UPS and FedEx holiday shipping deadlines 2026.

The FedEx 2026 dates

FedEx publishes a one-page chart, "2026 Shipping deadlines for holiday packages", giving the last shipping dates for select services so a package is scheduled to arrive by December 24, 2026. In the U.S. domestic grid: SameDay is December 24; First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight and Extra Hours are December 23; 2Day and 2Day AM are December 22; Express Saver is December 21; Ground Economy is December 15. Ground and Home Delivery depend on how many days the package spends in transit: 5-day transit must ship by December 17, 4-day by December 18, 3-day by December 21, 2-day by December 22 and 1-day by December 23. The chart marks no Ground ship day on the weekend of December 19 and 20.

For packages going from the U.S. to Canada, International Next Flight, First and Priority are December 23, Priority Distribution is December 22, and Economy and Connect Plus are December 21. FedEx Ground to Canada runs on a 7-day to 1-day scale from December 15 to December 23, with December 19 for a 3-day transit. To Mexico the air services are December 22 and Economy and Connect Plus December 21; to Puerto Rico, the air services are December 23 and Economy is December 22. FedEx says the Ground and Home Delivery dates assume a regular scheduled pickup or drop-off at a staffed FedEx location, and that the dates can change.

What UPS publishes

UPS does not post a fixed last-ship date. Its holiday schedule page says the last day to ship for delivery by December 24 depends on the UPS service, where the shipment starts, where it is going and when it needs to arrive, and it sends you to Calculate Time and Cost. What UPS does post for the holidays: on December 24, 2026 there is pickup for Air and international Air services only if prearranged by December 18, no UPS Ground pickup, and delivery is available for all services; December 25 is a UPS holiday with no pickup or delivery. That is why the UPS option on this page shows rules rather than a date.

Worked example

It is Thursday, December 10, 2026 and a gift is going by FedEx Express Saver. The deadline is Monday, December 21, which is 11 days away. The same package sent by FedEx Ground with a 3-day transit has the same December 21 deadline, but a 5-day transit has until December 17, 7 days away. FedEx Ground Economy has until December 15, 5 days away. A package going to Canada by FedEx Ground with a 7-day transit has until December 15, which is 5 days left.

Sources and how this is calculated

Days left = deadline − today's date on your device, counted in calendar days. Retrieved October 26, 2026. The FedEx domestic grid is a coloured chart rather than text, so the dates were read from the chart image and cross-checked against the weekday labels printed above each column. FedEx and UPS can revise their schedules; check the carrier before you ship. The USPS and Canada Post deadlines are on separate pages.

• FedEx: 2026 Shipping deadlines for holiday packages (PDF)
• UPS: Holiday Schedule