USPS Form 3602 is the postage statement you complete each time you send a batch of USPS Marketing Mail under a permit imprint. To fill out USPS Form 3602 correctly, pick the version that matches your mail (3602-EZ, 3602-R, or 3602-N/NZ), enter your permit and mailer information, report piece counts and weights in the lettered rate-category parts that apply, certify Move Update compliance, total your postage, and submit the form with your mail at a Business Mail Entry Unit or electronically through PostalOne!. Getting the numbers right matters. Errors in piece counts, weights, or rate selections can hold up your mailing or trigger a revenue deficiency weeks later.
Pick the Right Version First
Three versions exist, and choosing the wrong one wastes time.
The 3602-EZ is a simplified postage statement built for small business mailers sending Marketing Mail letters and flats. Most first-time commercial mailers start here.1Postal Explorer. Instructions for Filling Out PS Form 3602-EZ and 3602-NZ PS Forms
The 3602-R is the full postage statement. Use it if you’re mailing parcels, or if your mailing needs the complete range of rate categories and destination entry options.2United States Postal Service. Postage Statement — USPS Marketing Mail
Organizations authorized to mail at nonprofit prices use the 3602-N, or the simplified 3602-NZ.3United States Postal Service. Postage Statement — Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail Nonprofit status is not a checkbox on the regular form. It requires a separate authorization through PS Form 3624. While that application is pending, you pay standard Marketing Mail rates and can request a refund of the difference once approved.4United States Postal Service. How to Apply for Authorization to Mail at Nonprofit Prices
Boundary worth flagging: Form 3602 only applies to mailings of at least 200 pieces or 50 pounds total.5Postal Explorer. Business Mail 101 – USPS Marketing Mail Below those thresholds, you’re not eligible for commercial Marketing Mail rates.
What to Have on Hand Before You Start
You need an active permit imprint. The annual mailing fee is $370 per year as of January 2026, paid at each post office where you enter mail.6United States Postal Service. USPS Notice 123 – January 2026 Price Change You apply for the permit by filing PS Form 3615 at your local post office.7Postal Explorer. How to Apply for a Permit Imprint
Before you sit down with the form, pull together:
- Your Mailer ID (MID), a 6-digit or 9-digit code assigned based on your annual volume through the USPS Business Customer Gateway.8PostalPro. Mailer Identifier (MID)
- Your permit number and the post office where the permit is held.
- The single-piece weight. Weigh at least 10 randomly selected pieces, divide the total sample weight by the number of pieces, and express the result in decimal pounds rounded to four decimal places.9United States Postal Service. DMM 433 – Determining Single-Piece Weight
- Total piece count for the mailing.
- The presort levels achieved (5-digit, 3-digit, AADC, mixed AADC), which drive your per-piece rate.
- Move Update documentation showing your list was refreshed within 95 days of the mailing date.
Your permit imprint account also needs enough money to cover the postage. USPS handles funding through the Enterprise Payment System via ACH debit or a trust account.10PostalPro. Enterprise Payment System If the balance is short when you present your mailing, the mail is held until you replenish.
Filling Out the Postage Statement
The 3602-R is the most comprehensive version, and its structure carries over to the other variants. The form’s instructions organize it into seven steps.2United States Postal Service. Postage Statement — USPS Marketing Mail
Page 1: Mailer and Mailing Information
Fill in the Mailer section completely. Three boxes identify three roles:
- Permit holder: the organization whose permit account will be charged.
- Mailing agent: a letter shop, print house, or preparer handling the mailing on someone else’s behalf.
- Mail owner: whoever makes the business decisions about the content and ultimately pays the postage, if different from the permit holder.
The Mailing section captures the permit number, post office of mailing, the date, and the mailing’s basic characteristics: letters, flats, or parcels, and the processing category. Select the rate category that fits. If your pieces qualify for automation prices because they carry an Intelligent Mail barcode with a delivery-point routing code, indicate that here.11United States Postal Service. 204 Barcode Standards
Parts A Through S: Piece Counts and Postage by Rate
The lettered parts (A through S) correspond to different rate categories and mail types. Complete only the parts that apply. Within each part, report every piece at the full published price for its presort level rather than the discounted price. If any pieces qualify for the Full-Service Intelligent Mail option, report those on the designated line inside the same part.
Round postage to four decimal places for permit imprint mailings, or three decimal places if postage is affixed with stamps or meter strips. After completing every applicable part, total the postage and enter that figure on Line 1 of page 1.
