Prices effective July 12, 2026, read on 2026-07-28.
Every USPS parcel add-on in one table
| Fee | What sets it off | USPS Ground Advantage | Priority and Priority Mail Express |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonstandard, longer than 22 in up to 30 in | Length over 22 inches | $4.50 | $4.50 |
| Nonstandard, longer than 30 in | Length over 30 inches | $10.00 | $21.00 |
| Nonstandard, over 2 cubic feet | Volume over 3,456 cubic inches | $21.00 | $35.00 |
| Characteristics fee | Tubes and rolls, cans, wooden or metal boxes, bulk liquid | $4.50 | $4.50 |
| Oversized price | 108 to 130 inches length plus girth | Zone-based oversized price | Not available over 108 in |
| HAZMAT handling | Mailable hazardous materials | $0.00 | $7.50 |
| HAZMAT noncompliance | Undeclared hazardous contents | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| Live animal and perishable handling | Live or perishable contents | $7.50 | $15.00 on Priority Mail |
| Nonmachinable surcharge | Letters only, DMM 101.1.2 characteristics | n/a | $0.49 |
All figures from USPS Notice 123, prices effective July 12, 2026, per pe.usps.com, checked 2026-07-28. Retail and commercial tables carry identical nonstandard amounts within each class.
Three things USPS does not charge
- No fuel surcharge. The word does not appear anywhere in the domestic price list. When its transport costs rose in 2026, USPS filed a time-limited 8 percent price change instead, so that cost sits inside the postage rather than on a separate line.
- No residential delivery charge. Delivering to a house is the ordinary case for a carrier that visits every address six days a week.
- No delivery area surcharge. There is no list of expensive ZIP codes, because the network is obliged to serve all of them.
Those three absences are why USPS took every one of the four small home-to-home parcels we priced on 2026-07-28, from a mug at $8.48 to a 15 lb carton at $17.01. The Postal Service loads its cost into the base rate instead, which is why it loses ground as parcels get heavy and long.
Checked against USPS Notice 123, effective July 12, 2026. Prices are SMKlog live rates on the Newark 07102 to Atlanta 30303 lane, captured 2026-07-28.
Two time-limited price changes run until January 17, 2027, and both change the postage itself rather than adding a line to it. The transportation-related one adds 8 percent to base postage on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, Ground Advantage and Parcel Select from April 26, 2026. The holiday one adds a set amount per parcel on the same four products from October 4, 2026; the amounts are on our peak season surcharge page. Neither touches the add-on fees in the table above.
Source: USPS newsroom releases of March 25 and August 25, 2026 on about.usps.com, checked 2026-10-06.
Optional services, priced separately
| Service | Retail price |
|---|---|
| Certified Mail | $5.55 |
| Signature Confirmation, retail | $5.15 |
| Signature Confirmation, electronic | $4.15 |
| Adult Signature Required | $9.70 |
| Return receipt, hardcopy | $4.65 |
| Return receipt, electronic | $2.91 |
| Address Correction Service, manual notice | $1.00 |
| Declared value coverage from $0.01 to $50.00 | $2.80 |
| Declared value coverage from $100.01 to $200.00 | $4.50 |
USPS Notice 123, effective July 12, 2026, re-read on 2026-07-28 and unchanged from our previous capture. Ground Advantage includes $100 of coverage before any declared value is bought.
USPS surcharge questions
What surcharges does USPS add to a parcel?
A nonstandard fee of $4.50 past 22 inches, $10.00 past 30 inches on Ground Advantage or $21.00 on Priority, and $21.00 or $35.00 past two cubic feet. Plus a $4.50 characteristics fee for tubes, cans and bulk liquid, handling fees for hazardous and perishable contents, and a $0.49 letter nonmachinable surcharge.
Does USPS charge fuel or residential fees?
No to both, and no delivery area fee either. Notice 123, the domestic price list effective July 12, 2026, contains none of those lines. USPS carries that cost inside the base rate instead, including a time-limited 8 percent transportation-related increase that runs from April 26, 2026 to January 17, 2027.
Which USPS class is cheaper for an odd-shaped parcel?
Ground Advantage, usually. Its nonstandard adders are less than half the Priority figures past 30 inches and past two cubic feet, and it accepts parcels up to 130 inches in length and girth where Priority stops at 108.
Do I need to add these fees to your quoted price?
No. The number in our calculator is the whole amount collected at checkout for the parcel you describe, with SMKlog's charge inside. Choose a rate, pay and print with no account.