If you reuse a barcoded stamp, postal service sorting machines will scan the unique barcode, recognize it as already used, and flag the item for surcharge, meaning the recipient must pay extra postage (often significantly more) to receive it, as these stamps are designed for one-time use to prevent fraud. Attempting to reuse them is considered theft and illegal.
Can I reuse a stamp with a barcode? No.
After use, many stamps are marked with a cancellation by the postal system, which defaces the stamp and prevents its reuse. The cancellation usually includes a killer placed on the stamp that has black bars, cork impressions or other obstructive shapes to deface the stamp.
Reuse of stamps with intent to cause loss to the government or the USPS is punishable by fine and imprisonment.
If you post an item with a non-barcoded stamp after 31 July 2023 it will be liable to surcharge; the equivalent of it having no postage. Customers are advised to either use up any non-barcoded stamps or swap them out.
Once a postage stamp has been used, it is a federal crime to: 1. Remove, attempt to remove, or assist to remove cancellation marks from postage.
The British Guiana 1c magenta is regarded by many philatelists as the world's most famous rare stamp. It was issued in limited numbers in British Guiana (now Guyana) in 1856, and only one specimen is now known to exist.
Postal Inspectors also conduct interdictions of packages containing counterfeit postage labels and, as part of a criminal investigation, packages with affixed counterfeit postage can be seized. The Postal Inspection Service's Revenue Investigations Program focuses on detecting counterfeit postage labels and stamps.
So what happens if you use a counterfeit stamp when you mail your next letter? It is a crime, and it's possible you could be prosecuted. The letter you mail will be treated as abandoned mail, so the postmaster has the discretion to open it or destroy it.
Serial Numbers: Unique serial numbers can be printed on stamps, allowing each stamp to be tracked and verified.
And Forever means forever. So if you bought a Forever stamp when the concept was first introduced in 2007 for its then-rate of 41¢, you can still use that same stamp to mail a letter today — even though the current First-Class Mail rate is 73¢ (or 78¢ beginning July 1, 2025).
Used stamps might have some of the features below:
There will be a printed mark that has some part of it which crosses the stamp. That is called a post mark or cancellation. In order to reuse that stamp, that mark must be removed without altering the stamp in any other way.
Royal Mail is encouraging its customers to use up these stamps by this date. While no longer valid after 31 January 2023, Royal Mail recently introduced a 6-month grace period where it will deliver these items as normal and will not apply a surcharge fee for insufficient postage.
No, a used stamp cannot be reused.
Hall sent a nationwide circular reminding the public that producing, selling, or using counterfeit stamps was a felony carrying the punishment of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine (about $205,000).
Protect Yourself from Brushing Scams
Whether you use counterfeit stamps on purpose or inadvertently, Ortega said it could result in your letter or package being discarded: "Mail with forged/counterfeit postage will be treated as 'abandoned' and subject to disposal at the agency's discretion."
A rare "Inverted Jenny" U.S. postage stamp, famous for its upside-down airplane, sold for a record-breaking $2 million at a Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries in New York in November 2023, setting a new record for a single U.S. stamp at auction. This 1918 stamp depicts a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" biplane printed upside down, with only 100 known to exist, making it a highly coveted item for collectors. The buyer was a longtime collector, Charles Hack, who called it the "holy grail of postage".
Invert errors: Inverts occur when one or more elements of a postage stamp's design are printed upside down. They are caused when a stamp sheet that requires a multi-coloured impression is inserted into a printing press the wrong way round.
The world's first postage stamp was a simple idea, but revolutionary. This is how Rowland Hill reformed the postal service with the Penny Black. The first mention by Rowland Hill of what became the world's first adhesive postage stamp was in his booklet 'Post Office Reform'.