Starting Sunday, Forever stamp buyers will pay 82 cents for a First-Class Mail stamp, up from 78 cents — marking the sixth time in five years the agency has hiked the price in an effort to address deepening financial losses.
Across mailing services products, the new rates amount to roughly a 4.8% increase, the agency said. Several other postage categories are affected: the cost of sending a domestic postcard climbs four cents to 65 cents, metered one-ounce letters go to 78 cents from 74 cents, and international postcards and single-ounce letters move up five cents to $1.75. For single-piece letters requiring extra postage, the per-additional-ounce rate stays unchanged at 29 cents.
Stamps bought at the old rate do not expire — they remain fully usable for first-class mail once the new price takes effect. "The Forever Stamp always represents the current price of a one (1) ounce First-Class Mail postage," the agency said.
After the USPS submitted its pricing proposal in early April, the Postal Regulatory Commission gave its sign-off on May 27, according to USA Today. The regulatory body did not approve the changes without reservation, citing worries over USPS delivery performance, shrinking letter volumes, and the overall state of its finances, according to CBS News.
The USPS has pointed to a severe financial crisis as the driver of the latest increase. A financial review published by the Postal Regulatory Commission in May found that in fiscal year 2025, USPS expenses outpaced revenue — costs climbed $1.8 billion against a $1 billion revenue gain — while total mail volume dropped by 3.7%. Ten years of cumulative losses have left the USPS in a structurally weakened position, the Postal Regulatory Commission warned in a May report, with the shortfall between what the agency owns and what it owes now amounting to a substantial gap.
Going back to 2021, when a first-class stamp cost 58 cents, Sunday's new price represents a 34% cumulative increase across six separate adjustments. At 41 cents when they debuted in 2007, Forever stamps have now doubled in price over the course of 19 years.
Postmaster General and CEO David Steiner has signaled that further increases are likely. Before Congress, Steiner argued that pushing the first-class stamp price into the 90-to-95-cent range would go a long way toward bringing the agency's controllable losses under control — his words were that such a move would "largely solve our controllable loss" — and put USPS finances on steadier footing. Steiner has also warned Congress that the USPS is out of cash and that without legislative action the agency could be forced to cut delivery days, close post offices, and raise postage prices further.