A USPS permit imprint is a postage payment method that lets you print postage information directly on each mailpiece and pay from a prepaid account instead of using stamps or a meter. It costs $370 to apply and $370 per year in mailing fees, and every mailing you present must contain at least 200 pieces or weigh at least 50 pounds.1United States Postal Service. Domestic Mail Manual 604 – Postage Payment Methods Because postage is deducted from your account when the batch is accepted, there is nothing to affix and nothing to meter. The mailpiece leaves your production line already paid for.
Who Can Use a Permit Imprint
The baseline for any permit imprint mailing is 200 pieces or 50 pounds of mail.1United States Postal Service. Domestic Mail Manual 604 – Postage Payment Methods That floor sits underneath every mail class, though some pricing categories add their own minimums on top. First-Class Mail presort pricing, for example, requires 500 pieces, but that is a presort qualification rule and not a permit imprint rule. You can use a permit imprint on a First-Class mailing of 200 pieces if you pay single-piece rates.
The Domestic Mail Manual carves out a few narrow exceptions to the 200-piece floor. The final batch of a mailing that spans two or more consecutive days can fall below 200 as long as you note the reason on the postage statement. Single-piece mail submitted under an approved manifest mailing system, or through electronic documentation with piece-level barcode data, also qualifies at lower volumes.1United States Postal Service. Domestic Mail Manual 604 – Postage Payment Methods
All pieces in a permit imprint mailing must weigh the same. The exception is for mailers in the Seamless Acceptance program (for letters and flats) or eVS/USPS Ship (for parcels), who are exempt from the identical-weight rule.1United States Postal Service. Domestic Mail Manual 604 – Postage Payment Methods If your pieces vary in weight and you are not enrolled in one of those programs, clerks will reject the batch.
Mail That Cannot Use a Permit Imprint
A permit imprint is not available for Periodicals or for Priority Mail Express outside the USPS Ship system. You also cannot use one to pay postage on a mailpiece designed as a reply piece, except for permit reply mail under DMM 505.2.0.2Postal Explorer. 604d Quick Service Guide – Permit Imprints
How to Apply
The application is PS Form 3615, Mailing Permit Application and Customer Profile. You can pick it up at a Post Office or download it from usps.com.3United States Postal Service. PS Form 3615 – Mailing Permit Application and Customer Profile The form asks for your legal entity name, physical business address, and the specific Post Office where you plan to deposit your mailings. That location matters, because the permit is tied to it.
Bring two forms of identification when you submit the application, one of which must include a photograph. Acceptable options are a valid driver’s license, state ID card, passport, military or government ID, voter registration card, or vehicle registration card. Social Security cards, credit cards, and birth certificates do not count.3United States Postal Service. PS Form 3615 – Mailing Permit Application and Customer Profile
File the completed form at the Post Office where your mailings will be deposited. Once approved, USPS assigns a permit number that becomes part of every mailpiece you send under that permit.
What You Will Pay
Two separate fees apply, and the second one catches new mailers off guard.
Application Fee
The permit imprint application fee is $370.4United States Postal Service. Notice 123 – January 2026 Price Change USPS has eliminated it entirely for several mail classes: Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, USPS Ground Advantage (commercial), Parcel Select, Library Mail, Media Mail, and Bound Printed Matter parcels.5USPS. Fees Associated with Permit Imprint and Return Services If you only ship through one of those classes, you pay nothing upfront. The $370 fee still applies to First-Class Mail presort, USPS Marketing Mail, and Bound Printed Matter flats.
Annual Mailing Fee
Most bulk mail classes also carry an annual mailing fee of $370 per 12-month period.4United States Postal Service. Notice 123 – January 2026 Price Change This fee is independent of the application fee and applies regardless of how you pay postage. You do not owe it until you bring in your first mailing, and the 12-month clock starts on the date you pay rather than on the date your permit is approved.6USPS Postal Explorer. Annual Mailing Fee You cannot deposit bulk mail at commercial prices until it is paid.
How the Prepaid Account Works
Once your application is approved, USPS opens an advance deposit account (sometimes called a trust account) tied to your permit. Every mailing you present draws postage from that balance. You fund the account before mailing, and postal clerks deduct the exact postage when they verify the batch.
