The USPS has updated it postmark rules, which now reflect the date an envelope is first processed by an automated USPS sorting machine, potentially days after it was dropped off in a mailbox or blue postal box.

Tax payments, charitable contributions, legal filings, rent payments and other bills or items that rely on postmark dates for deadlines can be impacted by later postmarks and the risk of late fees, penalties or delinquency.

Time-sensitive mail should be mailed several days before the deadline, OR customers can request a manual postmark at a local post office to ensure the date aligns with the date of the mailing.