U.S. Postal Service to Raise First-Class Stamp Price to 82 Cents on July 12

The U.S. Postal Service will raise the price of a first-class Forever stamp from 78 cents to 82 cents on July 12. The Postal Regulatory Commission approved the increase in May after the agency announced it in April.

Domestic postcards will rise from 61 cents to 65 cents and international postcards or letters from $1.70 to $1.75 on the same date. Forever stamps bought before July 12 will remain valid for one-ounce first-class mail. The agency has raised first-class stamp prices six times in the past five years, lifting the rate 34 percent from 58 cents in 2021.

In fiscal 2025 the USPS posted a $9 billion loss as operating expenses climbed $1.8 billion while revenue rose only $1 billion. U.S. mail volume fell 3.7 percent in the same period, and prices overall increased about 15 percent between July 2024 and the end of fiscal 2025.

The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 required the agency to prepay retiree health-care benefits, a requirement the USPS Office of the Inspector General said limited revenue growth and produced net losses every year after 2006. Sen. Josh Hawley announced an investigation in June into mail-service failures in Missouri.

Rep. Veronica Escobar flagged delivery delays in the El Paso area in November 2025. Postmaster General David Steiner told Congress in March that first-class stamps should rise to between 90 cents and 95 cents.

"As you all know, there are only three things that any company can do to improve financial performance — sell more products, raise prices or cut costs," he said.