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Additional
Information
Many factors affect your mailing choices. This section describes non profit
mailing, mail service providers, and reply mail options and explains how
the content of your mailpiece can affect your mailing options.
Mailing for Nonprofit Organizations
| Are Nonprofit Organizations
Different From Business Mailers?
Nonprofit organizations and businesses use discount mailing in the
same way. Nonprofit organizations authorized by the Postal Service
are eligible for additional savings on Standard Mail rates. Eligibility
to use nonprofit rates is based on both the organization’s
eligibility and the content of the mailpiece as established by federal
statutes. For additional information, see:
- Quick Service Guide
670 Standard Mail Nonprofit Eligibility (HTML)
- Quick
Service Guide 670 Standard Mail Nonprofit Eligibility (PDF)
Identifying Your Mailpiece
For Nonprofit Standard Mail, the name and return address of the
authorized nonprofit organization must be printed on the outside
of the mailpiece or prominently displayed on the material being
mailed.
How Do I Apply?
Organizations apply for authorization to mail at Nonprofit Standard
Mail Rates by submitting Form 3624, Application to Mail at Nonprofit
Standard Mail Rates at the post office where the organization intends
to mail. For information about nonprofit rate eligibility and how
to apply, see:
- Publication
417, Nonprofit Standard Mail Eligibility (HTML)
- Publication
417, Nonprofit Standard Mail Eligibility (PDF)
or pick up a copy at your local post office.
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Organization Eligibility
Only certain types of nonprofit organizations may qualify for authorization
to mail at Nonprofit Standard Mail rates. Nonprofit rates are considerably
less than regular Standard Mail rates. Typically, there are eight categories
of organizations that may be eligible:
- Agricultural
- Philanthropic
- Educational
- Labor
- Scientific
- Veterans
- Religious
- Fraternal
More recently, Congress authorized nonprofit rates for voter registration
officials and national and state committees of political parties.
Simply being an IRS-approved nonprofit organization does not qualify
an organization for these rates. The following types of organizations
are typically ineligible for nonprofit authorization:
- Automobile clubs
- Business leagues
- Chambers of commerce
- Individuals
- Mutual insurance associations
- Political organizations
- Service clubs
- Social and hobby clubs
- Trade associations
- Citizens’ and civic improvement associations
- Associations of rural electric cooperatives
Mailpiece Eligibility
As an authorized nonprofit organization, you can send only your own mail
at Nonprofit Standard Mail rates. Additionally, the material that you
send must meet certain content standards.
Advertising Content
Advertisements cannot be mailed at Nonprofit Standard Mail rates if they
promote any of the following:
- Credit, debit, or charge cards
- Insurance policies, unless they are promoted to members, donors, supporters,
or beneficiaries of your organization and the policy coverage is not
otherwise generally commercially available
- Any travel arrangement, unless the arrangement is promoted to members,
donors, and supporters of your organization, and the travel contributes
substantially to your organization’s qualifying purpose
- Advertising for products or services that are not substantially related
to your organization’s qualifying purpose
Product Content
The following products are mailable at Nonprofit Standard Mail rates:
- ß A low-cost item. Cost is based on the price your organization
pays to acquire the product and not the sale price. Because the value
is adjusted each year, you should see the Domestic
Mail Manual Section E670.5.11 to find the current value of a low-cost
item.
- An item donated to your organization
- Certain periodical publications
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Getting
Help From Mail Service Providers
Mail service providers can help with your mailings in a number of ways.
WHAT IS A MAIL SERVICE PROVIDER?
A mail service provider is a company that specializes in creating and
preparing mail.
Advantages
- Mail service providers save you time by doing all or part of the work
for you.
- A presort bureau may be able to combine your mail with other customers’
mail to take advantage of lower rates.
- You don’t have to invest in software or equipment.
- You may not have to pay permit or annual mailing fees.
- You can compare your costs and efforts in preparing the mailing yourself
to the costs of paying a vendor to do some or all of the work for you.
- Nonprofit organizations can benefit from mail service providers just
as for-profit businesses can.
Presort Bureaus and Letter Shops
Presort bureaus and letter shops specialize in preparing mailings for
customers. Some of these businesses will do the entire mail process for
you, from printing your mailpiece to depositing it at the post office.
You can find these businesses by doing a Web search or by looking in the
phone book under “letter shops,” “mailing services,”
or “printing.”
Address List Vendors
List vendors collect and sell information about consumers and businesses.
You can buy or rent a mailing list to target your intended audience. Address
list vendors can also correct, standardize, and update your mailing lists.
You can find these businesses by doing a Web search, looking in the phone
book, or by visiting Direct Mail
for a list of USPS authorized list vendors.
Not all purchased or rented lists have addresses that are correct, checked,
updated, or certified. To make sure that you are getting a list with accurate
addresses, ask your vendor about the list’s National Deliverability
Index (NDI), which rates the percentage of addresses in that list that
are deliverable. The NDI rating allows you to compare the quality of addresses
from several lists and to choose the one that has the highest accuracy
rating.
