How new postmark rule may impact associations

Condominium, townhouse and homeowner associations routinely rely on mailed notices to comply with statutory and governing-document requirements. These notices (meeting notices, election materials, budget disclosures, and special assessment notices) are often required to be sent or postmarked within a specific time frame. Recent changes by the United States Postal Service alter how postmarks are applied and create new potential risks for associations that rely on traditional mailbox drop-off practices to satisfy administrative and legal notice deadlines.

The new USPS rule (effective Dec. 24, 2025), amended the Domestic Mail Manual. The rule formally defines what constitutes a postmark and identifies the types of markings that qualify. It is intended to clarify that while a postmark shows the date a mail piece was processed by the USPS, that date does not necessarily reflect when the USPS first accepted the item. As a result, mail deposited on a particular day may receive a postmark one or more days later after it reaches a regional processing facility, and the postmark may not match the intended mailing date.

This creates potential risks when statutes or governing documents require notices to be mailed, postmarked, or delivered by a specific deadline. This change can affect annual meeting notices, election and ballot mailings, budget ratification notices, special assessment notices, rule amendment notices, or any notice where timeliness is legally enforceable.

With this USPS postmark rule change, late or mismatched postmarks can lead to disputes over whether notices were timely sent, potentially undermining elections, meetings, assessments or board actions. Even when an association acts in good faith, delayed postmarks can create compliance challenges, owner objections, and legal exposure. For notices tied to statutory or governing-document deadlines, board members and managers cannot assume mailbox drop-off equals same-day postmark. If a notice is challenged, the association may no longer be able to rely on mailbox drop-off alone to prove compliance.

There are some practical ways to confirm properly mailed notices:

• Use in-person USPS counter service. When postage is purchased at a USPS retail counter, the Postage Validation Imprint label applied by the postal employee reflects the date the mail is accepted by the USPS.

• You can also request a manual, same-day postmark at the USPS retail counter. When applied, the postmark reflects the date the USPS accepted the mail, rather than the date of later automated processing.

• Another way is to keep USPS receipts, transaction records, or mailing confirmations as proof of the date and method of mailing. These records can be critical if the timing of a notice or filing is later challenged.

• From a planning standpoint, building additional lead time into your mailing schedules will help. Plan mailings several days earlier than the required deadline to account for processing delays or delivery variability. Adding buffer time reduces the risk that a notice will be deemed late due to factors outside the community association’s control.

We’ve been recommending boards consult with their management and the association’s attorney to carefully review notice timelines, particularly where statutes or governing documents impose strict requirements. In doing so, boards should focus on confirming permissible delivery methods (such as mail, electronic delivery, posting, hand delivery), validating notice language in the association’s governing documents, confirming timing and proof of delivery, including how mailing dates, postmarks, electronic transmission records, or affidavits of service should be documented.

Ultimately, a proactive approach will help boards reduce potential procedural risk, preserve the validity of board actions, and avoid disputes that can arise from technical notice issues.

• Matthew Moodhe is an attorney with Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit in the Chicago suburbs. Send questions for the column to him at CondoTalk@ksnlaw.com. The firm provides legal service to condominium, townhouse, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives. This column is not a substitute for consultation with legal counsel.