The United States Postal Service (USPS) has formally requested the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) authorize raising the cost of a first-class “forever” stamp from 73 cents to 78 cents, a 5-cent increase that would occur on July 13, 2025, should it be approved. The rate increase is the latest effort of the agency to reverse declining mail volume and money-losing operations following last-minute rate increases. The hike would be imposed on postcards, foreign mail, and metered mail, which indicates some underlying structural problems because the USPS also suffers from leadership turnover and political upheaval.
Details and timeline for proposed rate hike
Under the proposal submitted, a one-ounce first-class stamp would cost 78 cents, metered mail would increase from 69 cents to 74 cents. Postcards for domestic mail would increase 6 cents to 62 cents, and international postcards and letters would each increase to $1.70. Those increases are consistent with the USPS policy of incrementally increasing prices every six months, a practice established during the last few years. The PRC, which governs postal rate hikes, will study the request in the coming months, and the stakeholders are concerned that successive increases would lessen its impact.
Leadership shake-up and financial pressure
USPS has explained the hike as an effort towards fiscal self-sufficiency, citing about $78 billion annually operating costs and trimming first-class mail for decades. Ex-Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who resigned in March 2025, had before labeled such rate hikes as “uncomfortable but necessary” and attributed them to a “flawed pricing model” that maintained artificially low rates for over a decade. His resignation occurred amid renewed criticism of privatizing USPS or subjecting it to the Department of Commerce—a move proposed by the Trump administration to reverse losses. Postmaster General Doug Tulino oversees the agency, which operates a contentious mix of public affordability and revenue gathering.
Challenges in regulation and PRC’s analysis
The PRC has long supported rate increases, but recently warned the USPS to refrain from overly relying on discretionary increases, citing repeated adjustments have the potential to disenfranchise consumers and business. In June 2024, the commission okayed a 7.755% increase in first-class mail but warned that the agency’s approach did not reflect “prudent consideration” of market impacts. This dispute is meant to underscore the PRC’s double mandate: keeping USPS in the black while insulating stakeholders from excessive expenses. The current proposal will also be subject to the same criticism, particularly because the Postal Service has admitted that its banking experiment—a 2022 trial to offer financial services—had just six clients and under $600 in revenues.
Postal pricing historical trends
Stamp rates have risen steadily since 2022, with raises every January and every July of the year. The 2024 73-cent jump, for example, came after a 7.8% boost six months prior. The trend is dissimilar to historical trends, which saw changes annually or every other year. Nonprofits, which use bulk mail extensively, have complained about the cumulative effect of such increases, stating it tightens budgets and dilutes outreach efforts. The PRC has listened to these grievances, urging the USPS to strike a balance between market stability and financial needs.
Impacts to customers and forecasts going forward
The July 2025 rate increase would be just the first of five projected increases by 2027 under a September 2024 USPS proposal if approved. Though the agency describes these increases as needed for modernization and debt relief, they potentially could speed up the decrease in mail volume and establish a trend towards diminishing returns. For typical consumers, the changes would further reduce the affordability of individual mail, particularly for low-income households and small businesses. While the PRC weighs its options, the outcome will not only decide the destiny of postal rates but also if the USPS’s broader restructuring effort can be sustainable in an increasingly digitalizing world.
The budget of the Postal Service is a complex issue, tied to privatization, regulatory control, and the agency’s place in an economy today. As the PRC considers its decision, it is hoped by interested parties that a decision will be reached about the issue of whether increased stamp rates will pave the way for stabilization or further compound issues for this centuries-old institution.
Read more: Were there any casualties in the San Diego earthquake?
Read more: They ask for a $50 refund and end up punching the waitress of the Mexican restaurant in the middle of Chicago: “I feel rage”