Remember to ask your vendor for documentation
that shows the addressing updates have been met.
Print and Publishing Services
Printers and publishers specialize in all forms of traditional print communications,
including catalogs, direct mail, brochures, and publications. They may
also provide mailing services.
Parcel Consolidators
Consolidators streamline the parcel shipping process for businesses that
mail parcels in volume. From cost-effective Parcel Post destination entry
options to parcel pickup, sorting, postage payment, and transportation—they
can simplify your fulfillment processes. Working in conjunction with the
Postal Service, the consolidators save you money by mailing your parcels
closer to their ultimate destination. For a list of vendors, see parcel
consolidators.
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Encouraging
Customers to Reply
Some businesses and organizations provide envelopes, cards, or labels
for their customers to reply.
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What Is Reply Mail?
Businesses and organizations that depend on orders and payments
by mail have a vested interest in incoming mail and may want to
use tools that encourage their customers to reply. Reply mail is
a method with which you can provide preaddressed envelopes, postcards,
and labels, with or without postage, to customers for reply purposes.
Benefits of Reply Mail
Customers are provided a quick and easy response tool. For businesses
and organizations, reply mail encourages a response.
Kinds of Reply Mail
The Postal Service offers three kinds of reply mail within the U.S.:
- Business Reply Mail (BRM)
- Metered Reply Mail (MRM)
- Courtesy Reply Mail (CRM)
What Is the Difference?
With BRM, MRM, and CRM, you provide your customer with an envelope
or card that has your return address preprinted on it. Businesses
who ask their customers to submit their payments to locations other
than their usual business address may find this particularly valuable.
With BRM and MRM, businesses pay the postage for their customers.
Customers use the envelope, postcard, or label that is preprinted
with the business address and drop it in a mailbox.
For all BRM services, a business or organization pays postage and
a fee for each piece when it receives the reply mail from the Postal
Service.
With MRM, you apply prepaid metered postage to each piece for your
customer.
Using CRM, a business provides its customer with a preaddressed
envelope and the customer applies postage.
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BUSINESS REPLY MAIL (BRM)
Business Pays Postage Afterwards
The four types of Business Reply Mail (BRM) allow you to receive First-Class
Mail and Priority Mail back from customers and pay for the postage when
the mail is returned to you. When designing a BRM mailpiece or label,
you must consult with your local post office or business mail entry employee.
The mailpiece must conform to a specific format, including a specific
ZIP+4 code assigned by the post office. The type of BRM that you choose
will depend on the volume of returns you expect.
Basic BRM
For basic BRM, you fill out an application (Form 3615) and pay an annual
$150 permit fee. When you send your mail, you can include preprinted envelopes,
postcards, or labels. You pay the First-Class Mail rate for the returned
mailpiece plus a per piece fee for each piece you receive back. For example,
with basic BRM, for each 1-ounce letter returned, you pay $0.37 for First-Class
postage and a $0.60 per piece fee, totaling $0.97 per piece.
High Volume BRM
For high volume BRM, you fill out an application and pay an annual $150
permit fee and an annual $475 accounting fee. You still pay the First-Class
Mail return postage, but the per piece fee is reduced from $0.60 to $0.10
per piece. Therefore, with high volume BRM, for each 1-ounce letter you
receive back, you pay $0.37 for postage and a $0.10 per piece fee, totaling
$0.47 per piece. You maintain an advance deposit account at the post office.
High volume BRM is best if you expect 950 or more pieces back a year.
Basic Qualified BRM
By making your reply mailpiece automation-compatible, you can receive
greater discounts. You fill out an application and pay an annual $150
permit fee and an annual $475 accounting fee. Instead of paying the First-Class
Mail rates for the returned mailpiece, you will pay a qualified BRM postage
rate of $0.34. Further, the per piece fee is reduced from $0.10 to $0.06
per piece. Therefore, with basic qualified BRM, for each 1-ounce letter
returned, you pay $0.34 for the return postage and a $0.06 per piece fee,
totaling $0.40 per piece. You maintain an advance deposit account at the
post office. Basic qualified BRM is best if you expect 850 or more pieces
returned per year.
High Volume Qualified BRM
High volume qualified BRM is similar to basic qualified BRM in that the
reply mailpiece must be automation-compatible, the return postage is based
on qualified BRM rates, you fill out an application, and you pay an annual
$150 permit fee and an annual $475 accounting fee. You must also pay an
$1,800 quarterly fee, which reduces your per piece fee from $0.06 to $0.008.
Therefore, with high volume BRM, for each 1-ounce letter you receive back
you pay $0.34 for the return postage and a $0.008 per piece fee, totaling
$0.348 per piece.
You maintain an advance deposit account at the post office. High volume
qualified BRM is best if you expect 34,650 or more pieces returned in
a quarter.
