USPS Postal Rates and Industry Alerts
| USPS Industry Alerts | USPS National Map | Notice 123 Price List: 01-21-2024 | Notice 123 Price List: 07-09-2023 |
Download the July 2024 Rate Chart Postcard
Below are rate changes for some of the most commonly used mail types. Rates below are effective July 14, 2024
Select rates for First-Class® Mail
| Rate Category | 7-14-24 | 1-21-24 |
|---|---|---|
| Single-piece Letter ‒ first oz. | $0.73 | $0.68 |
| Single-piece Metered ‒ first oz. | $0.69 | $0.64 |
| Single-piece Flat ‒ first oz. | $1.50 | $1.39 |
| Each additional oz. (letters and flats) | $0.27 | $0.24 |
| Parcels (retail) – up to 4 oz. | $5.00 | $5.00 |
| Postcards | $0.56 | $0.53 |
| Machinable AADC letter | $0.596 | $0.553 |
| Nonmachinable MADC | $1.032 | $0.943 |
| Presorted flat ‒ first oz. | $1.40 | $1.30 |
| Presorted flat – each additional oz. | $0.27 | $0.24 |
| Automation letters: 5-digit ‒ first oz. | $0.545 | $0.507 |
| Automation postcards: 5-digit – first oz. | $0.384 | $0.357 |
| Automation flat: 5-digit ‒ first oz. | $0.874 | $0.841 |
| EDDM Retail | $0.223 | $0.203 |
Select rates for USPS Marketing Mail®
| Rate Category | 7-14-24 | 1-21-24 |
|---|---|---|
| Letter 3.5 oz. or less – AADC (machinable) | $0.38 | $0.365 |
| Flat 4 oz. or less – ADC (non-automation) | $0.981 | $0.946 |
| Automation letters: 5-digit | $0.345 | $0.330 |
| Automation flat: 5-digit ‒ 4 oz. or less | $0.687 | $0.639 |
| ECR flat ‒ 4 oz. or less: DDU EDDM | $.219 | $0.202 |
Select Rates for Other Services
| Misc. | 7-14-24 | 1-21-24 |
|---|---|---|
| Certified Mail®* | $4.85 | $4.40 |
| Media Mail® – 1 lb. single-piece | $4.63 | $4.13 |
| Library Mail – 1 lb. single-piece | $4.40 | $3.92 |
| Return receipt - retail | $4.10 | $3.65 |
| Return receipt - electronic | $2.62 | $2.32 |
*The USPS will also offer a combo price for Certified Mail with Restricted Permit Imprint Application Fee: $350.00
For more information on prices:
- USPS INDUSTRY ALERTS -
Mail Spoken Here: The USPS 10 Year Plan - Special Edition
U.S. Postal Service Applauds Senate Passage of Postal Service Reform Act
Bipartisan Legislation Now Awaits President’s Signature
The U.S. Postal Service congratulated the leadership and members of the U.S. Senate for its bipartisan approval of the Postal Service Reform Act. The bill, which was approved by the House on Feb. 8, now goes to the White House to be signed into law by President Biden.
“With the legislative financial reforms achieved today, combined with our own self-led operational reforms, we will be able to self-fund our operations and continue to deliver to 161 million addresses six days per-week for many decades to come,” said Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy. “I thank the Senate and our Committee leadership that broke the 10-year logjam which has long constrained the finances of the Postal Service. The Postal Service serves every American every day and so it’s only right that our future is now collectively assured by members of all political parties.”
As passed by the House and Senate, the key elements of the Postal Service Reform Act are that it eliminates the unfair, outdated, and burdensome retiree health benefit prefunding requirement, and it integrates our retiree health benefit program with Medicare in a manner that is fully consistent with private sector best practices. The bill also formalizes our obligation to deliver mail and packages six days per-week through an integrated delivery network, and includes accountability, transparency and reporting requirements.
This legislation was an important component of the Delivering for America 10-Year Strategic Plan, which was announced in March 2021. Together with the operational reforms that are also a part of that Plan, the Postal Service will be able to achieve its two primary goals of financial sustainability and service excellence.
January 2022 Price Change Implementation - Postage Statement Exception Request
For customers who could not make the change to new postage statements by January 9, 2022, Business Mail Entry Units (BMEUs) and acceptance sites will continue accepting the old postage statements with new prices through close of business on February 13, 2022.
