UPS holiday schedule 2026: Pickup, delivery, and store hours

UPS names seven core holidays when its regular U.S. pickup and delivery network is closed: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Its detailed 2026 operations calendar also marks Easter and Mother’s Day closed for domestic Ground, Air, and International services. Both fall on Sunday in 2026.

The dates are the easy part. Edge cases cause trouble. A UPS Store may keep limited local hours while the delivery network is closed. Air and Ocean Freight can follow a different schedule. On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, pickup and delivery split into separate rules. UPS Express Critical is the only service that UPS lists as available every day of the year.

This guide covers the U.S. customer-facing schedule, not the UPS employee paid-holiday calendar. It was checked against the UPS holiday schedule and the official 2026 U.S. UPS Holiday Operations Schedule on September 10, 2026. UPS says the calendar is subject to change, so recheck the official page before a time-sensitive shipment.

Quick answer: What days is UPS closed in 2026?

The detailed UPS calendar marks domestic Ground, Air, and International services closed on these dates:

• Thursday, January 1: New Year’s Day
• Monday, January 19: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Sunday, April 5: Easter
• Sunday, May 10: Mother’s Day
• Monday, May 25: Memorial Day
• Saturday, July 4: Independence Day
• Monday, September 7: Labor Day
• Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving Day
• Friday, December 25: Christmas Day

UPS Express Critical remains available on those dates. The UPS Store is shown as “Limited Locations,” so do not assume that every branch is open or every branch is closed.

So why does UPS also summarize only seven holidays? That shorter list names its core company holidays. The full operations calendar adds Easter and Mother’s Day as closed Sunday rows. If you are deciding whether to ship, use the date-by-date service table. Neither number tells you how UPS handles employee benefits or work assignments.

2026 UPS holiday schedule: Complete U.S. calendar

The table keeps the four service groups used in UPS’s official PDF. “Open” is an operating status, not a promise that every package will arrive on time. “Limited Locations” means exactly that: check the store you plan to use.

* UPS pickup and delivery are available, but UPS Ground Saver and UPS Mail Innovations may need one additional business day because USPS observes the federal holiday.

** On December 24, UPS lists delivery for Air, international Air, UPS Standard, and UPS Ground. Pickup is limited to Air and international Air packages prearranged by December 18.

*** On December 31, delivery is limited to Air and international Air. Pickup is also limited to Air and international Air packages prearranged by December 28.

What open, closed, and limited mean for UPS services

This is where a two-column holiday list starts to fall apart. A date means little until you know which UPS service you are using.

Domestic Ground, Air, and International

This is the column most parcel shippers need. A closed row means no regular UPS pickup or delivery for those services. Two year-end rows need extra care because pickup and delivery do not match.

Carrier pickup is only one step in the order fulfillment process. A warehouse can finish packing on time and still miss the customer promise if the carrier is closed or the parcel misses the last working pickup.

The UPS Store

The UPS Store does not automatically follow the delivery network’s schedule. UPS says these locations are independently owned and that products, prices, services, and opening hours can vary. Use the official store locator, open the page for the branch you plan to visit, and call if the shipment cannot wait.

UPS Air and Ocean Freight

Freight has its own column. July 3 is the easiest date to overlook in 2026: domestic parcel services and UPS Store locations are shown open, while Air and Ocean Freight is closed. Teams moving pallets or forwarding freight should not rely on the small-package status.

UPS Express Critical

UPS lists Express Critical, provided by Marken, as available throughout the year, including UPS holidays. It is an urgent-shipment service, not a routine replacement for a delayed Ground parcel. Shipment acceptance, route, and price still need confirmation.

Is UPS open on federal holidays?

Sometimes. UPS remains open on several days when federal offices or USPS are closed.

Presidents Day, Juneteenth, Indigenous Peoples’ Day (Columbus Day), and Veterans Day are open days for regular UPS pickup and delivery in the 2026 calendar. Good Friday and Black Friday are open as well.

There is one catch. UPS Ground Saver and UPS Mail Innovations depend on USPS for part of the journey. UPS says those services may need one additional business day on Presidents Day, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and Veterans Day because of the federal USPS holiday. Standard UPS Ground is not the same product, so do not apply that warning to every UPS shipment.

Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve UPS service

The awkward dates are December 24 and December 31. Both look open at a glance. They do not run the same way.

In plain English, a Ground package can still arrive on Christmas Eve, but UPS will not collect a new Ground shipment that day. On New Year’s Eve, Ground pickup and Ground delivery both stop. If an Air pickup matters, save the prearrangement confirmation. The word “Open” is too blunt to run a warehouse by.

Is The UPS Store open on holidays?

It may be. UPS uses “Limited Locations” for The UPS Store on many closed dates, not “all locations closed.” Christmas Eve is listed as open, while New Year’s Eve is limited.

That variation is built into the franchise model. Check the exact branch, the exact day, and the service you need. A store may have shorter hours or may not support every shipment type even when its doors are open. Dropping a package at a store also does not guarantee it will enter the carrier network before that day’s final handoff.

How ecommerce businesses should plan around UPS holidays

A calendar on the wall will not rescue a late promise. Use these dates in warehouse and checkout decisions.

