PS Form 3602-N Nonprofit Postage Statement: How to Fill Out and Submit

PS Form 3602-N is the postage statement nonprofits submit each time they send a Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail mailing. It documents piece count, weight, presort level, and entry point, and the USPS uses those figures to calculate what you owe. You can download a printable copy from Postal Explorer at pe.usps.com or complete it electronically through the Business Customer Gateway at gateway.usps.com.¹

What You Need in Place Before Filling It Out

Three things must already exist before the form can be submitted: a nonprofit mailing authorization, a permit with a paid annual fee, and a funded payment account. Missing any one of them stops the mailing at the counter.

Every 3602-N includes the organization’s national nonprofit authorization number, which confirms the USPS has approved you to mail at discounted rates.² One trap: the authorization must be used at least once every two years, or the USPS revokes it for nonuse.³

You also need a USPS Marketing Mail permit. For permit imprint mailings, the annual mailing fee is $370 and the permit imprint fee is another $370.⁴ Both fees can be waived if you participate in Full-Service Intelligent Mail.⁵

Payment runs through the Enterprise Payment System (EPS), which replaced the old CAPS in 2022.⁶ Set one up through the Business Customer Gateway under Additional Services, fund it by ACH debit or trust deposit, and link every permit number and Customer Registration ID (CRID) to it. The Mailing and Shipping Solutions Center at (877) 672-0007 or MSSC@usps.gov can help if the linkage isn’t working.⁷

Mailer Information at the Top of the Form

Start with your organization’s name, address, and telephone number, then enter your nonprofit authorization number. The acceptance clerk checks this against the USPS database, and an invalid or missing number is one of the fastest ways to have a mailing rejected.

Next, mark your type of postage. The form gives three choices: permit imprint, precanceled stamps, or metered postage.¹ Enter the permit number that matches the payment method you’re using. These can differ from one another, so verify which one applies before writing it in.⁸

The form also asks for your Mailer ID (MID) if you participate in Full-Service Intelligent Mail, and the CRID that ties your account to PostalOne!. Fill in the post office of mailing and the date you’re presenting the mail.

Address Quality Certifications

Two certifications on the form must be signed honestly. Both are checked against your actual list processing.

Move Update

You certify that the mailing list was updated within 95 days of the mailing date. Three preapproved methods satisfy this: Address Change Service (ACS), the National Change of Address Linkage System (NCOALink), and ancillary service endorsements other than Forwarding Service Requested.⁹ If none of those has been run on your list within the window, you cannot certify compliance, and the mailing may be assessed at higher prices or refused.

CASS

Automation prices, the lowest per-piece rates on the schedule, require that your list be processed through software holding current CASS certification. CASS standardizes addresses and appends ZIP+4 codes and delivery point barcodes, which is what qualifies pieces for automation pricing.¹⁰ Most commercial mailing software handles this automatically, but the form asks you to confirm it.

Calculating the Postage

The computation section is where the money is worked out. Postage depends on piece count, weight, presort level, and where you drop the mail.

Weight and Piece Count

Weigh a single mailpiece in decimal pounds to four decimal places and enter it in the “Weight of a Single Piece” field. Multiply by the total number of pieces for the total weight.⁸ All pieces in a permit imprint mailing must weigh the same. Every Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail piece must weigh less than 16 ounces, and letters claiming automation or machinable prices are capped at 3.5 ounces.¹¹ The mailing itself must total at least 200 pieces or 50 pounds.¹²

Presort Level and Entry Point

The form is divided into parts by shape and presort level: automation letters, nonautomation letters, automation flats, nonautomation flats, and so on. Enter the number of pieces at each presort level (5-Digit, 3-Digit, AADC, Mixed AADC) on its line, then multiply by the corresponding per-piece price.¹³ Round the per-piece calculation to four decimal places for permit imprint mailings, three for postage-affixed mailings.

Separate columns show entry-point discounts. Lower prices apply when you bypass part of the postal network by entering mail at a Sectional Center Facility (SCF), a Network Distribution Center (NDC), or, for carrier route flats and parcels, a Destination Delivery Unit (DDU).¹⁴ Enter piece counts under the column for the facility where you’re actually dropping the mail.

