Do USPS Labels Expire?

Yes. A USPS shipping label is valid for 28 days from the ship date you enter when you print it. USPS uses that ship-by date, usually printed near the bottom of the label, to decide whether a package can still enter the mail stream. Some post offices accept a label a day or two past that date, but that is the clerk's call, not a rule you can count on.

Why the ship date matters most for faster services

Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express have tight delivery windows, so the ship-by date carries more weight than it does on a slower class like Ground Advantage. Print a Priority label and sit on it, and the timing the customer was promised no longer lines up with when the package actually moves.

What to do if a label expires

• If the label was never used or scanned, request a refund. Online postage bought through Click-N-Ship or shipping software is refundable within 30 days of printing.
• Buy a fresh label, and reuse the refunded postage to cover it where you can.
• For a return label, check the terms first. Prepaid return labels from a retailer often stay valid far longer, sometimes up to a year, because the sender sets the window.

Return labels last longer than outbound labels

A label you print to ship an order and a return label a customer uses are not the same thing. Outbound postage runs on the 28-day clock. Prepaid returns are usually good for much longer, so a customer can send an item back weeks after you shipped it.