USPS Forever Stamp Rises to 82 Cents on July 12, 2026

The U.S. Postal Service will raise the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 78 to 82 cents on July 12, 2026, after the Postal Regulatory Commission approved the agency’s mid-year mailing services price change on May 27, 2026. The four-cent bump is part of an approximately 4.8 percent increase in mailing services products, according to the Postal Service’s April 9, 2026 notice to the commission.

The change, filed under Docket No. R2026-1, raises the price of a metered one-ounce letter from 74 to 78 cents and lifts a domestic postcard from 61 to 65 cents. International postcards and one-ounce international letters each rise from $1.70 to $1.75. The additional-ounce price for single-piece letters stays at 29 cents.

What Changes at the Counter on July 12

At the post office counter, the most visible change is the Forever stamp. Mailing a one-ounce letter will cost 82 cents after July 12, up from 78 cents. The new price reflects a Postal Service that is leaning harder on its limited regulatory pricing authority, and it follows a 73-to-78 cent stamp that took effect on July 13, 2025.

The full mailing services table, as filed in the April 9, 2026 notice, lays out the rate changes product by product.

The additional-ounce price for single-piece letters remains at 29 cents. The Postal Service is also adjusting prices for other First-Class Mail products, Periodicals, USPS Marketing Mail, Package Services, and selected Special Services products.

How the Filing Traveled From April to May

The Postal Service filed the new rates with the Postal Regulatory Commission on April 9, 2026, posting a press release the same day. The commission opened Docket No. R2026-1 to consider the planned adjustments, and the USPS’s April 9 notice to the Postal Regulatory Commission carried the full price table. The Postal Regulatory Commission issued its approval on May 27, 2026, and the rate change is set to take effect July 12, 2026.

In the midst of the severe financial crisis facing the Postal Service and continued rising operational costs, the Postal Service is using all available tools, including available regulatory pricing authority, to ensure we can continue to fulfill our universal service obligation and serve the American public.

That language, drawn directly from the Postal Service’s April 9 release, sits inside the docket alongside the price tables. The Postal Service’s Postal Explorer page carries the proposed price files, with a version dated 5/15/2026 as the most recent update.

USPS Frames the Hike as a Survival Tool

The Postal Service did not soft-pedal the reason for the change. Its April 9 release described a severe financial crisis facing the Postal Service and continued rising operational costs, and it stressed that the agency generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. The framing was unusually direct for a price-change notice.

The release also pushed back on critics. Notwithstanding the adjustment, the Postal Service’s mailing prices remain among the most affordable in the world, the agency wrote, a line aimed at comparisons with European and Asian postal operators. The July 2026 price change on Postal Explorer shows the rates that have to do that work.

The commission’s review was procedural rather than substantive, and the price tables were not contested at the level of individual line items. The result is a routine annual rate change with a larger-than-routine justification attached.

Three Rate Actions in Seven Months

The July 12 mailing services change is the third USPS rate action of 2026.

In January, shipping services rose. USPS Ground Advantage went up by an average of 7.8 percent, Priority Mail by 6.6 percent, Priority Mail Express by 5.1 percent, and Parcel Select by 6.0 percent, all effective January 18, 2026. Priority Mail Express prices started at $33 for a one- to three-day delivery, USPS Ground Advantage started at $7.30 for a one-pound package, and Priority Mail started at $10.20 for a one-pound package.

A second shipping change followed in April. From April 26, 2026 through January 17, 2027, the Postal Service applied a temporary 8 percent increase to Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select, an unusual time-limited adjustment tied to rising transportation costs. Priority Mail now starts at $11 for a one-pound package, USPS Ground Advantage now starts at $7.90, and Priority Mail Express now starts at $35.65. The PRC’s approval of the July 2026 rate change closed the third and final piece of the year.

Mailing services were excluded from both earlier rounds. Stamps did not rise in January, and the temporary April increase hit shipping services only, not letters. That makes the July 12 change the first stamp price increase of 2026, and it lands in a year that has already squeezed package senders.