METERED REPLY MAIL
(MRM)
Business Prepays Postage
For customers that are sure to respond, Metered Reply Mail (MRM) is a
simple solution. You are not required to fill out any forms or pay any
fees. All you need is a meter. The postage is equal to the First-Class
Mail rate and has no per piece fee. A special endorsement is required
above the delivery address.
COURTESY REPLY MAIL (CRM)
Customer Pays Postage
For Courtesy Reply Mail (CRM), your customer affixes postage to a preaddressed
envelope that you enclose in your mailing. No fees are required for CRM.
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Reviewing
Content Eligibility
The content of your mailpiece affects your range of mailing service options.
MAILPIECE CONTENT
Sometimes what you mail may restrict your available mailing services.
For example, while any mailable matter (except certain hazardous materials)
can be mailed as First-Class Mail, bills, statements of account, and personal
correspondence must be mailed as First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, or Express
Mail.
Sometimes what you mail may expand your available mailing services. For
example, a small catalog or certain printed matter including printed letters
can be mailed as either First-Class Mail or Standard Mail.
Express Mail
Mailable matter up to 70 pounds can be sent as Express Mail.
Priority Mail
Mailable matter up to 70 pounds can be sent as Priority Mail.
First-Class Mail
Mailable matter up to 13 ounces can be sent as First-Class Mail. Matter
completely or partially handwritten or typed, personal correspondence,
bills, and statements of account must be mailed as First-Class Mail, Priority
Mail, or Express Mail.
Standard Mail
Mailable matter less than 16 ounces that is not required to be sent as
First-Class Mail or as Periodicals can be sent as Standard Mail.
Periodicals
Publications (e.g., magazines, newspapers, and newsletters) that are published
at a regular frequency of at least four times a year and that meet other
eligibility standards can be sent as Periodicals. Periodicals have historically
been considered a primary means of communicating news and information
to the general public.
To mail at Periodicals rates, a publication must first be authorized
by the Postal Service. While the rates for Periodicals are often less
than Standard Mail rates, Periodicals receive a higher level of service.
In addition, further discounts (e.g., nonprofit and classroom) are available
for authorized publications of certain qualified organizations.
Periodicals service is available worldwide. A copy of the application
and instructions on how to complete the form can be found in Handbook
DM-204, Applying for Periodicals Mailing Privileges. A copy of the application
and instructions on how to complete the form can be found in
- Handbook
DM-204, Applying for Periodicals Mailing Privileges (HTML)
- Handbook DM-204,
Applying for Periodicals Mailing Privileges (PDF)
Parcel Post
Mailable matter up to 70 pounds that is not required to be sent as First-Class
Mail can be sent as Parcel Post.
Bound Printed Matter
Material that consists of advertising, promotional, directory, or editorial
material that is securely and permanently bound (not loose-leaf in binders),
consists of sheets of which at least 90 percent are imprinted by a process
other than handwriting or typewriting, contains no personal correspondence,
and is not stationery (such as pads of blank printed forms) up to 15 pounds
can be sent as Bound Printed Matter.
Media Mail
Books of eight or more printed pages with only incidental blank spaces
and no advertising except for incidental announcements of books, 16-millimeter
or narrower width films in positive print for viewing (excluding films
sent to or from commercial theaters), catalogs of such film of 24 pages
or more, printed music (bound or in sheet form), printed objective test
materials and accessories, sound recordings, video recordings, play scripts
and manuscripts, printed educational reference charts, loose-leaf pages
and their binders consisting of medical information, and computer-readable
media containing prerecorded information up to 70 pounds can be sent as
Media Mail.
| Hazardous,
Restricted, and Perishable Mail
For safety reasons, most hazardous materials are nonmailable. Restricted
and perishable items are either nonmailable or mailable only under
specific conditions. It is the responsibility of the mailer to fully
meet all requirements prior to mailing. For more information, contact
your manager of Business Mail Entry or see:
- Publication 52, Hazardous,
Restricted, and Perishable Mail (HTML)
- Publication
52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail (PDF)
The following are examples of hazardous, restricted, and perishable
items. These are not complete lists, but they provide an idea of
the types of articles included in each category.
Hazardous materials include:
- Corrosives
- Explosives
- Flammable liquids and solids, combustible liquids
- Gases (under pressure)
- Infectious substances, etiologic agents, clinical specimens,
biological products, sharps, other used medical devices
- Miscellaneous hazardous materials (i.e., dry ice, magnetized
materials)
- Other regulated materials–domestic (ORM-D)
- Oxidizers, organic peroxides
- Radioactive materials
- Toxic substances (poisons)
Restricted matter includes:
- Batteries
- Controlled substances and drug paraphernalia
- Firearms
- Alcoholic beverages
- Liquids and powders
- Matter emitting obnoxious odors
- Motor vehicle master keys
- Sharp objects (knives, switchblades, stilettos)
Perishable matter includes:
- Dead animals or parts of animals
- Live animals
- Meat and meat products
- Plants and plant products
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