USPS wants to raise price of stamps — again. Here’s when it could take effect
The U.S. Postal Service is seeking another round of price hikes on first-class stamps and other postage.
The proposed changes include a 5-cent increase on first-class “forever” stamps from 73 cents to 78 cents, the agency said in a news release April 9, detailing its latest pitch to the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Letters, postcards and international mail could see similar adjustments, according to USPS. If approved by the commission, the new rates would take effect July 13.
In all, the cost of mailing service products would jump approximately 7.4%, officials said.
The news comes more than six months after the Postal Service suggested a series of price increases — five total — on forever stamps over two years, McClatchy News reported. With the next price hike planned for July, similar increases would occur “each January and July thereafter” through December 2027, USPS said.
Agency officials have called the adjustments necessary “to achieve the financial stability sought by the organization’s Delivering for America 10-year plan.”
The last price hike, which took effect in July 2024, matched the largest ever increase in the Postal Service’s history, McClatchy News reported. Rates went up a nickel, raising the cost of a forever stamp from 68 cents to 73 cents.
On its website, the USPS said it’s been judicious in implementing new prices and maintained that it’s “committed to making sure mailing and shipping rates remain among the most affordable in the world.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2025 at 10:33 AM.