As of January 9, 2022, the new January 2022 postage statements are required for:
- First-Class Mail and First-Class Package Service (PS Form 3600-FCM)
- Priority Mail (PS Form 3600-PM)
- Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail (PS Form 3602-N)
- USPS Marketing Mail (PS Form 3602-R)
- Package Services (PS Form 3605-R)
- Periodicals (PS Form 3541)
- International Mail (PS Form 3700)
AccuZIP6 customers can visit AccuZIP6 Live Support Chat from 8 AM to 7 PM Eastern Time to learn how to quickly and easily update their existing presort to incorporate the new mailing statements without regenerating new IM Barcode information for the presort.
Service Type ID Table Updates for Ballot Mail and Political Mail
The Service Type ID (STID) table available on PostalPro is being updated to include new STIDs for Ballot Mail and Political Mail that may be used when preparing mail for mailing on and after January 23, 2022.
Use of the appropriate STIDs allows for Informed Visibility® Mail Tracking & Reporting (IV-MTR) to identify mailpieces, with all expected service combinations, during mail processing. These new STIDS are only for use on Ballot Mail or Political Mail.
Ballot Mail is any Official Ballot mailed to or from authorized election officials.
Political Mail is any material mailed for campaign purposes by a registered political candidate, campaign committee, or committee of a political party, or political message mailing by a political action committee (PAC), super PAC, or other organization engaging in an effort to influence or drive voter mobilization.
NOTE: For other Election Mail (e.g., voter registration applications, polling place locations, absentee applications, sample ballots) use the appropriate STID for the mail class and ACS™ and IV®-MTR services desired that are identified for First-Class Mail® (page 2) or USPS Marketing Mail® (page 4) of the STID Table. The Election Mail attribute in eDoc (electronic documentation) should be used to identify a mailing that contains any type of Election Mail.
- Information on AccuTrace® Mail Tracking & Reporting
- Service Type ID Table
The updated Ballot Mail and Political Mail STID tables effective January 23, 2022, can be found below:
Updated PostalOne! ® Contingency Plan
The PostalOne! Contingency Plan has been updated to reflect the merger of the PostalOne! Helpdesk with the Mailing & Shipping Solutions Center (MSSC), effective July 1, 2021.
The updated PostalOne!® Contingency Plan is now available on the PostalPro website at: https://postalpro.usps.com/node/852
Previously, external customers would contact PostalOne! concerning Mail.dat/.xml issues, BCG resets, and technical issues within the PostalOne! program. Effective July 1, 2021, these issues should be directed to the MSSC.
Mailing and Shipping Solutions Center Contact Information during normal business hours:
- Phone: (877) 672-0007
- Email: MSSC@usps.gov
- Email: PostalOne@usps.gov
Mailers experiencing an issue/outage with their system during normal business hours must contact the MSSC via phone or email to receive a ticket.
Mailers experiencing an issue/outage with their system outside of normal business hours must contact the Mailing Shipping Solution Center via email at MSSCAdmin@usps.gov to initiate a ticket. It is important to note that this only applies when a mailer experiences an issue with their system. Mailers do not have to contact the Mailing Shipping Solution Center during a USPS issue/outage.
*Note: The MSSC hours of operation are from Monday-Friday 7AM-7PM CST. Customers must provide either a ticket number or a copy of the email sent to MSSCAdmin@usps.gov to the BMEU when presenting mail, which will allow mailers to continue to present mail under the USPS PostalOne! Contingency Plan.
Waiver of January 2021 Mailer Scorecard Assessments
As a result of the extraordinary circumstances experienced during the 2020 peak mailing period, our partners in the mailing industry have seen negative impacts to their Mailer Scorecards which may have caused assessments.
Therefore, the US Postal Service has made the decision to waive Mailer Scorecard assessments for Full-Service, Move Update, eInduction and Seamless Acceptance that resulted for January 2021.
• Assessments for the month of January 2021 will be closed, and prevented from logging.
• Normal program assessments will resume for February scorecards.
We appreciate your business and look forward to a continued partnership in the future to grow our business.
2021 Postage Statement Exceptions
For customers who could not make the change to new postage statements by January 24, 2021, Business Mail Entry Units (BMEUs) and acceptance sites will continue accepting the old postage statements with new prices through close of business on February 28, 2021.