Lines 1 Through 4: Adjustments and Net Amount Due
Line 2 is for postage already affixed. Multiply the number of pieces by the postage affixed per piece and enter the total. Line 3 captures flat-dollar incentive discounts. Line 4 is net postage due: Line 1 minus Lines 2 and 3. For a permit imprint mailing, Line 4 is the amount withdrawn from your account. For a postage-affixed mailing, it is what you pay at the counter.
Certifying Move Update
Every Marketing Mail mailing requires you to show that your address list has been refreshed within 95 days of the mailing date.12PostalPro. Move Update The form has a section where you certify this and check off the method you used. The three preapproved methods:
- NCOALink, the National Change of Address Linkage System, which matches your list against USPS change-of-address data.
- ACS, Address Change Service, which sends electronic notifications when a piece is forwarded or returned.
- Ancillary service endorsements printed on the mailpiece (such as “Address Service Requested”) that trigger forwarding or return handling. All endorsements except “Forwarding Service Requested” qualify.12PostalPro. Move Update
Skipping this or letting your list drift past 95 days is a compliance problem, and it also means more undeliverable pieces and wasted postage.
Claiming Destination Entry Discounts
You can cut your per-piece cost by transporting the mail closer to its destination yourself. Enter the appropriate facility code on the postage statement so the discount applies:
- DNDC (Destination Network Distribution Center): the broadest entry point, 21 locations nationwide, servicing addresses within each facility’s area.
- DSCF (Destination Sectional Center Facility): about 350 facilities, deeper into the network with a larger discount than DNDC.
- DDU (Destination Delivery Unit): the local post office where carriers case mail for their routes, over 33,000 locations, with the steepest discount because the mail is essentially ready for final delivery.13United States Postal Service. Destination Entry Discounts
The pieces have to actually be addressed for delivery within the facility’s service area, and you have to physically drop them at that location.
Recording Promotions and Incentives
USPS runs periodic promotions that reduce Marketing Mail postage, and the discount is recorded on the postage statement. For 2026, the Tactile, Sensory, and Interactive Promotion offers a 5% discount on Marketing Mail letters and flats mailed between January 1 and June 30, 2026, with registration running October 15, 2025 through June 30, 2026.14USPS. Promotions and Incentives
The CY 2026 Mail Growth Incentives provide a 30% postage credit for qualifying volume above an established threshold. It applies to Marketing Mail letters, flats, carrier route, parcels, and saturation pieces across calendar year 2026.14USPS. Promotions and Incentives Flat-dollar incentive amounts go on Line 3 and reduce net postage due.
Submitting the Form and the Mail
You have two paths.
In Person at a BMEU
Commercial mail paid with permit imprint has to be brought to a Business Mail Entry Unit. You cannot hand it to a letter carrier or drop it in a collection box.15USPS Postal Explorer. Business Mail 101 – Where to Go Take the mailing to the post office where you hold your permit and present the completed postage statement along with any required documentation. The acceptance clerk verifies that the piece count and weight match the form.16Postal Explorer. Business Mail 101 – What Happens at the Post Office If everything checks out and the account has funds, postage is deducted and the mailing moves into distribution.
Electronically Through PostalOne!
Higher-volume mailers typically file the postage statement electronically. PostalOne! accepts documentation through three methods: Postal Wizard, Mail.dat, and Mail.XML.17United States Postal Service. PostalOne! Access it through the USPS Business Customer Gateway. Electronic submission reduces data-entry errors and speeds acceptance, but you still have to physically deliver the mail to the correct entry point.
Avoiding a Revenue Deficiency
Your signature on the postage statement certifies that everything on it is accurate and compliant. If USPS later determines you underpaid, whether from a bad piece count, a misclassified rate, or a wrong weight, they will assess a revenue deficiency. That can happen even if a postal employee already accepted the mailing.18Postal Explorer. Mailer Compliance and Appeals of Classification Decisions
Once assessed, you have 30 days to pay. Nonpayment can lead to further collection action. If the underpayment came from fraud or misrepresentation, USPS reserves the right to pursue other legal recovery methods. Refusing to provide documentation during a review is also a problem, because USPS can draw a negative inference from silence.18Postal Explorer. Mailer Compliance and Appeals of Classification Decisions
The most common causes of deficiencies are overclaiming presort-level discounts (5-digit rates for pieces that should have priced at 3-digit), underreporting piece counts, and using an incorrect single-piece weight. Rerun your presort report and weigh a fresh sample right before filling out the form. Those two checks catch most of the surprises.