The UPS Circle of Honor is the highest level of defensive driving recognition. The Circle of Honor honors UPS drivers who have consistently demonstrated their professional driving knowledge over a period of many years.

The Safe Driving Award Plan, which was formalized in the early 1950s, became known as the Safe Driving Honor Plan by the 1960s. Drivers received gifts for reaching safe driving plateaus. A 1964 manual for the program is the first evidence of the Circle of Honor emblem being used. This emblem was found on all of the honor certificates. Sometime before 1980, the Circle of Honor became more than an emblem. It became the term used to describe the club of people who have driven safely for more than 20 years. The North Jersey District held its first Circle of Honor banquet on Valentine' s Day in 1980. Spouses were not invited, and the famous camel-colored jackets were not distributed. The first Circle of Honor dinner where the jackets were presented and spouses were invited occurred in the Washington District. The idea for the presentation of jackets came from the Masters golf tournament, which awards its winner with a jacket. The Washington staff created a patch for the jacket with the words "Circle of Honor. Masters of the Road." The story is told about a driver taking off his jacket as he was leaving the first banquet. When asked why, the driver responded that he had worked so long and hard to earn it that he did not want it to get ruined by the rain outside. The Washington District Big Idea from January 1982 stated, "Our hope is that [this will] become a yearly event." The photos of Circle of Honor drivers were displayed in the district office. Other districts began to adopt the tradition. By 1991, the Circle of Honor program had become a standard program throughout the company with a booklet of guidelines. Today, 25 years of safe driving is required for induction in the Circle of Honor and Circle of Honor drivers are often recognized at an annual dinner attended by invited guests, current Circle of Honor members, and members of district management team. During the dinner, the new members are presented with a camel-hair blazer embroidered with a Circle of Honor patch. The names of these drivers also are printed in an annual USA Today Circle of Honor advertisement, which usually appears in the fall.

As a prelude to their Circle of Honor, some districts have developed a Hall of Fame. Drivers reaching the plateau of 20 years safe driving are recognized by adding their photos to a district display of all drivers having reached the 20 year milestone.