USPS could raise stamp prices — again. Here’s when it could take effect in NC
The U.S. Postal Service wants to raise prices on stamps and other postage, impacting mailing costs in North Carolina and across the U.S.
The proposed changes include a 4-cent hike on first-class Forever stamps from 78 cents to 82 cents, USPS said in a news release. Mailing costs could jump 4.8% overall, pending approval from the Postal Regulatory Commission.
If greenlit, the new rates would take effect Sunday, July 12.
“In the midst of the severe financial crisis facing the Postal Service and continued rising operational costs, (USPS) 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,” agency officials said in the April 9 release.
Postmaster General David Steiner recently warned lawmakers USPS could run out of money within the next year and may be forced to stop deliveries, NPR reported. The agency largely relies on stamps and postage fees, not taxpayer dollars, to deliver mail across the U.S.
Here’s what to know before rates are slated to go up:
How much could I pay?
Beyond stamps, the suggested price increases also include:
- Letters (1 ounce): 78 cents to 82 cents
- Letters (metered): 74 cents to 78 cents
- Domestic postcards: 61 cents to 65 cents
- International postcards and letters (1 ounce): $1.70 to $1.75
USPS said it will also seek new pricing on other first-class mail products, USPS marketing mail, package services and more.
Postage price hikes continue
This is just the latest in a series of proposed price hikes by USPS in recent years.
In late March, the USPS proposed similar price adjustments on some shipping services in response to rising fuel costs caused by the ongoing conflict in Iran, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. Though temporary, the suggested 8% surcharge would affect several delivery products, including Priority Mail.
It comes more than a year after the agency suggested multiple price hikes — five in all — on forever stamps that would roll out over the course of two years. Increased rates would occur “each January and July thereafter” through December 2027, USPS said.
Stamp prices first went up a nickel in July 2024 (from 68 cents to 73 cents), marking the largest-ever increase in USPS history, McClatchy News reported at the time.
These latest price adjustments could mark a 50% increase from when Forever stamps were first issued in 2007 at just 41 cents a pop. Still, USPS officials argue the agency’s prices are “the most affordable in the world.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 7:58 AM with the headline "USPS could raise stamp prices — again. Here’s when it could take effect in NC."