Bulk Mailers Get a Quieter Overhaul

Outside the stamp counter, commercial mailers face a quieter set of structural changes. Marketing Mail letters and flats are set to increase by about 5 to 6 percent for commercial mail, with nonprofit increases lower depending on presort level.

Several weight and category shifts give catalogs and similar pieces more room:

• Marketing Mail letters and flats rise about 5 to 6 percent for commercial mail
• Marketing Mail flats maximum weight lifts from 16 to 20 ounces
• A new Heavy Printed Matter category covers Marketing Mail parcels up to 15 pounds
• The 10 percent Catalog Promotion ends June 30, 2026
• Periodicals pricing shifts to a per-piece and per-pound model

A new Heavy Printed Matter category covers Marketing Mail parcels up to 15 pounds, an option designed to keep large catalogs and similar pieces inside Marketing Mail rather than pushing them into the higher-priced Parcel Select tier. Drop ship and commingling strategies also gain ground: discounts for Sectional Center Facility entry are increasing, and the gap between three-digit and five-digit presort levels is widening. Two existing incentives are shrinking: the current 10 percent Catalog Promotion ends June 30, 2026, replaced by a much smaller $0.001 per piece incentive, and USPS plans to discontinue the Catalog and Continuous Contact promotions in 2027. Periodicals pricing is being simplified into a per-piece and per-pound model, with editorial content directly lowering the per-piece price and Full Service and Seamless discounts available to periodicals for the first time.

A 12-Year Climb in the First-Class Stamp

The 78-to-82 cent jump is one step in a longer climb. The Postal Service’s own historian’s table shows the price of a one-ounce first-class letter rising in nearly every year since 2014, with two increases in some recent years and a brief 49-to-47 cent dip in 2016. The Postal Service’s domestic letter rate history lists every effective date back to 1863.

The pace has accelerated since 2022, with two increases in 2023, two more in 2024, and the second mid-year adjustment repeating in 2025 and 2026.

What Costs More and What Stays Put

The most common household use, mailing a one-ounce letter with a Forever stamp, is four cents more expensive. A metered one-ounce letter is also four cents more, jumping to 78 cents, and a domestic postcard is four cents more at 65 cents.

The additional-ounce rate for a one-ounce-plus letter stays at 29 cents, so a one-ounce-plus letter pays the Forever stamp plus the additional-ounce stamp.

International rates rise by five cents rather than four. International postcards and one-ounce international letters each go from $1.70 to $1.75. USPS Mailing Services prices, including First-Class Mail stamps, did not rise in January 2026, and no January 2027 mailing services increase has been announced. The Postal Service has not yet announced when the next mailing services adjustment will take effect.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the new Forever stamp price take effect?

The 82-cent Forever stamp takes effect on July 12, 2026. The Postal Service filed the new rates with the Postal Regulatory Commission on April 9, 2026, under Docket No. R2026-1, and the commission approved them on May 27, 2026.

Why is the USPS raising stamp prices in 2026?

The Postal Service attributed the increase to a severe financial crisis and rising operational costs in its April 9 release, noting that it generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations. Mailing services product prices are set to rise by approximately 4.8 percent.

Will the Forever stamp price increase again in January 2027?

USPS Mailing Services prices, including First-Class Mail stamps, did not increase in January 2026, and no January 2027 mailing services increase has been announced. The Postal Service has not yet announced when the next mailing services adjustment will take effect.

How much does it cost to mail a letter after the price change?

A one-ounce First-Class Mail letter mailed with a Forever stamp costs 82 cents. A metered one-ounce letter costs 78 cents. The additional-ounce price remains 29 cents.

Are shipping rates also going up in 2026?

Yes. USPS Ground Advantage rose by an average of 7.8 percent, Priority Mail by 6.6 percent, Priority Mail Express by 5.1 percent, and Parcel Select by 6.0 percent on January 18, 2026. A temporary 8 percent increase on those same services runs from April 26, 2026 through January 17, 2027.