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Yes. The USPS is funded by postage and product revenue rather than tax dollars, so post offices stay open and carriers keep delivering during a federal shutdown. Past shutdowns have run with mail moving normally. The catch is on the receiving end: the federal agencies your mail is addressed to may slow down until the government reopens.
| What | During a shutdown | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mail delivery | Keeps running: carriers, post offices, sorting plants | USPS is self-funded through postage and services, not tax appropriations |
| Buying stamps and shipping | Normal | Retail counters and online postage stay open |
| Mail addressed to federal agencies | Delivered, but may sit unopened | Many agency offices are closed or on skeleton crews |
| Payments to the government | Deadlines still apply | A shutdown does not pause your obligations |
The USPS has run as a self-supporting agency since the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, and it stopped taking tax dollars for operations decades ago. Its budget comes from stamps, postage, and shipping products. A federal funding lapse therefore does not touch its payroll or its trucks. During the 2018-2019 shutdown, the longest in US history, the Post Office operated normally start to finish: no furloughs for carriers, no closed post offices, no paused routes.
This surprises people because the USPS feels like a government agency, and it is one. The difference is only in the funding model. Agencies that live on congressional appropriations close or go to skeleton crews when those appropriations lapse. The Post Office lives on what it sells, so it keeps its lights on.
The slowdown happens at the other end of the envelope. If you mail a form, payment, or application to a federal agency during a shutdown, the USPS will deliver it: trucks do not stop at the agency's door. But with offices closed or minimally staffed, your mail may pile up unopened until employees return. Refunds, benefits decisions, passport processing, and permit approvals tied to those offices can all stall.
Two practical points. First, deadlines on your side do not pause. If a tax payment or a filing is due during a shutdown, mail it on time anyway; a shutdown is not an excuse the IRS or any other agency accepts later. Second, if the timing matters, send the item as certified mail so you have proof of when you mailed it and when it was delivered. The proof lives with you regardless of what happens inside a closed office.
For ordinary mail, no. Letters to people and businesses move exactly as they always do. For anything addressed to the federal government, send it early rather than on the deadline, and keep your proof of mailing. Expect responses to take longer, and do not assume a document was processed just because tracking shows it was delivered.
One more wrinkle: a shutdown sometimes delays the publication of official notices and forms. If you are waiting on instructions from an agency before you mail something, those instructions may arrive late too. When in doubt, use last year's form and last year's address; agencies process old forms during shutdowns the same as new ones, and mailing something beats mailing nothing.
A federal shutdown is a US phenomenon; it does not exist in Canada's system. Canada Post is a Crown corporation that also funds itself through its services, and it keeps operating during federal budget disputes. Canada's mail disruptions come from labor disputes, not government shutdowns, which is a different problem with a different playbook.
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