Total Postage

Add the line totals within each part, then combine them into the Total Postage line, rounded to two decimal places. If postage has been affixed by stamp or meter to some pieces, subtract that amount to get the Net Postage. That figure is what will be deducted from your EPS account or paid at the counter.

Content That Disqualifies a Nonprofit Mailing

Nonprofit rates apply only to mail sent for the authorized organization’s own purposes. You cannot lend your authorization or mail on behalf of an unauthorized group.¹⁵ Cooperative mailings between two or more organizations are allowed only when every cooperating organization individually holds nonprofit authorization at the post office of deposit.

Certain content is prohibited outright. Nonprofit rates cannot be used for material promoting credit cards, debit cards, or similar financial instruments offered by or through an unauthorized party. Insurance policies and travel arrangements face similar restrictions, with narrow exceptions for products designed primarily for members and not commercially available elsewhere.¹⁵ Product sales must be substantially related to the organization’s charitable purpose. If even one piece in the batch contains prohibited content, the entire mailing loses its nonprofit pricing.³

Submitting the Form

Two paths: paper at the acceptance unit, or electronic through PostalOne!.

Paper at the Business Mail Entry Unit

Bring the completed form and the prepared mail to the local Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU). Mail must sit in the required containers, with trays for letters and sacks or trays for flats, each labeled with destination and presort information. Bring a sample mailpiece so the acceptance clerk can compare it against the descriptions on your statement.⁸

Electronic Through PostalOne!

PostalOne! accepts postage statements three ways:¹⁶

Postal Wizard, a browser-based tool that walks through the postage statement fields. It works best for Full-Service mailings under 10,000 pieces.
Mail.dat, a mailing database format produced by most presort software. This is the established industry standard.
Mail.XML, a communication protocol from advanced mailing software that sends only required data directly to USPS. Common for high-volume operations.

Access requires a Business Customer Gateway username and password. Full-Service Intelligent Mail mailers are required to submit electronically.⁵

Verification and Payment

The acceptance clerk weighs the shipment to confirm total weight matches what you reported, checks a sample piece against the form, and validates the nonprofit authorization number. If actual weight comes in higher than reported, you either pay additional postage or correct the form before acceptance.

Once verification passes, postage is deducted from your EPS account, with the balance updating in real time.⁷ Electronic submissions show an “Accepted” status in PostalOne!. Paper submissions produce a stamped receipt. Keep either as proof of payment.

Why Mailings Get Rejected at the Counter

Most rejections trace to a short list of recurring problems. Knowing them ahead of time saves a wasted trip with a truckload of presorted mail.

Invalid or missing nonprofit authorization number. The clerk checks this first, and a number that lapsed for nonuse or isn’t recognized at the post office of mailing stops the transaction.
Move Update noncompliance. Without an approved list update within 95 days, the mailing gets bumped to full commercial rates or turned away.
Prohibited content. A single piece promoting a credit card, insurance policy, or third-party travel package disqualifies the entire mailing from nonprofit pricing.
Weight or piece count mismatch. When the clerk’s scale disagrees with the form, you stop to recalculate and pay the difference or pull pieces.
Below minimum volume. Fewer than 200 pieces or 50 pounds doesn’t qualify for USPS Marketing Mail rates at all.¹²
Insufficient EPS balance. The mailing is held until you deposit more funds.

1
United States Postal Service. PS Form 3602-N Postage Statement
2
Postal Explorer. Domestic Mail Manual 703 – Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail and Other Unique Eligibility
3
United States Postal Service. Publication 417 – Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail Eligibility
4
United States Postal Service. Notice 123 – Price List
5
PostalPro. Full-Service Fact Sheets
6
United States Postal Service. DMM Revision – Centralized Account Processing System Migration to Enterprise Payment System
7
PostalPro. Enterprise Payment System
8
Postal Explorer. Instructions for Filling Out PS Form 3602-EZ and 3602-NZ PS Forms
9
PostalPro. Move Update
10
PostalPro. CASS
11
Postal Explorer. 240 Commercial Mail USPS Marketing Mail
12
United States Postal Service. USPS Marketing Mail
13
United States Postal Service. PS Form 3602-NZ Postage Statement
14
United States Postal Service. Business Mail 101 – Destination Entry
15
Postal Explorer. 700 Special Standards – Domestic Mail Manual 703
16
PostalPro. Electronic Documentation (eDoc)