Rumors that the United States Postal Service (USPS) updated its Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) to reflect new rules regarding postmarking procedures circulated online in late December 2025.
Concerned users across social media platforms like Facebook (archived, archived), BlueSky (archived) and Reddit shared the rumor.
Many users posted the claim along with a screenshot of a BlueSky user who wrote, “USPS quietly changed its postmark rules — mail is no longer dated when you drop it off. The ‘official’ date is when it hits automated sorting — sometimes days later.”
Some users voiced concerns about how such a change could impact services such as voting by mail, in which some states use the postmarked date on election mail to confirm that it was mailed before the deadline.
“Each state establishes by law the rules and requirements for ballot submission, including ballot-submission deadlines and the role, if any, that postmarks play in determining whether a ballot was timely,” a USPS website page about postmarking guidelines on vote-by-mail ballots said.
“A voter can ensure that a postmark is applied to his or her return ballot by visiting a Postal Service retail office and requesting a postmark from a retail associate when dropping off the ballot.”
It is true that the USPS updated its DMM regarding postmarks, but officials stressed it didn’t change any existing postmarking practices.
The Federal Register published the update on Nov. 24, 2025, outlining the addition’s incorporation into the existing DMM as section 608.11 of the manual, titled, “Postmarks and Postal Possession.” The update went into effect on Dec. 24, 2025. The entire update can be read in full in the PDF embedded below, which attempted to address concerns brought up by users sharing the claim.
The update published in the Federal Register emphasized multiple times throughout that “this new language in the DMM does not change any existing postal operations or postmarking practices, but is instead intended to improve public understanding of postmarks and their relationship to the date of mailing.”
A representative of USPS confirmed to Snopes via email that “virtually all letters or flats sent by individuals using stamps (such as cards, letters and tax returns) receive a postmark” and pointed out that “if a customer wants to ensure that a mailpiece receives a postmark and that the postmark aligns with the date of mailing, the customer may take the mailpiece to a Post Office, station, or branch and request a manual (local) postmark at the retail counter when tendering their mail piece.”
The update stated that “the date displayed on a postmark shows the date of the first automated processing operation performed on a mailpiece or, alternately, the date when a mailpiece was accepted at a retail unit.”
The USPS spokesperson also told Snopes the postal service still offered “Certified Mail or Registered Mail service at the Post Office retail counter for purchase. If a mailer purchases these services, the mailer will get a receipt that includes tracking information.”
The agency further elaborated on the intention behind the update:
The updated Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) language clarifies our practices around postmarking so that the public and mailers who need a postmark, including a postmark with a date that aligns with the date of mailing, can plan accordingly.
The DMM addition defines postmarks, identifies the types of Postal Service markings that qualify as postmarks, and describes the circumstances under which those markings are applied. It also advises customers of how to obtain evidence of the date on which the Postal Service accepts possession of their mailings.
It does not signal a change in postmarking procedures with regard to how or what we postmark but is instead intended to improve public understanding of the information postmarks convey, when in the course of operations they are typically applied, and their relationship to the date of mailing.
The USPS response mirrored that of the update published in the Federal Register, which said the new rule “in no way signals a change in our postmarking procedures; postmarks will continue to be applied to Single-Piece First Class Mail pieces, both letter-shaped and flat-shaped, in the same manner and to the same extent as before.”
Further, the update addressed concerns from a public commenting period which echoed the concerns found in many claims. The update stated the concerns stemmed “from a misunderstanding of DMM Section 608.11’s nature and scope.”
It continued:
These comments appear to assume that adoption of this DMM provision will prompt operational changes in how the postmark is applied, thereby altering the quality of information that postmarks as such convey. One comment, for instance, criticizes what it claims to be “the proposed changes to eliminate same-day postmarks.”
This comment ignores, however, that “same-day postmarks” (i.e., postmarks bearing dates that align with the date on which the Postal Service first accepted possession of a mailpiece) will in many instances continue to be applied through automation and will remain available in all cases upon request at the retail counter.
Meanwhile, multiple others perceive in the Proposed Rule an attempt to “devalue” the traditional postmark, and/or to “dilute” (or even “destroy”) its alleged status as proof of the date that the Postal Service first accepted possession of a mailpiece.
Yet to reiterate, the Proposed Rule aims to clarify the meaning and value of the postmark, not to change its meaning or destroy its utility. By notifying the public of the realities of postal operations; by offering a definition of the postmark embodied in regulation; and by listing out the various available indicia of postal possession, the present rulemaking seeks to clarify and preserve, rather than erode, the value of the postmark for customers who may rely upon it.
As for voting by mail specifically, the USPS website hosted a resource page called “Election Mail” that outlined the procedures and best practices for voting by mail, including an FAQ section that answered two questions directly related to timing and postmarks.
When should I mail my completed ballot?
If you are a nonmilitary voter located in the United States and you choose to use the mail to return your completed ballot, our general recommendation is that, as a common-sense measure, you mail your completed ballot before Election Day, and at least one week prior to the deadline by which your completed ballot must be received by your election office.
Some states may recommend allowing even more time for mailing completed ballots. In addition, some states require all ballots (including mail-in ballots) to be received by the election office by a specified deadline, while other states may accept ballots received after that deadline as timely if they were mailed and postmarked by a specific date. You should always check to make sure you understand your state’s requirements and recommendations on mailing your completed ballot.
Will my return Ballot Mail envelope be postmarked if I mail it?
The Postal Service tries to ensure that every piece of Ballot Mail returned by voters receives a postmark, regardless of whether it is mailed with postage prepaid by election officials or mailed with a stamp affixed by the voter.
If voters want to ensure that their return Ballot Mail envelope receives a postmark with a date aligning with the date of mailing, they should bring their Ballot Mail to the retail counter at a Postal Service retail location and request a manual postmark, which will be applied free of charge upon accepting custody of the mailpiece.
In sum, the changes to the DMM were indeed official as of Dec. 24, 2025, but USPS stated the updates were merely codifying already standard operating procedures in an effort to help inform the public how its mail is actually being postmarked and help customers plan accordingly.
Delivering for America
The change was part of the USPS’ “Delivering for America” initiative, which it described as a 10-year “plan represent[ing] our commitment to achieve service excellence, realize cost saving and revenue growth, modernize postal infrastructure and enhance our employees’ wellbeing.”
Brookings, a nonpartisan research organization that focuses on “societal challenges,” wrote of the change: “In many states, the postmark on a ballot return envelope is the legal determinant of whether a mailed ballot is timely… 16 states and the District of Columbia will count ballots after they arrive if they are postmarked on or before the statutory mailing deadline. The operative assumption here is that a timely postmark is treated as reliable evidence of timely mailing.”
Brookings stated that “election officials have already expressed concern that this assumption may no longer hold under current USPS operational changes” and cited a September 2025 letter from the Montgomery County, Maryland, Board of Elections to the USPS.
The letter cited unanimous concern from the board about “serious issues relative to the requirements to accept or reject mail-in ballots we receive through the USPS.”
The memo detailed multiple cases in which they had encountered issues with the postmarking system before the changes due to the “Delivering for America” initiative — which also included consolidation of its mail-processing centers, potentially slowing down processing and delivery in general — and how the update could potentially exacerbate issues.
The board concluded its letter by encouraging the USPS “to be transparent about mailing times and specifically to have an advertising campaign to explain to voters how many days in advance they may need to mail their ballot for it to be postmarked by Election Day (and perhaps have other similar advertising for mailing tax returns and other uses of postmarks to validate timely processes).”