2016 UPS Holiday Cutoffs and Deadlines

November 03, 2016

by Jillian Voege

If you're using Brown to deliver any of your holiday packages, you'll need to know their holiday cut-offs. Keep in mind that while UPS will try their hardest to abide by these cut-offs, it's always smart to add a day or two to your own shipping cut-offs to account for inclement weather.

Santa Claus saying hi to a UPS worker as they pass by each other

2016 Mail-by Dates for U.S. Deliveries (for December 24th delivery at the latest)

December 16* - UPS Ground *UPS doesn't officially specify cut-off dates for UPS Ground. Given their average transit times and comparing with other competing services, the 16th is a good approximation of a cut-off. Still, we recommend confirming Ground delivery times with your UPS representative.
December 20 - UPS 3 Day Select Most deliveries will be on Friday, December 23rd.
December 21 - UPS 2nd Day Air Most deliveries will be on Friday, December 23rd.
December 22 - UPS Next Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air with Saturday Delivery UPS Next Day Air deliveries will be made on Friday, December 23rd. UPS 2nd Day Air packages must have the Saturday Delivery option to be delivered on Saturday, December 24th.
December 23 - UPS Next Day Air with Saturday Delivery UPS Next Day Air packages must have the Saturday Delivery option to be delivered on Saturday, December 24th

For all international shipments, contact your UPS representative. Depending on distance between origin and destination, as well as ever-changing customs requirements, it's a good idea to get UPS to suggest a ship-by date for your specific international shipments.

It also might be tempting to extend your shipping cut-offs to get as many holiday sales as possible. But beware that pushing your deliveries to the edge can put a ton of undue stress onto your carriers, even the big ones like UPS. We recommend being conservative with your cut-offs by adding a day or two. It's always good to give more runway to your carriers during a crazy time like this, because if they don't deliver, you're the one who gets the angry support emails on December 26th.