Living people may soon be honored on U.S. stamps. According to a report in Linn’s Stamp News (October 12, 2026), a longstanding provision in the criteria for U.S. stamps has been removed. It had previously stated that at least three years must elapse before a person could be commemorated.
The criteria can be found on the U.S. Postal Service site here.
“Under the current criteria, living individuals are not categorically excluded from consideration,” Lisa Bobb-Semple, Director of Stamps for the USPS, told Linn’s. She emphasized, however, that that change has not resulted in any living person being considered for a stamp. [Right: Bobb-Semple at Americover 2026, August 7, 2026]
The philatelic newspaper reports the change in criteria on the website appears to have occurred in August 2026, without an announcement. The waiting period had been reduced to three years in 2018; for many years, it had been ten years.
Strangely, the only people now who must be deceased to be considered for a stamp are U.S. presidents! Criterion #4 states “A memorial stamp will be issued honoring U.S. presidents only after they are deceased.” However, does that open the door for a non-memorial stamp for a president?
“Why should a stamp only tell us who we were in the past and not where we are today?” Postmaster General David Steiner [left] said in a speech at Boston 2026 World Expo on May 30, talking about his goal of reinvigorating stamps for a broader audience.
Bobb-Semple did not tell Linn’s that Steiner’s comments prompted the change, only that the stamp selection criteria are reviewed periodically “to ensure they remain relevant and reflective of the Postal Service’s desire to issue diverse and robust stamp programs that resonate with the public.”
Living people have appeared on U.S. stamps in the past, but not directly. For example, some of the soldiers shown marching through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on the Army stamp, based on a photograph taken Aug. 29, 1944, were undoubtedly still alive when the stamp (Scott 934) was issued on Sept. 28, 1945.
The 2013 U.S. Harry Potter stamps all featured the actors who played the roles in the movies, and all were still living when the stamps were issued. [Shown right, Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter] The 2021 Tap Dance [below] stamps featured recognizable living models (dancers).
At this time, no stamps or other issues have been announced for any living people.
