably expect your Saturday delivery to arrive right around the same time that your Monday through Friday deliveries would have.
Does Saturday Delivery Cost Extra?
For traditional first-class mail, USPS Retail Ground, and media mail through the USPS you don’t have to pay any extra for it to be delivered on a Saturday – with that’s because there’s no guarantee that it will go out on the weekend and not the following Monday.
First-class mail promises a real attempt to get your package, parcel, or envelope to your destination address within 1 to 3 business days, but the USPS will not guarantee this delivery window with this kind of postage.
USPS Retail Ground (or Standard Post) makes an attempt to get your mail to its ultimate destination 2 to 8 business days, but again the USPS does not guarantee this delivery window.
Media Mail has the same kind of delivery window that USPS Retail Ground does, again without any promise of guaranteeing your mail will arrive at its destination within eight business days.
No, the only time you’re going to “guarantee” that your mail is delivered on a Saturday or a Sunday is when you pay extra for postage that includes this kind of delivery schedule.
Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express essentially guarantee that your package, parcel, or envelope will arrive at its ultimate destination within a 1 to 3 (for Priority Mail) and 1 to 2 (for Priority Mail Express) day window of time no matter what.
Priority Mail will make sure that your package arrives on a Saturday if it has to, though delivery on Sunday is not included with this postage. Priority Mail Express, on the other hand, also offers guaranteed delivery on a Sunday if necessary.
Priority Mail Express (and a handful of other expedited and guaranteed delivery services from the USPS) promises a 365 day a year delivery window, with the only exception being major holidays.
Do I Have to Pay for Weekend Delivery Tracking?
Absolutely not – unless the USPS service you have decided to move forward with does not include delivery tracking in the first place.
Standard tracking information from the USPS (like the tracking details that are included with every Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express delivery) work just as well on the weekends as they do during the work week.
If you do decide to move forward with something like first-class postage, however, the odds are pretty good you’re going to need to add tracking to the postage you have paid – it doesn’t come included.
You’ll need to make sure that your tracking details are sorted out at the time you pay for your postage and take advantage of USPS services, usually something you do when you are printing a shipping label or dropping your mail off at the local post office.
Once you have that tracking information, though, you should be good to go whether you’re looking to track your packages on the weekend or not.
Can I Schedule USPS Deliveries to Happen on the Weekend?
As of right now, you won’t be able to physically schedule any of your USPS deliveries to happen on the weekend – though you can anticipate that this depending on the postage option to take advantage of.
For example, paying for Priority Mail postage on something that you ship out on a Tuesday or Wednesday (usually) means that it’s going to be delivered on a Friday, Saturday, or the following Monday.
Priority Mail Express sent out on a Thursday will almost always be delivered on a Friday or a Saturday, and (at the very latest) Sunday.
Any mail schedule to go up earlier than Tuesday or Wednesday with Priority Mail will probably be delivered on a Thursday or a Friday at the very latest. Priority Mail Express sent out in the early part of the week will almost certainly arrive before Thursday or Friday, too.
What If My Mail I’m Expecting for Saturday Doesn’t Arrive?
If you have mail that you that you were expecting to be delivered on a Saturday doesn’t arrive, you need to first verify what kind of postage you pay for – Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express – and then move on from there.
As we have highlighted a couple of times already, Priority Mail that doesn’t arrive on ASAP will almost certainly arrive on the following Monday (maybe the next Tuesday, at the absolute very latest).
Priority Mail have express that hasn’t arrived on a Saturday after being sent out on a Thursday or Friday will certainly arrive by the time Sunday night rolls around, were you’ll be able to get all of your money for postage back and your package delivered on the following Monday.
Is There a “Rule of Thumb” for Estimating USPS Delivery Windows?
Trying to figure out when your USPS delivery will be made can be a bit of a headache and hassle, if only because most of the postage services provided by the post office do not come with guaranteed delivery windows the way that FedEx, UPS, DHL, and others provide.
Unless you go with Priority Mail Express that guarantees delivery within 1 to 2 business days, with 365 day delivery (excluding weekends) that you have to understand that your postage window is going to be a little more flexible.
The USPS is going to do absolutely everything they can to make sure that your package and parcel arrives within the window of time that you were hoping (and the window time that they have outlined), but that’s just not always going to be the case.
Sometimes you’ll get your packages or parcels even earlier than you expected. Sometimes you’ll get than later, and very rarely you might get that much (much) later – especially if there are different delays other control of the USPS (inclement weather, for example) that slow things down.
US Global Mail – Giving Your Total Control Over Your Mailbox
If you’d like to be notified as soon as your mail arrives at your mailbox, though – with a digital scan of the envelope, box, and even the contents upon your request – you’ll have to go with something like the US Global Mail virtual mailbox service.
For more than 20 years, this virtual mailbox service has been the gold standard in the industry, providing people in the United States (and around the world) with reliable, consistent, and feature-rich virtual mailbox solutions.
Digital mail scanning, digital notification of mail arrivals, package acceptance with all of the major shipping companies and organizations, and a whole host of other benefits are yours to take full advantage of when you choose to sign up for this service.
For more information, or for specific details about the kind of virtual mailbox you’d like to take advantage of, reach out to US Global Mail directly at your earliest convenience. You can also visit their website for more in-depth information, too.
You won’t regret this decision!
