July 2022 Postage Price Changes
Information on Postal Regulatory Commission filing for upcoming July 2022 price changes.
This caught me by surprise.
On April 6, 2022, the United States Postal Service® filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of price changes to take effect July 10, 2022. On June 9, 2022, the PRC announced the approval of changes, which include a two-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 58 cents to 60 cents.
The proposed prices, approved by the Governors of the U.S. Postal Service, would raise First-Class Mail® prices approximately 6.5 percent, which is lower than the Bureau Labor Statistics annual inflation rate of 7.9 percent as of the end of February. The price changes reflect a judicious implementation of the Postal Service’s pricing authority provided by the PRC.
| For information on the July 2022 Competitive Products and International Special Services price changes, see July 2022 Postage Price Changes – Competitive Products and International Special Services. |
The new First-Class Mail prices can be summarized as follows:
| July 2022 First-Class Mail Prices | ||
| First-Class Mail | Current Price | Proposed Price |
| One-ounce letter, domestic | $0.58 | $0.60 |
| Single-piece letter, additional ounce | $0.20 | $0.24 |
| Metered mail 1-ounce | $0.53 | $0.57 |
| Postcard stamp | $0.40 | $0.44 |
| One-ounce letter, international | $1.30 | $1.40 |
The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for Special Services products including Certified Mail, Post Office Box™ rental fees, Money Order fees and the cost to purchase insurance when mailing an item.
As inflation and increased operating expenses continue, these price adjustments will help with the implementation of the Delivering for America plan, including a $40 billion investment in core Postal Service infrastructure over the next ten years. With the new prices, the Postal Service will continue to provide the lowest letter-mail postage rates in the industrialized world and offer a great value in shipping.
The PRC has reviewed and approved the prices. The complete Postal Service price filing with prices for all products can be found on the PRC site under the Daily Listings section at https://www.prc.gov/dockets/daily. The Mailing Services filing is Docket No. R2022-1. The price change tables are also available on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website at https://pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index.
The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations.