Will the new U.S. Post Office postmark rules affect my real estate contract in North Carolina?

QUESTION: I recently heard from an agent in another state that the new postmark rules of the United States Postal Service can have an impact on whether a mailed notice is effective to provide notice to the other party in a transaction. What are those new postmark rules? And do those rules have any application to notices given pursuant to the standard residential contract forms we use in North Carolina? For example, will this affect how I send a notice to terminate a residential contract?

ANSWER: In some places around the country, notices required by a standard real estate contract are only effective “when mailed.” To prove mailing with these forms in the past, parties have relied on a postmark to prove that a notice was timely given. NC REALTORS®’ standard residential contracts do not have a similar provision. However, members who use other NCR standard forms, such as the commercial agency agreements, may want to take extra steps when notices are sent by mail under the new USPS postmark rules.

The new postmark rules establish that mail placed in a collection box (blue box) or given to a postal carrier may receive a postmark dated later that the date the item was deposited – or possibly no postmark at all. The new rules also state that dates on pre-printed labels will not establish the date USPS took possession of an item. To avoid items being marked later than what a due date might require, USPS has recommended that customers ask for a manual postmark at a local office, use Certified Mail, or purchase a Certificate of Mailing. It is also a very good idea to make sure that a time-sensitive item be placed in the mail as soon as possible to ensure delivery by the due date.

In North Carolina, our residential standard contract forms (Forms 2-T, 12-T, 620-T, and 800-T) do not require the timely mailing of notices, fees, or deposits. Instead, our forms require timely delivery of those items. In your example, Form 2-T states that a buyer must deliver notice of termination by 5:00 p.m. on the date the Due Diligence Period ends, and it does not mention mailing. The method of delivery is not important so long as the notice, fee, or deposit is received by the intended recipient by the date it is due.

While delivery of notices, fees, and deposits by mail is not mandatory when using North Carolina forms, it is permitted. If agents choose to use mail for delivery of any required item, they should not assume that dropping that item in a mailbox is sufficient. We have previously written here that an Earnest Money Deposit is not considered delivered when it is dropped in a mailbox. As we explained, the so-called “mailbox rule” only operates as a method of communicating acceptance of an offer. It does not apply to any other situation. To timely deliver an item, such as a Due Diligence Fee, the item must be received.

The guidance above is limited to residential contract forms. Agents using other forms or practicing in other areas of brokerage will want to make sure the new postmark rules are followed. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Commercial Listing Forms (Forms 570, 571, and 572) – In order to notify a client of a prospect subject to the Protection Period, a list of prospects must be delivered or postmarked to the client within 15 days after the expiration or termination of the listing agreement. Late delivery or postmarking of this list may waive a listing firm’s ability to take advantage of the Protection Period. Note that the residential listing forms (Forms 101 and 103) require delivery and do not allow the list to be timely postmarked instead.
• Tenant Security Deposits – Section 42-52 of the Tenant Security Deposit Act explicitly authorizes mailing of the required accounting to the tenant within 30 days of the termination of the tenancy. If a property manager intends to rely on a postmark to prove compliance with this 30-day deadline, the recent USPS guidance should definitely be taken into account.

Release Date: 2/5/2026

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