In December 2025, the United States Postal Service (USPS) updated its procedures for how mail will receive a postmark. The postmark generally includes the date and location where the postmark was applied and has previously been used to demonstrate when a piece was mailed.
Under these new practices, mail will receive a postmark at the regional processing facility and not at the local post office, meaning the postmark could be applied up to several days after the piece of mail was received by USPS.
This can have some serious impacts that nonprofit organizations take into account, specifically regarding compliance filings or other critical deadlines and year-end donations.
Many reports or other legal compliance matters are now handled online. But for those that will be mailed, the date of mailing could be vitally important for determining whether the nonprofit has met its deadline.
Additionally, mailed donations have often relied on postmarks to demonstrate the gift was made before the end of the year and eligible for deductions within that year. Nonprofits should still use the postmark as proof of mailing but educate donors about the new postmark procedures to help them ensure their gifts qualify for the deductions they desire.
For this purpose, nonprofits mailing time-sensitive documents or donors mailing year-end gifts should consider taking additional steps to document the mailing date. There are three potential options: a manual postmark, a postal validation imprint, or sending via certified or registered mail.
USPS allows individuals to obtain a manual postmark by delivering outgoing mail at the counter of a local post office and request that the employee apply a manual postmark. There is no extra charge for this manual postmark, and it ensures the postmark reflects the date the piece was mailed and serves as evidence the documents were timely sent. USPS will only apply a manual postmark upon request at the counter. Dropping a piece of mail in the mailbox or other bin at the post office or not specifically requesting the manual postmark will result in the piece receiving a postmark at the regional facility when it is processed.
Purchasing postage at the counter could result in a “postal validation imprint.” This is a special label which includes the date and location (similar to a postmark) being applied to the piece.