USPS Manifest Mailing Application: eVS Replacement and Fees

There is no longer a USPS Manifest Mailing System application to fill out. The Postal Service retired the Manifest Mailing System on April 1, 2026, and removed Publication 401 from PostalPro, so the paper-manifest permit process that businesses once applied for no longer exists.¹ If you were preparing to enroll, or if you held a manifest permit and need to keep mailing, you now apply to one of the electronic replacement systems instead. Which one depends on what you ship.

What Replaced the Manifest Mailing System

The USPS revised Domestic Mail Manual section 703.2.0 on April 6, 2026, to reflect the retirement and direct mailers to electronic alternatives.¹ The right replacement depends on the mail type.

For letters, cards, and flat-size pieces, the options are:

Electronic Documentation (eDoc), which transmits mailing data through PostalOne!
Full-Service Automation, which handles address correction and tracking for automation-rate mail
Seamless Acceptance, which verifies mail through barcode scanning rather than dock acceptance
eInduction, which links electronic documentation to physical containers for drop-shipment verification

For packages, the replacements are the Electronic Verification System (eVS), USPS Ship, and USPS Click-N-Ship.¹ USPS Ship acts as an electronic manifest tool that transmits postage and extra-services data digitally, so you don’t produce paper manifests, postage statements, or clearance documents.

How to Apply for eVS

The Electronic Verification System is the closest functional replacement for the retired manifest process when you ship packages. It lets you pay postage by sending electronic manifest files to the USPS rather than presenting paper documentation. There is no permit imprint application fee to open an eVS account.²

To apply, download the eVS Application form from the PostalPro eVS page and email the completed form to eVS@usps.gov. Your manifesting software must be pre-certified by the USPS; the approved vendor list is posted on the same PostalPro page. Technical specifications for file transmission and system integration are in Publication 205, the Electronic Verification System Business and Technical Guide.²

For questions during enrollment, call 877-264-9693 or email eVS@usps.gov.²

Software Requirements

Any mailing claimed at an automation price through eDoc, Full-Service, or another electronic option has to be processed with CASS-certified address-matching software. CASS certification confirms your address lists meet USPS accuracy standards before the mail enters the system.³ For eVS specifically, your manifesting software must appear on the USPS pre-certified vendor list.²

If you are coming off the retired manifest system, check with your current software vendor before your first electronic submission. Most major vendors have updated their products to support eDoc or eVS, but confirming saves a rejected mailing.

Annual Fees

Most bulk mail classes carry an annual mailing fee that is separate from any application costs. The fee covers mailing privileges from a specific postal facility for 365 days from the date of payment, and the current amounts are in USPS Notice 123 on the Postal Explorer site.⁴

If you send full-service automation mailings of First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats, or Bound Printed Matter flats, and 90 percent or more of the pieces qualify, you may be eligible for a waiver of the annual mailing fee under certain permits.⁴ For mailers moving to eVS from the retired manifest system, no additional annual fee is owed as long as your existing local permit fees are current when the eVS permit opens; annual fees for the eVS permit itself become due at renewal.²

A Note on PS Form 3606 and 3606-D

If you searched for a manifest mailing application and landed on PS Form 3606 or PS Form 3606-D, those are different documents. PS Form 3606-D is the Certificate of Bulk Mailing for domestic mail, and PS Form 3606 is the international version. Both are proof-of-mailing certificates for a batch of identical-weight pieces, not permit applications, and the USPS does not retain a copy, so the stamped original is yours to keep.⁵⁶ They remain the right forms for documenting a bulk mailing at the counter; they were never the manifest mailing application.

1
United States Postal Service. DMM Revision: Manifest Mailing System Retired
2
PostalPro. Electronic Verification System (eVS)
3
PostalPro. CASS
4
United States Postal Service. Annual Mailing Fee
5
United States Postal Service. PS Form 3606-D – Certificate of Bulk Mailing Domestic
6
United States Postal Service. PS Form 3606 – Certificate of Bulk Mailing International