As of January 24, 2021, the new January 2021 postage statements are required for:
- First-Class Mail and First-Class Package Service (PS Form 3600-FCM)
- Priority Mail (PS Form 3600-PM)
- USPS Marketing Mail—Easy Nonautomation Letters or Flats (PS Form 3602-EZ)
- Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail (PS Form 3602-N )
- Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail—Easy Nonautomation Letters or Flats (PS Form 3602-NZ)
- USPS Marketing Mail (PS Form 3602-R)
- Package Services (PS Form 3605-R)
- Periodicals (PS Form 3541)
- International Mail (PS Form 3700)
If you have any questions, please reach out to one of the options below:
- Mailing & Shipping Solutions Center (MSSC) at 1-877-672-0007
- Email MSSC@usps.gov
- Business hours for the MSSC are Monday-Friday from 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM Central Time
- Local Business Mail Entry Units (BMEU)
- To locate your local BMEU follow this URL: https://postalpro.usps.com/ppro-tools/business-mail-entry
The Postal Service is pleased to announce the launch of the new Mailing & Shipping Solutions Center (MSSC) email contact option on August 1, 2020 at MSSC@usps.gov .
The toll-free phone number remains the same at 1-877-672-0007. You can now reach a trained and professional Mailing Requirements staff representative who can assist you with all your commercial mailing and shipping needs via email or phone.
The hours of operation of the MSSC are Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Central Time, and closed on holidays.
When contacting the MSSC via email, please include the following information along with your question for better service:
· Company Name & Address
· Contact Name, Phone Number, & Email Address
· Account, CRID, Permit, and/or Incident Numbers
We are excited to share this announcement with you, our valued customers, and look forward to working together as the USPS continues to innovate and streamline solutions for our commercial mailing and shipping partners. For more information on the MSSC visit our page on PostalPro at https://postalpro.usps.com/solutions
Seamless Acceptance Incentive Proposal
As mentioned in the previously held 2021 Price Change webinars, the USPS is proposing an incentive for mailings that are submitted under the Seamless Acceptance program. If approved, the incentive would begin on January 24, 2021 and would be ongoing.
A rate incentive is “a discount that is not a workshare discount and is designed to increase or retain volume, improve the value of mail for mailers, or improve the operations of the Postal Service.” 39 C.F.R. § 3030.523(a)(3).
Seamless Acceptance enables the Postal Service to perform automated verifications of Seamless mailings by reconciling eDocs with barcode scans recorded on mail processing equipment and via handheld scanners, thereby improving operational efficiency when compared to the verification of mail inducted manually. The Postal Service also benefits from the enhanced visibility, which allows for more accurate postage calculation and for the Postal Service to more easily identify and correct issues with mailings.
How It Works:
This proposal provides an incentive to the Electronic Documentation (eDoc) submitters (with a qualified Seamless CRID and an Enterprise Payment System Account) for adoption of the Seamless Acceptance program.
The incentive would be based on the eDoc submitter’s Customer Registration ID (CRID). A Seamless Mailer is defined by their CRID’s status in PostalOne! as “Seamless Acceptance.” Note: Seamless Parallel does not qualify for the discount.
The proposal is to allow Electronic Documentation (eDoc) submitters to receive a Seamless Acceptance incentive of $.001 for the pieces that qualify for Full-Service prices in the mailing, provided the eDoc submitter has an Enterprise Payment account that is used for the incentive and the mailing is paid for using an Enterprise Payment account.
• The incentive is available to all eDoc submitters with a Seamless Acceptance CRID and an Enterprise Payment account who register in PostalOne!
• The incentive is applied to the Enterprise Payment account that corresponds with the permit selected during registration to receive the incentive.
• A permit that corresponds with an Enterprise Payment trust or ACH debit account must be selected to receive the incentive. Trust accounts will receive the incentive upon postage statement finalization and ACH debit accounts will receive the incentive as a daily aggregate.
• To receive the incentive using Mail.dat: use existing Segment Record’s (.seg) “eDoc Sender CRID” field to identify the CRID of the eDoc submitter. To receive the discount using Mail.XML: use existing OpenMailingGroupRequest > MailingGroupData > MailingFacility field to identify the CRID of the eDoc submitter.
Frequently Asked Questions regarding this incentive may be reviewed at: https://postalpro.usps.com/seamless-incentive/faqs
