Another reason to avoid sending important mail via the U.S. Post Office

If mail theft hasn't made you re-think using the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), here is another: you can no longer drop a time-sensitive document into the Big Blue Box and assume it will be postmarked that day.

Effective December 24, 2025, a new USPS rule officially clarified that a postmark is technically defined as the time when a piece of mail is processed at a regional facility (e.g., Stamford), not when it is dropped into a collection box. To guarantee a legal postmark on the day you send it, you now have to wait in line and request a manual postmark at the retail counter.

In Connecticut, 95% of taxpayers already file electronically. This change gives the remaining 5% a very good excuse to finally make the shift. But beyond taxes, this change creates a major deadline trap for rent payers, legal notices, and mail-in voters.

News from Denmark. In related news, Denmark has become the first country in the world to effectively end national letter delivery. After 401 years in operation, Denmark's PostNord delivered its final letter on December 30, 2025. They have ended their universal delivery mandate and are removing 1,500 of their iconic red mailboxes scattered throughout the country.

Sending a standard letter in Denmark (now handled by private carriers) can cost a whopping $6.84 compared to $0.78 in the U.S. No wonder the Danish public has moved almost entirely to digital e-boxes — and it's no wonder the U.S Postal Service is losing $9 billion annually trying to maintain a system the world is outgrowing.

Between the Lines: The days of Christmas cards with holiday stamp are coming to an end -- but so is junk mail too!

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