From the USPS on October 29, 2025:
With these stamps, the Postal Service celebrates the 100th anniversary of Route 66, the legendary highway that originally stretched about 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. Dubbed “The Mother Road” by author John Steinbeck, Route 66 forever changed how Americans travel and became a symbol of freedom and adventure. The pane of 16 stamps includes photographs by David Schwartz from each of the eight states Route 66 passes through, with each one repeated twice. The selvage features a photo by Schwartz of the open road rolling through hills in Crookton, AZ, along the longest continuous drivable stretch of Route 66 in the state.
More details will be posted below the line, with the most recent information at the top.
Updated April 15th:
Technical Specifications:
Issue: Route 66 Stamps
Item Number: 488400
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever®
Format: Pane of 16 (8 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: May 5, 2026, Phoenix, AZ 85026
Art Director: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Designer: Greg Breeding, Charlottesville, VA
Existing Photos: David Schwartz, Lakewood, OH
Modeler: Daryl DeMont
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 16
Print Quantity: 26,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag Applied
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Stamp Orientation: Square
Image Area (w x h): 1.0850 x 1.0850 in. / 27.5590 x 27.5590 mm.
Overall Size (w x h): 1.2250 x 1.2250 in. / 31.1150 x 31.1150 mm.
Full Pane Size (w x h): 8.0500 x 5.9300 in. / 204.4700 x 150.6220 mm.
Press Sheets Size (w x h): 24.6500 x 12.1100 in. / 626.1100 x 307.5940 mm.
Plate Size: 192 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: ROUTE 66 Road Sign
Back: ROUTE 66 Road Sign • Descriptive Text • Map of United States identifying Route 66 and locations • © 2025 USPS • USPS logo • Two barcodes (488400) • Plate position diagram (6) • Promotional text
Updated April 3rd:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue: 
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.65″ x 1.33″
The Pictorial Postmark measures 2.39″ x 1.24″
Surprisingly, there is no “special” postmark for local post offices to use. Or not yet.
From the Postal Bulletin:
On May 5, 2026, in Phoenix, AZ, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Route 66 stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate), in eight designs, in a pressure-
sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 16 stamps (Item 488400). These stamps will go on sale nationwide May 5, 2026, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Route 66 commemorative pane of 16 stamps must not be split and the stamps must not be sold individually.
For a century, drivers have hit the open road chasing the American Dream along Route 66, the legendary highway that originally stretched about 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. Established on November 11, 1926, Route 66 forever changed how Americans travel and became a symbol of freedom and adventure. Eight different photographs, featured twice on the stamp pane, show a site from each state that Route 66 runs through. The selvage features a photograph of Route 66 stretching into the distance in Arizona, capturing the sense of possibility the open road inspires. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamps and stamp pane with existing photographs by David Schwartz.
Automatic distribution.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
The first-day-of-issue postmark is a postmark notating the day a stamp is first authorized for use by the Postal Service™. Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. All requests for first-day-of-issue postmarks (Traditional or Digital Color Postmark) must be sent to the following address with the choice of Traditional or Digital Color Postmark identified. All orders must be postmarked by September 5, 2026.
FDOI – Route 66 Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
Technical details are not yet available.
Updated March 11th:
[ceremony details] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Route 66 Stamps To Be Issued at National Postal Forum
What: The U.S. Postal Service will commemorate Route 66 on that historic highway’s centennial with a set of eight stamps. The first-day-of-issue event will be held at the National Postal Forum, also known as the NPF, at the Phoenix Convention Center. The NPF is the mailing and shipping industry’s premier educational venue, trade show and networking event.
The first-day-of-issue event is free and open to the public, and will be held in the convention center’s lobby, so there is no need to purchase tickets to the NPF to attend the unveiling. News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #Route66Stamps.
Who: Jeffery A. Adams, USPS corporate communications vice president
Rod Reid, United States Route 66 Centennial Commission, chairman
David J. Schwartz, the stamps’ photographer
When: Tuesday, May 5, 2026, at 9:15 a.m. Mountain
Where:
National Postal Forum
Phoenix Convention Center
100 N. 3rd Street
Phoenix, AZ 85004
RSVP: Attendees are encouraged to register at: usps.com/route66stamps.
Background: For a century, drivers have hit the open road chasing the American dream along Route 66, the legendary highway that originally stretched about 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. Dubbed “The Mother Road” by author John Steinbeck, Route 66 forever changed how Americans travel and became a symbol of freedom and adventure. Route 66 was established on Nov. 11, 1926, connecting rural communities across eight states. During the Great Depression, people seeking better opportunities drove Route 66 west, and it became a symbol of postwar optimism. Along the route, mom-and-pop cafes, drive-in restaurants, souvenir shops, curiosities, motels and gas stations with neon signs highlighted the journey.
The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 provided funding for a new interstate highway system, and Route 66 was gradually replaced. Route 66 still unites the country with its call for adventure in pursuit of freedom and possibility on the open road.
Eight different photographs, featured twice on the stamp pane, show a site from each state that Route 66 runs through. The selvage features a photograph of Route 66 stretching into the distance in Arizona, capturing the sense of possibility the open road inspires. Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps and stamp pane using existing photographs by David J. Schwartz.
Updated February 17th:
These stamps will be issued May 5 in Phoenix.
Updated November 25th:
As requested by VSC member J.G. Haught, and provided by USPS spokesman Jim McKean:
In the first and third rows, the Route 66 shield is in the top left corner of each stamp, with “USA” running vertically below it in white. “FOREVER” is in the bottom right corner. From left to right:
- A turquoise 1957 Chevy Bel Air is parked in front of the Munger Moss Motel, built in 1946 in Lebanon, Missouri;
- a Ford Model A drives along a brick-paved segment of Route 66 in Auburn, Illinois;
- the replica Oil Capital Motel neon sign at sunrise at the Cyrus Avery Plaza Southwest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, featuring signs that originally stood along the road in Tulsa;
- the Grants Cafe neon sign, originally from Grants, New Mexico, now held at Glorieta Station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a few blocks from Route 66.
In the second and fourth rows, the Route 66 shield is in the top right corner of each stamp, with “USA” running vertically below it in white. From left to right:
- The Tower Station and U-Drop Inn Café glows at night in Shamrock, Texas;
- a restored Kan-O-Tex pump in Galena, Kansas;
- Motel sign in Yucca, Arizona;
- Beverly Hills City Hall, built in 1932 in Beverly Hills, California.
subjects, who has a master’s degree in microbiology. Her watercolors have been featured on planners, calendars, greeting cards, puzzles, bed and kitchen linens, and a wide variety of other products for over 30 years. In 2017, Brinkman-Salentijn celebrated her 25th anniversary as a botanical artist with a special exhibition at Slot Zeist, which PostNL commemorated with a silver stamp entitled “25 Years of Passion for Flowers.”
Note: PostNL does not sell directly to collectors in North America. Its website refers to a company called Nordfirm, which says it sells Dutch new issues at face value. The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.
Collectors may also wish to contact the U.S. firm Bombay Stamps, which can also obtain first day covers upon request, with lower shipping fees. The email is sales@bombaystamps.com Again, The Virtual Stamp Club has no connection to this company.