USPS does not extend credit. If your balance cannot cover a mailing, the Post Office will not accept it until you deposit the difference. Three returned checks or dishonored ACH transactions within 12 months can cost you that funding method, and a negative balance left unresolved for 30 days can lead to permanent account closure and collection action.
For more flexibility, mailers can fund through the Enterprise Payment System (EPS), which connects to the USPS Business Customer Gateway and supports ACH debit and online balance management.7PostalPro. Enterprise Payment System To set it up, log in to the Business Customer Gateway, go to Additional Services, and select Enterprise Payment System. You will need your permit numbers and Customer Registration IDs (CRIDs).
Designing the Indicia
The printed postage marking on each mailpiece is called the indicia. It must appear in the upper-right area relative to the delivery address and follow a set four-line format.8Postal Explorer. How to Design Permit Imprint Indicia The four required lines are:
- Line 1: the class of mail (for example, “PRESORTED FIRST-CLASS MAIL” or “USPS MARKETING MAIL”)
- Line 2: the words “U.S. Postage Paid”
- Line 3: the city and state where your permit is held
- Line 4: the word “Permit” followed by your permit number
If the class marking is not inside the indicia itself, it must be printed directly below or to the left of it. The indicia can run four or five lines and can be printed straight onto the envelope or onto a label affixed to the piece.8Postal Explorer. How to Design Permit Imprint Indicia
Text must be legible and contrast clearly with the background. The DMM sets a minimum of 4-point type for permit information printed directly on the mailpiece; no specific point size is mandated for indicia on address labels, but the information still must be readable.1United States Postal Service. Domestic Mail Manual 604 – Postage Payment Methods Automated sorting equipment reads placement and position, so misalignment or low contrast is one of the fastest ways to get a batch rejected at the counter.
Bringing the Mail In
When a batch is ready, transport it to the Bulk Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) where your permit is registered. Each mailing needs a postage statement: PS Form 3602-R for USPS Marketing Mail or PS Form 3600-FCM for First-Class Mail.9United States Postal Service. PS Form 3602-R – Postage Statement, USPS Marketing Mail10United States Postal Service. PS Form 3600-FCM – Postage Statement, First-Class Mail and USPS Ground Advantage These forms document piece counts, weights, and total postage owed. Clerks verify that the physical mail matches the form, adjust postage if the count or weight is off, and then deduct from your advance deposit account.
Paper statements are not the only option. Mailers in Full-Service Intelligent Mail must submit postage statements and qualification reports electronically through Postal Wizard, Mail.dat, or Mail.XML.11PostalPro. Electronic Documentation (eDoc) Electronic documentation is also a prerequisite for Seamless Acceptance, a program that replaces manual verification at the counter with barcode scans and electronic data as the mail moves through the system.12PostalPro. Seamless Acceptance – Mailer Fact Sheet
Nonprofit Rates Are a Separate Authorization
Nonprofits can qualify for significantly reduced USPS Marketing Mail prices, but the authorization is separate from the permit imprint. File PS Form 3624, Application to Mail at Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail Prices, selecting the single nonprofit category that fits your organization on Line 9. Along with the form, submit your formative papers (articles of incorporation, constitution, or charter), your IRS letter of federal income tax exemption, and other evidence of nonprofit status such as a CPA-prepared financial statement. There is no fee to apply, but you still owe the annual mailing fee and, where applicable, the permit imprint application fee when you actually mail.13USPS Postal Explorer. How to Apply for Authorization to Mail at Nonprofit Prices
Keeping the Permit From Lapsing
A permit imprint stays active as long as you use it at least once every two years.14United States Postal Service. What is a Permit Imprint Two years without a mailing and the permit goes inactive; reactivating means paying the application fee again.15United States Postal Service. Business Mail 101 – Mailing Permit For nonprofits, the same two-year rule applies specifically to nonprofit mailings. Mail commercially but skip nonprofit-rate mailings for two years and you lose the nonprofit authorization even if the underlying permit is still active.13USPS Postal Explorer. How to Apply for Authorization to Mail at Nonprofit Prices If your mailing volume is sporadic, set a calendar reminder 18 months after your last mailing. It is cheap insurance against a $370 reactivation fee.