Handwriting a FedEx shipping form will cost an extra $5 a shipment starting January 18, 2027. FedEx lists a $5 Paper Air Waybill Fee for U.S. domestic and export shipments created with manual paper airbills. The charge arrives two weeks after FedEx raises its standard rates.
That rate increase takes effect January 4 and averages 5.9%, FedEx says. Together the two changes hit anyone who still fills out a paper form at the counter, including people who ship packages only a few times a year.
What FedEx says starts January 18
FedEx’s 2027 rate changes page sets two new fees for January 18, 2027. The first is the $5 paper airbill fee, charged per shipment. The second is a $25 Paper Document Fee for trade paperwork submitted in non-electronic form that needs manual handling.
A paper airbill is the printed form a shipper fills in by hand instead of creating a label online or on a shipping system. FedEx’s page describes the fee as applying to shipments “created with manual paper airbills.” The page does not list a waiver for any group of customers.
The fees were first reported on Supply Chain Dive on September 21. The trade site said the two fees come from FedEx’s 2027 surcharge and fee changes document, and described the $5 charge as applying to shipments “started with manual paper airbills.”
For anyone who ships a few packages a year, the choice is easy to state. A form filled out by hand at the counter will carry the $5 charge from January 18, and a shipment started another way will not, going by FedEx’s wording. The decision to make before then is how the next package gets created.
What changed this year: Social Security and Medicare change every year, and nobody sends you a memo. The Retirement Money Brief breaks down what changed and what to do.
Get the Retirement Money Brief →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
How a $5 charge compares with the rate increase
On a shipment that already costs $15 to send, a $5 fee adds a third. A package that costs $40 would carry a 12.5% surcharge on top of its price. Because the fee is flat, it weighs most on the cheapest shipments.
The January 4 increase works differently. FedEx says standard list rates for U.S., U.S. export and U.S. import services rise an average of 5.9%, and minimum rates and several surcharges go up too. Supply Chain Dive notes FedEx raised rates by 5.9% in 2024, 2025 and 2026 as well.
Surcharges rise faster than the headline. Supply Chain Dive lists the residential delivery charge on U.S. packages going from $6.95 to $7.35. The oversize charge for FedEx Home Delivery in zones 3 and 4 goes from $275 to $290, and the additional handling charge for weight in zone 2 goes from $46.00 to $49.50.
The question for a household is how much of this reaches a bill. FedEx’s page does not give amounts for every surcharge. It points to a linked PDF, titled surcharge and fee changes 2027, for the details.
What shipping analysts say to check first
Paul Yaussy, head of parcel contract intelligence at Loop, told Supply Chain 24/7 that shippers who use little Express service start above the 5.9% figure. He found Ground zones landing between 6.06% and 6.15%, and Express Saver at 3.09%.
Dave Sullivan, director of professional services at ShipScience, said shippers should budget from their own shipping profile instead of the headline average. He pointed to packages with additional handling or oversize charges, lightweight Ground shipments in longer zones, and residential deliveries in extended delivery areas.
Supply Chain Dive, citing a Loop analysis, puts the increase for FedEx Ground packages weighing one to five pounds at 6.49%. First Overnight rises 6.01%, 2Day A.M. 6.65% and Standard Overnight 5.16%. Five of FedEx’s seven major services are expected to average above 5.9%.
FedEx told Supply Chain 24/7 only that it regularly evaluates shipping rates and adjusts them when needed. The company has not published a reason for the paper airbill fee. It has not said how many customers still use paper forms, either.
Is there a way around the $5 charge?
The fee attaches to the form, not to the package. It is easy to miss for that reason. According to FedEx’s page, it applies to shipments created with manual paper airbills. A shipment started another way, such as a label created before going to the counter, is outside that description, though FedEx has not published a list of every method.
The deadline for deciding is January 18. Until then, paper forms carry no new fee. The paper document charge of $25 applies only to trade documents, so a household sending ordinary packages inside the United States will mostly meet the $5 fee and the higher rates.
That leaves the practical question the headline raises. Anyone who ships with FedEx will have to decide whether to stop using paper forms before January 18, and by how much the January 4 rate increase will change the total. FedEx’s own rate page and the surcharge PDF it links are the places to run the numbers.
Shipping with FedEx after January 4?
A $5 fee and a 5.9% average increase land within two weeks of each other, and households on fixed budgets feel small recurring charges first. Other household costs are rising on a schedule too, and many programs that offset them pay only if someone applies.
The Benefits Checklist scans 11 benefit programs and lists the 2026 income limits for each one. It is a different job from shipping rates, namely finding help with the bills that keep going up, and it comes with a printable application tracker.
Scan 11 benefit programs for help with rising bills in the Benefits Checklist →
More Financial Reading
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 17 Medicare Money Moves Now That Part D Caps at $2,400
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
