The Postal Service™ will temporarily suspend international mail acceptance for certain destinations due to service impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Effective April 3, 2020, the Postal Service will temporarily suspend international mail acceptance to destinations where the foreign postal operator has indicated that they are unable to process or deliver international mail or services originating from the United States. Customers are asked to refrain from mailing items addressed to any of the following countries, until further notice:
1. Botswana | 12. Maldives |
2. Cayman Islands | 13. Mongolia |
3. Chad | 14. New Caledonia |
4. Ecuador | 15. Panama |
5. Fiji | 16. Peru |
6. French Polynesia | 17. Samoa |
7. Honduras | 18. Saudi Arabia |
8. India | 19. South Africa |
9. Kuwait | 20. Bolivia |
10. Libya | 21. Sri Lanka |
11. Madagascar | 22. Zimbabwe |
Effective April 7, 2020, the Postal Service will temporarily suspend international mail acceptance to destinations where air and sea transportation is unavailable due to widespread cancellations and restrictions into the area. Customers are asked to refrain from mailing items addressed to any of the following countries, until further notice:
1. Angola | 16. Paraguay |
2. Benin | 17. Republic of the Congo |
3. Bosnia and Herzegovina | 18. Senegal |
4. Cameroon | 19. Seychelles |
5. Cook Islands | 20. Solomon Islands |
6. Costa Rica | 21. Sudan |
7. Gambia | 22. Tajikistan |
8. Guatemala | 23. Tanzania |
9. Kyrgyzstan | 24. Timor-Leste |
10. Laos | 25. Tonga |
11. Lebanon | 26. Uganda |
12. Malawi | 27. Uruguay |
13. Moldova | 28. Vanuatu |
14. Mozambique | 29. Venezuela |
15. Papua New Guinea |
These service disruptions affect Priority Mail Express International, Priority Mail International, First-Class Mail International, First-Class Package International Service, International Priority Airmail, International Surface Air Lift, and M-Bag items.
For already deposited items, other than Global Express Guaranteed, Postal Service employees must endorse them “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender” and then place them in the mail stream for return.
For any returned item bearing a customs form, the Postal Service will, upon request, refund postage and fees on mail returned due to the suspension of service.
For all other returned items not bearing a customs declarations form, the Postal Service will, upon request, refund postage and fees on mail returned due to the suspension of service, or the sender may re-mail them with the existing postage once service has been restored. When remailing under this option, customers must cross out the markings “Mail Service Suspended — Return to Sender.”
Unless otherwise noted, service suspensions to a particular country do not affect delivery of military and diplomatic mail.
For the most up-to-date information, visit our International Service Alerts page at