UPS publishes a U.S. holiday schedule that distinguishes normal pickup and delivery, special year-end operations, local UPS Store hours, and UPS Express Critical. In 2026, regular UPS pickup and delivery are closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Easter Sunday, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Several other federal holidays remain normal UPS operating days.
UPS Store locations set local hours, and UPS Express Critical is a separately booked urgent service that remains available year-round. Check the official schedule and live tracking before making a delivery commitment.
Table of Contents
2026 UPS schedule
Closed regular pickup and delivery
- Jan 1, 2026 — New Year’s Day.
- Jan 19, 2026 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
- Apr 5, 2026 — Easter Sunday.
- May 10, 2026 — Mother’s Day.
- May 25, 2026 — Memorial Day.
- Jul 4, 2026 — Independence Day.
- Sep 7, 2026 — Labor Day.
- Nov 26, 2026 — Thanksgiving Day.
- Dec 25, 2026 — Christmas Day.
- Jan 1, 2027 — New Year’s Day 2027.
On these dates, UPS indicates no regular pickup or delivery. UPS Store locations may be closed; verify locally. UPS Express Critical remains available as a separate service.
Regular pickup and delivery available
- Feb 14, 2026 — Valentine’s Day.
- Feb 16, 2026 — Presidents Day.
- Apr 3, 2026 — Good Friday.
- Jun 19, 2026 — Juneteenth.
- Oct 12, 2026 — Indigenous Peoples Day or Columbus Day.
- Nov 11, 2026 — Veterans Day.
- Nov 27, 2026 — Day after Thanksgiving.
UPS notes that Ground Saver and Mail Innovations can require an additional business day around some USPS federal holidays even when other UPS services operate.
Special year-end operations
- Dec 24, 2026 — Christmas Eve: delivery for all services; pickup for Air and international Air only when prearranged by the published deadline; no Ground pickup.
- Dec 31, 2026 — New Year’s Eve: Air and international Air pickup only when prearranged by the published deadline; Air and international Air delivery available; no Ground pickup or Ground delivery.
Year-end arrangements can change. Use the current UPS holiday schedule for the final details.
Why UPS and federal holidays differ
UPS is a private carrier. It can operate on a federal holiday while USPS is closed. Services that depend on USPS for final delivery, including certain economy or mail-consolidation products, may take an extra business day even when the UPS network is running.
The service printed in tracking is more useful than a generic statement that “UPS is open.”
UPS Store hours
The UPS Store is a franchised retail network. Hours and holiday closures can vary. A store may accept a package even when no UPS network pickup occurs until the next operating day.
Use the UPS Store locator and confirm:
- Holiday hours.
- Last carrier pickup.
- Air versus Ground cutoff.
- Packing-service availability.
- Notary or mailbox hours.
- Oversized or restricted-item acceptance.
- Whether a drop-off receipt will be issued.
UPS Express Critical
UPS Express Critical is a separately arranged urgent transportation service provided through the named critical-service operation. Its year-round availability does not mean an ordinary Ground or Air package can be upgraded after tender without a new booking and price.
Confirm service feasibility, pickup, route, cost, contents, customs, and delivery commitment directly.
Christmas shipping
A published “ship by” date assumes the package is tendered before the correct local cutoff, is properly labeled, and encounters no exception. Build additional time for:
- Order fulfillment.
- Address correction.
- Peak volume.
- Weather.
- remote destinations.
- Customs.
- Recipient availability.
- service restrictions.
A seller should present a delivery estimate, not a guarantee, unless the specific UPS service and guarantee terms support it.
Tracking during a holiday
A package can move within the network without a normal pickup or residential delivery. Tracking can also remain unchanged until the next scan.
Read the event, location, timestamp, and service. Common actions:
- Label created: confirm the shipper handed it to UPS.
- On the way: monitor the revised estimate.
- Exception: read the reason and contact the shipper where needed.
- Out for delivery: delivery is planned for that route day.
- Delivered: review the location and proof details.
- Returning to sender: contact the merchant.
Service guarantees and exceptions
UPS guarantees and refund eligibility depend on the service, shipment, country, tender, documentation, and current terms. Holiday and operational adjustments can affect commitments.
Before promising a refund:
- Read the current UPS Service Guide.
- Confirm the service was guaranteed.
- Check for a suspension or exclusion.
- Preserve the receipt and tracking.
- Determine whether the shipper must file.
- Record the stated reason for delay.
International shipments
A U.S. operating day does not make the entire route available. International delivery can be affected by origin, transit, destination, customs, brokerage, banking, and local holidays.
Verify:
- Country-specific holidays.
- Customs working days.
- Export and import documentation.
- duties and tax payment.
- prohibited and restricted goods.
- recipient phone and tax information.
- final-mile carrier operations.
Business holiday plan
Four weeks before peak
- Forecast volume.
- Confirm inventory.
- Validate addresses.
- publish realistic cutoffs.
- Prepare packaging and labels.
- Test notifications.
One week before each closure
- Check official schedule changes.
- Confirm pickup.
- Move important shipments earlier.
- contact customers with revised estimates.
- check return operations.
On the holiday
- Monitor high-priority tracking.
- avoid unsupported promises.
- route emergencies through appropriate separately booked services.
- document exceptions.
After the holiday
- Reconcile unscanned or delayed shipments.
- open cases through the shipper.
- update customers.
- review actual transit performance.
Read More About Informed Delivery by USPS [Ultimate Guide]
- U.S. Postal Service Holidays: Is the Post Office Open?
- FedEx Holidays Schedule
- DHL Holidays Schedule
- Mailman Tracker | Where Is My Mail? [Ways to Find Out]
