United States Postal Service

United States Postal Service
Government signature used since 1993

USPS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. (2024)
Agency overview
FormedJuly 1, 1971 (1971-07-01)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
JurisdictionU.S. federal government
Headquarters475 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington, D.C. 20260-0004
U.S.
Employees640,000 (525,377 career personnel, 114,623 pre-career personnel) as of 2024
Agency executive
  • David Steiner, Postmaster General
Key document
Websiteusps.com
Footnotes
[1][2][3]
Revenue (2024) $80.5 billion[4]: 1 
Net income (2024) −$9.5 billion[4]: 1 

The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States, its insular areas and associated states. It is one of a few government agencies explicitly authorized by the Constitution of the United States. As of March 29, 2024, the USPS has 525,377 career employees and nearly 114,623 pre-career employees.[5]

The USPS has a monopoly on traditional letter delivery within the U.S. and operates under a universal service obligation (USO), both of which are defined across a broad set of legal mandates, which obligate it to provide uniform price and quality across the entirety of its service area.[6] The Post Office has exclusive access[7] to letter boxes marked "U.S. Mail" and personal letterboxes in the U.S., but has to compete against private package delivery services, such as United Parcel Service, FedEx, and DHL.[8]

  1. ^ "On This Day in Postal History: Notable Events by Month/Day/Year" (PDF). United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 2, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "Who We Are: Leadership". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  3. ^ "Size and scope". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference USPSFY24 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Pre-Career Employee Turnover and Retention". Office of Inspector General. March 29, 2024. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2008 Postal Monopoly webpage was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Information About Restrictions on Mailbox Access" (PDF). United States General Accounting Office. May 30, 1997. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 24, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "Universal Service and the Postal Monopoly: A Brief History" (PDF). The United States Postal Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 24, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
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