The USPS is a U.S. government owned and operated enterprise. So does that mean USPS only ships inside the continental United States?
Or can you ship packages internationally as well? We looked into it and this is what we found…
Does USPS Ship Internationally?
The United States Postal Service is a mail company which ships to more than 180 countries. You can choose from a range of services to meet your budget and delivery speed preferences.
This article looks at the USPS shipping options with a focus on international shipping: what’s available, the cost of services, and how you can find them.
What International Shipping Services Does USPS Offer?
If you visit the USPS website, you’ll see a row of tabs at the top. The second to last tab is labelled International Shipping and Mailing Services. This tab will take you directly to the international services page.
Here, you’ll find that USPS offers 4 services:
- Global Express Guaranteed, with a shipping time of 1-3 business days
- Priority Mail Express International, with a shipping time of 3-5 business days
- Priority Mail International, with a shipping time of 6-10 business days
- First-Class Package International Service, which varies by destination
Underneath this list, you’ll see a similar blue tab, which, if you click, will take you to Domestic Mail and Shipping Services.
Above the list of international shipping services, you’ll see published alerts, which are updated according to situation. At the moment, for example, USPS have advised that the acceptance and delivery of mail to certain countries has been impacted by the Covid-19 virus.
This information ribbon includes a list of countries with temporary service and guaranteed-delivery suspensions.
What Other Services Does USPS Offer?
On the International Shipping and Mailing Services information page, you’ll also find some more handy information, including:
- Packing and packaging help
- Printing customs forms
- Shipping to the Military
- Applying for and/or renewing passports
- International money transfers
What are USPS International Shipping Costs?
USPS shipping costs depend on what you’re sending, how fast you want it to get there, and whether or not you want tracking and insurance on your packages.
- Global Express Guaranteed – fast delivery (1-3 days) for urgent items, with prices starting at $67.80. Tracking and insurance ($100) is included. Maximum weight is 70 lbs and maximum combined length and girth is 108 inches.
- Priority Mail Express International – a more affordable option for items that need to arrive in under a week. Prices start at $47.95, includes tracking and up to $200 insurance. Maximum weight is 70 lbs (mailing boxes) and 4 lbs for flat rate envelopes. Maximum combined length and girth (girth is the distance around the thickest part) is 108 inches.
- Priority Mail International – options for Flat Rate pricing or pricing by weight and destination country, and with 6-10 business days delivery. Prices start at $29.60, tracking and insurance included.
- First-Class Package International Service – anaffordable way to send light weight items. Packages can weigh up to 4 lbs and can contain goods up to $400 in value. Prices start at $14.85, and size restrictions apply. Delivery varies by destination.
- First-Class Mail International – an option for documents and printed material (books). Delivery varies by destination and prices start at $2.60.
- Airmail M-Bags – for substantial amounts of printed material such as newspapers, magazines, books or journals. Delivery varies by destination and prices start at $52.80. Maximum weight is 66 lbs.
How Do I Use USPS For International Shipping And Mailing?
Once you’ve found your way to the See All International Mail Services, you can use the handy comparison table to work out what service you need. Note that this table can be expanded to show the full range of features and options.
If you scroll on past the table, you’ll find the same information in a list with Global Express Guaranteed first and the option to ship online. If you choose to go this way, you’ll be asked to make an account (or sign in to an existing one).
Alternatively, you can click on learn more (you can do this for each shipping option) and then you’ll find features and pricing, size and weight requirements, and tabs to get you to shipping calculator, weights and sizes, label and customs form printing, and insurance.
Want to learn more about USPS? Check out our related post to learn if USPS accepts FedEx returns.
Conclusion…
USPS feature a range of complicated shipping and delivery services and finding out how to access and use these can be daunting. It’s a matter of patiently exploring the USPS site to find the service you need and how to use it.