USPS Dimensional Changes Come With Hefty Noncompliance Fees
Shipping a small package with USPS? If youâre mailing the parcel today and itâs under 1 cubic foot or 22 inches in length, you donât need to report its dimensions. Thatâs going to change this summer, though. If you ship anything larger than a mailer with USPS, these new changes will affect how you report your shipments. If you continue on with business as usual, get ready to see some hefty fees.
Today, weâre talking about how dimension reporting is changing at USPS, the penalties for non-compliance, and how to avoid additional fees.
USPS Annual Operating Revenue Increases as Volume Decreases
In its Fiscal Year 2025 report, USPS announced that its total annual operating revenue was $80.5 billion. That figure is up 1.2% ($916 million) from 2024. During that same time period, USPS shipping and packages volume decreased by 415 million pieces, or 5.7%.
How can both be true? USPS Chief Financial Officer Luke Grossmann said, âThe financial results reflect the difficulties of our mandated cost structure and the continued decline in volume, offset to some degree by the Postal Serviceâs efforts to push back against those trends by aggressively managing the costs we can control and by the judicious use of our pricing authority." The Postal Service increased revenue by expanding its USPS Ground Advantage shipping service and raising prices for mail and shipping.
New Fees Coming This Summer
On January 8, USPS filed a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would increase its ability to offset volume declines through dimension noncompliance fees. As of today, mailers only need to report product dimensions if they exceed 1 cubic foot or 22 inches in length. If this new rule goes into effect, mailers will be required to report length, width, and height for all products, except Flat Rate-priced pieces or USPS Returns. All other commercial Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select parcels will be subject to a dimension noncompliance fee if measurements are omitted or inaccurate.
A $1.50 dimension noncompliance fee was first introduced in 2022. According to the most recent pricing list, effective January 18, 2026, the dimension noncompliance fee has increased by 100% to $3.
Save Money on Parcel Shipping
Grossmann shares that, going forward, the Postal Service will "remain focused on moving toward financial sustainability through growing our USPS Ground Advantage package business, creating additional operational efficiencies, and developing product strategies to generate growth.â
âGenerating growthâ for USPS means more fines for you. If youâre shipping with USPS, $3 fees for incorrectly measuring parcels or neglecting to add dimensions can really add up. Set up a system now to avoid costly mistakes.
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