Forever Stamps Now Cost 82 Cents: What Changed and What Comes Next

A First-Class Mail Forever stamp costs 82 cents. The U.S. Postal Service raised it from 78 cents on July 12, 2026, part of an increase of about 4.8% across its mailing services. USPS then asked regulators to let it move its next stamp increase up to January 2027, and in August the Postal Regulatory Commission said no to the request as filed.

Here is what changed in July, what the commission decided, and what it means for the next price change.

Key Takeaways

A Forever stamp has cost 82 cents since July 12, 2026, up 4 cents from 78 cents. The price for each additional ounce of a letter stayed at 29 cents.
Forever stamps never expire, so stamps you already own still mail a 1-ounce letter, whatever you paid for them.
The stamp price has risen from 58 cents in 2021, an increase of about 41%, Money reported.
On August 21, 2026, the Postal Regulatory Commission denied a USPS request that would have allowed a larger increase in January 2027. A smaller, inflation-based January increase is still possible.
USPS’s temporary holiday prices, in effect through January 17, 2027, apply to packages only, not stamps.

What Changed on July 12

In its filing with the Postal Regulatory Commission, USPS announced the increase. “The new rates include a 4-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp from 78 cents to 82 cents,” USPS said in its industry alert, as published by the National Newspaper Association. The adjustments “would raise mailing services product prices approximately 4.8%.”

Not everything went up. “The additional-ounce price for single-piece letters will remain at 29 cents,” USPS said. The filing also adjusted prices for other First-Class Mail products, Periodicals, USPS Marketing Mail, Package Services and some Special Services. The filing is Docket No. R2026-1.

The commission approved the 4-cent increase in May, saying USPS continues to face declining mail volumes, ongoing service issues and persistent financial pressures, Money reported.

What you mail	Price before July 12, 2026	Price now
Forever stamp (1-ounce letter)	78 cents	82 cents
Each additional ounce (letters)	29 cents	29 cents

Stamps You Already Own Still Work

“If you already have Forever stamps, they never expire, regardless of future price increases,” Money reported. “That means Forever stamps purchased in 2007, when they debuted at 41 cents, can still be used to mail a letter today.”

That makes buying a supply before an increase a simple way to save. A book of 20 Forever stamps bought at 78 cents cost $15.60; the same book at 82 cents costs $16.40.

Why Prices Keep Rising

The Forever stamp rose from 58 cents in 2021 to 82 cents, “a roughly 41% increase,” Money reported. USPS held stamp prices steady at the start of 2026 but raised prices for several shipping services that January, including Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select, before the July stamp increase.

Postage is how the agency pays its bills. “The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations,” USPS said in its July price announcement. USPS posted billions of dollars in losses in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, and the commission said in a May 21 financial analysis that USPS has operated in the red for the past decade.

“Losses sustained over the past 10 years have weakened the Postal Service’s financial position, resulting in a significant gap between assets and liabilities,” the commission said.

Postmaster General David Steiner told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that first-class stamp prices may eventually need to reach 90 to 95 cents, according to Money. At the same hearing, he warned that USPS could run out of cash within 12 months.

The January 2027 Request the Regulator Turned Down

USPS asked the Postal Regulatory Commission for a waiver that would have let it raise prices in January 2027, using estimated data to justify a bigger increase. On August 21, 2026, the commission denied the request.

The commission concluded that USPS “had not demonstrated good cause for deviating from existing rules, had not shown that the proposed change would be consistent with the public interest, and had failed to establish that the request would not unfairly prejudice other participants in the proceeding,” PRINTING United Alliance reported.

The ruling does not rule out a January increase entirely. “USPS can still seek a January increase based on its available Consumer Price Index (CPI) authority; however, it cannot use estimated and incomplete FY 2026 data to add ‘density’ rate authority to that increase prior to July 2027,” the National Newspaper Association said.

“USPS could still raise Market Dominant rates in January, but the increase would likely be smaller than the approximately 4.5% increase it had been considering with both CPI and estimated density authority,” NNA said.

The larger, density-based increase would have to wait. PRINTING United Alliance reported that if USPS seeks to utilize density authority in FY 2027, “it must follow the established timeline and wait until its April filing for a potential July implementation.”

Holiday Package Prices Do Not Affect Stamps

USPS’s temporary peak-season prices, in effect from October 4, 2026, to January 17, 2027, cover Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select. “No other products or services would be affected,” USPS said. Letters mailed with Forever stamps are not part of that change.

For what the package increases cost and how UPS and FedEx compare, see UPS, FedEx and USPS Rate Increases for 2027. For mailing basics, see the Complete USPS Shipping Guide 2026.