Stamp Announcement 26-6: Lunar New Year • Year of the Horse Stamp

On February 3, 2026, in Houston, TX, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Lunar New Year • Year of the Horse stamp (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate), in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 487900). This stamp will go on sale nationwide February 3, 2026, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Lunar New Year • Year of the Horse commemorative pane of 20 stamps must not be split and the stamps must not be sold individually.

In 2026, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the 7th of 12 stamps in its latest Lunar New Year series. The Year of the Horse begins February 17, 2026, and concludes on February 5, 2027. Calling to mind the elaborately decorated masks used in the dragon or lion dances often performed in Lunar New Year parades, this 3-dimensional mask depicting a horse is a contemporary take on the long tradition of paper-cut folk-art crafts created during this time of year. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed this stamp issuance with original artwork by Camille Chew and photography by Sally Andersen-Bruce.

Availability to Post Offices: Item 487900, Lunar New Year • Year of the Horse (Forever Priced at the First-Class Mail Rate) Pane of 20 Stamps

Stamp Fulfillment Services will make an automatic push distribution to Post Offices of a quantity to cover approximately 30 days of sales. Distribution quantities for the automatic push distribution will be available by logging on to SFS Web at sfsweb.usps.gov. Post Offices may begin ordering stamps before the first-day-of-issue through SFS Web; offices must also check the amount they will receive on their automatic push distribution.

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark

Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at store.usps.com/store/home. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – Lunar New Year • Year of the Horse Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service™ will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by June 3, 2026.

How to Order First-Day Covers

The Postal Service also offers first-day covers for new stamp issues and Postal Service stationery items postmarked with the official first-day-of-issue cancellation. Each item has an individual catalog number and is offered in the USA Philatelic catalog and online at store.usps.com/store/home. Customers may register to receive a free USA Philatelic catalog online at usps.com/philatelic.

Locally produced items are not authorized. Only merchandise that has been approved and assigned an item number by Headquarters Retail Marketing may be produced and sold.

Technical details will appear in a future edition of the Postal Bulletin.