Put closure and limited-service dates in the operating calendar

Add the nine closed rows, July 3 freight closure, December 24 pickup restriction, and December 31 Air-only service to the calendar used by warehouse, support, and marketing teams. A promotion planned in one calendar while the warehouse follows another is how avoidable promises slip through.

Work backward from the customer’s date

Use UPS’s Calculate Time and Cost tool with the actual origin, destination, shipment date, dimensions, and weight. A national blog cannot give one honest Ground cutoff because transit time depends on the lane.

Then add the time your team needs to pick, pack, label, and hand off the order. The carrier’s last ship date is not your store’s order cutoff if the warehouse needs another day to prepare the parcel.

Change checkout estimates before the closure

Update estimated delivery dates, express-shipping messages, marketplace handling time, and support macros before orders arrive. Use plain language. If a parcel ordered after the cutoff will ship on the next working day, say so before payment.

Check service alerts, not only the holiday calendar

Weather and other network disruptions can override a normal operating day. UPS publishes current service alerts, while package tracking remains the best source for a shipment already in the network.

If a scan later shows a problem, treat it as a separate issue from the planned closure. This guide on how to handle a delivery exception covers the customer and carrier follow-up steps.

Keep a backup carrier, but verify it

A backup carrier helps only when it serves the route, accepts the package, and operates on the date you need. A vague claim that another carrier is “open” is not a contingency plan. Check the current calendar, pickup cutoff, service type, and rate before routing orders there.

That fits a broader shipping principle in the Fulfillbot knowledge base: the lowest label price is not always the lowest total cost. A missed pickup can create support work, reshipment, refunds, and a damaged delivery promise. Carrier choice and holiday planning belong in the same operating decision.

UPS holiday schedule vs. Christmas shipping deadlines

The annual operations calendar answers one question: “Is this UPS service running on this date?” A year-end deadline schedule answers another: “When should I ship for expected arrival before Christmas?” Mixing them is how last year’s dates end up in this year’s plan.

On September 10, 2026, the UPS U.S. holiday page linked a 2026 Days of Operation Schedule but still linked a 2025 Year-End Holiday Schedule. It did not yet provide a complete 2026 U.S. Christmas last-ship table.

Do not recycle the 2025 dates and relabel them 2026. Until UPS publishes the current year-end schedule, use the route-specific time-and-cost tool and leave a sensible operational buffer. Recheck the official holiday page before the Q4 campaign goes live.

UPS holiday schedule 2026 FAQ

What holidays does UPS not deliver on in 2026?

UPS names New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day as its seven core closed holidays. Its detailed 2026 calendar also marks Easter and Mother’s Day closed for domestic Ground, Air, and International services.

Is UPS open on Good Friday 2026?

Yes. The official calendar lists UPS domestic services, The UPS Store, and Air and Ocean Freight as open on Friday, April 3, 2026.

Is UPS open on Easter 2026?

Regular domestic Ground, Air, and International services are closed on Easter Sunday, April 5. UPS Store locations are limited, freight is closed, and Express Critical is listed as available.

Is UPS open on Mother’s Day 2026?

Regular domestic services are closed on Sunday, May 10. Some UPS Store locations may operate, so check the branch directly.

Is UPS open on Juneteenth 2026?

Yes. UPS lists regular pickup and delivery, The UPS Store, and Air and Ocean Freight as open on Friday, June 19.

Does UPS deliver on Black Friday?

Yes. Friday, November 27 is listed as an open day for regular UPS pickup and delivery, stores, and freight. High parcel volume can still affect a shipment, so use tracking rather than treating “Open” as a delivery guarantee.

Does UPS deliver on Christmas Eve 2026?

Yes. UPS lists delivery for Ground, Air, international Air, and UPS Standard on December 24. Pickup is limited to Air and international Air packages prearranged by December 18. Ground pickup is not available.

Does UPS deliver on New Year’s Eve 2026?

UPS limits December 31 delivery to Air and international Air packages. Pickup is also limited to Air and international Air packages prearranged by December 28. UPS Ground pickup and delivery are not available.

Is The UPS Store closed whenever UPS delivery is closed?

No. The official schedule says “Limited Locations” on many closed dates. Store hours and available services vary by location, so check the specific branch.

Does UPS Express Critical run on holidays?

UPS lists Express Critical as available every day of the year, including UPS holidays. It is an urgent service provided by Marken and requires separate confirmation.

Is this the UPS employee holiday schedule?

No. This article covers customer-facing pickup, delivery, store, and freight operations in the United States. Employee paid holidays and work assignments depend on employment terms and are outside this guide.

Plan before the next UPS holiday

Check the official UPS calendar first. Then check the service, route, and store you actually plan to use. Set your order cutoff early enough to leave time for packing and carrier handoff. If that changes the delivery promise, show the new date before the customer pays.

For a few parcels, that may be all you need. If holiday cutoffs, carrier selection, warehouse handoffs, and support exceptions have become a weekly operational problem, compare when to outsource fulfillment or review Fulfillbot’s managed order fulfillment service.

The calendar is useful because it is specific. It is also subject to change. Give it one last check before a time-sensitive pickup, delivery, store visit, or Q4 campaign.