2025 E-Commerce Holiday Shipping Deadline Guide

Another year has come and gone and it is once again time for our annual e-commerce holiday shipping deadlines blog! To ensure your customers’ orders arrive on time, here are the key cut-off dates for 2025 for the major carriers.

USPS

For domestic shipping, the USPS recommends:

• Ground Advantage & First-Class Mail: December 17th

• Priority Mail: December 18th

• Priority Mail Express: December 20th

For Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and U.S. territories, USPS moves the Ground Advantage deadline to December 16.

Please also note that the holiday surcharge is back and already in full swing. Is started on October 5^th and ends on January 18^th. It ranges from $0.40 to $7.

UPS

UPS doesn’t publish as many broad “last-mail” dates, since deadlines vary by zone, service level, but here are our recommendations.

• UPS Ground: December 17th

• UPS 3 Day Select: December 18th

• UPS 2nd Day Air: December 19th

• UPS Next Day Air: December 22nd

UPS also adds peak season surcharges during the holiday stretch for oversize, overweight, or “additional handling” packages.

FedEx

We have based these dates on the outline given by FedEx, along with our own experience of ongoing delays with FedEx this year:

• FedEx Express Saver: December 19th

• FedEx 2Day / 2Day AM: December 20th

• FedEx Overnight services (First, Priority, Standard): December 22nd

• FedEx SameDay (in eligible locations): December 24th

Like its competitors, FedEx also has a peak season surcharge!

DHL

DHL offers both domestic and international shipping. We are providing you with estimated shipping dates for both. However, we want to make a special note regarding international shipping.

DHL's holiday schedule depends on which country you are shipping to and you will need to obtain the most accurate shipping schedule by checking with DHL when you are ready to ship. Having said that, we are recommending that you give packages a couple of extra days because of the ongoing delays in customs processing.

With all those caveats, here are our DHL recommendations:

• Smart Mail Ground: December 9th

• Smart Mail Expedited: December 14th

• Smart Mail Expedited Max: December 16th

• Economy Select: December 18th

• Worldwide Express & Domestic Express: December 21st

Like all the other carriers, DHL adds a holiday price surcharge.

Top Tips

Here are our top tips to help you prepare for the coming busy season:

1. Announce “last order” days to your customers a week before these cutoffs, especially for slower shipping options.

2. Use expedited services early rather than waiting until the final day — carrier volume, weather, and logistics cause delays.

3. Consider remote and military deliveries separately — those generally have earlier deadlines.

4. Check our previous blog posts for advice on how to handle lost packages during the holidays!

Do you need more help with getting your holiday packages delivered on time? We are here to help with all of your holiday shipping deadlines. You can reach us a 720-486-2101 or info@keyfulfillmentsolutions.com