No, U.S. postage stamps do not expire. A Forever stamp bought in 2007 and a denominated stamp from decades earlier are both still valid for mailing today. The difference is in what they’re worth: a Forever stamp always equals the current one-ounce First-Class Mail letter rate, which is $0.78, while a stamp with a printed dollar amount is worth exactly that amount and needs extra postage added to reach today’s rate.1USPS. First-Class Mail and Postage
Forever Stamps Keep Up With Rate Increases
Forever stamps carry the word “FOREVER” instead of a printed price. Their postage value equals the one-ounce First-Class letter rate on the day you mail the envelope, no matter what you originally paid.2United States Postal Service. Fact Sheet: Forever Stamp A Forever stamp you bought for $0.44 covers the full $0.78 rate today with nothing extra.
One Forever stamp covers one ounce. First-Class letters can weigh up to 3.5 ounces, and each additional ounce beyond the first costs $0.29. A two-ounce letter needs $1.07 in postage, so a single Forever stamp plus $0.29 in extra stamps. This trips people up when they add extra pages or photos to an envelope and mail it with one stamp. If postage falls short, USPS returns the letter or delivers it postage-due to the recipient.
Old Denominated Stamps Still Work, With a Top-Up
Denominated stamps have a specific price printed on them, like $0.32 or $0.55. They stay valid forever at exactly that face value. Because their value doesn’t rise with rate increases, you need to add postage to reach the current rate. A $0.32 stamp from the 1990s needs $0.46 more to mail a one-ounce letter today.1USPS. First-Class Mail and Postage
You can combine multiple old stamps to reach the amount you need. Five $0.20 stamps add up to $1.00, which more than covers a one-ounce letter. The envelope will look busy, but USPS accepts it. Overpaying doesn’t get you a refund, so if you use $1.00 in stamps on a letter that only requires $0.78, the extra $0.22 is gone.
Placement Matters When You Stack Stamps
Stamps go in the upper right corner on the address side. When you’re combining several low-value stamps, don’t let them overlap. A stamp partly hidden behind another may not count toward your total postage.3USPS. Postage Stamps If you’re running out of room, arrange them in a tight grid rather than shingling them.
Watch for the Non-Machinable Surcharge
Even correct postage for the weight can come up short if the envelope itself triggers a $0.49 non-machinable surcharge.4Postal Explorer. Notice 123 – Price List Square envelopes are the most common cause. Envelopes with clasps or buttons, or those containing rigid items like keys, also get flagged, as do letters with the address running parallel to the short side.5Postal Explorer. 201 Quick Service Guide A square wedding invitation with just a Forever stamp is $0.49 short, and it will come back or arrive postage due.
International Mail and Postcards
A Global Forever stamp covers a one-ounce international letter or postcard to more than 180 countries, currently $1.70.6USPS. First-Class Mail International Any combination of domestic stamps totaling $1.70 works too.7USPS. How to Send a Letter or Postcard: International A standard-sized domestic postcard costs $0.61.8USPS. How to Send a Letter or Postcard: Domestic A regular Forever stamp works on a postcard, though you’ll overpay by $0.17.
Semi-postal stamps like the Breast Cancer Research and Healing PTSD stamps sell for $0.90, of which $0.78 counts as postage and $0.12 goes to the designated cause.9Postal Explorer. 604a Quick Service Guide One covers a one-ounce First-Class letter, and they don’t expire.
Damaged Stamps Can Be Rejected
Stamps that are mutilated or defaced are not valid for domestic or international mail.10Postal Explorer – USPS. Customer Support Ruling – Torn Postage Stamps A small corner tear won’t disqualify a stamp, but a stamp missing a large portion, heavily stained, water-damaged, or stuck to another shouldn’t be used.
Don’t tape over a stamp to hold it down or protect it. A stamp covered so cancellation marks can’t print on it is treated as invalid.11USPS. DMM 604 Postage Payment Methods If an old self-adhesive stamp has lost its stickiness, use a small dab of glue stick on the back rather than clear tape across the front.
What “Never Expires” Does Not Cover
Two situations look like using an old stamp but aren’t. First, a stamp that has already been through the mail is finished. Federal law makes it a crime to reuse a cancelled stamp, remove cancellation marks, or peel a stamp off delivered mail to send it again, with penalties of up to one year in prison, a fine, or both.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1720 – Canceled Stamps and Envelopes
Second, stamps sold well below face value on social media, e-commerce sites, or by overseas vendors are almost certainly counterfeit. USPS never discounts stamps.13United States Postal Inspection Service. Counterfeit Postage Mail with fake postage may not be delivered, and Postal Inspectors can seize packages bearing counterfeit stamps.14United States Postal Inspection Service. U.S. Postal Inspection Service Warns Consumers About Counterfeit Postage Knowingly using counterfeit postage can bring up to five years in prison.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 US Code 501 – Postage Stamps, Postage Meter Stamps, and Postal Cards Buy directly from the post office, usps.com, or authorized retailers like grocery stores and pharmacies.