Understanding USPS® Periodicals Class Mail

Are you wondering if there is a more affordable postal service to mail your newspaper or magazine than First-Class Mail®? Periodicals Class Mail® from the United States Postal Service (USPS) is the solution. It's a cost-effective option that maintains reliability and efficiency.

The USPS Periodicals Class Mail service allows companies and organizations to send out periodical publications at a lower rate than if they used the USPS First-Class Mail postal service.

The US Postal Service considers a periodical to be any publication whose primary purpose is to provide recipients with information. Typical examples of a periodical would be newspapers, magazines, bus schedules, community activity guides, and college course catalogs.

You can’t just walk into your local Post Office and use USPS Periodicals Class Mail postal service. For this class of mail, you must apply for Periodicals Mailing Privileges first.

You must complete a PS Form 3500 to apply for Periodicals Mailing Privileges. When filling out this form at the Post Office, you will be asked to provide information such as:

• Publication title
• Name of publisher
• How often the publication will be issued
• Subscription price
• Organization type

You can review all the information you must provide by visiting "How to Apply for Periodicals Mailing Privileges" on the USPS website.

For businesses and organizations with varied mailing needs, exploring other USPS services such as USPS Marketing Mail® for advertising materials or USPS Certified Mail® for sensitive documents can provide additional mailing solutions.

For your publication to be considered a periodical by the USPS, it must meet various requirements. According to the USPS website, those requirements are:

• Periodicals must be issued at regular intervals from a known office of publication.
• The periodical must exhibit continuity from one issue to the next.
• The periodical's content may include a variety of subject matter, such as original or reprinted articles on one or multiple topics, listings, photographs, illustrations, graphs, advertising and non-advertising content, comic strips, legal notices, editorial material, and cartoons.
• Periodicals must be published a minimum of 4 times per year.
• The mail piece needs to contain no more than 75% advertising.

• Mailers must have an established mailing list of subscribers or requesters.
   

  

No. If you qualify for Periodicals Mailing Privileges, you can send as few or as many issues of your publication using Periodicals Class Mail postal service as you like.

Yes. The fee for applying for Periodicals Mailing Privileges is currently $950.

The postage cost to use USPS Periodicals Class Mail postal service starts at 19 cents per publication. However, various factors can affect the periodical rate you end up paying.

Those factors include:

• Size and weight.
• The percentage of advertising your publication contains.
• If you’re mailing your periodical to a county other than the county of publication.
• Whether your bundle of mail requires a pallet.

Visit the USPS website to view the current rates for Periodicals Class Mail.

If your organization regularly sends large or heavy items that don't fit the periodicals category, USPS Ground Advantage™ offers an efficient and cost-effective ground shipping solution.

Yes. If you pre-sort your mailings based on your mailing list, you can save on the cost of Periodicals Class Mail postal service.

Yes. The U.S. Postal Service offers a discounted periodicals rate for non-profit organizations. They also provide a lower rate for Science-of-Agriculture and Classroom periodicals.

On the PS Form 3500 - Application for Periodicals Mailing Privileges, there is an area to complete if you wish to apply for these additional Periodicals Mailing Privileges savings.

There is no minimum weight requirement to use the USPS Periodicals Class Mail service. However, the maximum weight is 70 pounds.

In addition, periodicals can't exceed 108 inches in length and girth combined.

Letters and flat-size pieces, whether machinable or nonmachinable, are subject to additional restrictions regarding size and weight.

No. The U.S. Postal Service only offers Periodicals Class Mail for domestic use.

Once the U.S. Postal Service has granted you Periodicals Mailing Privileges, you can begin using Periodicals Class Mail.

Here are the basic steps to follow:

1. Use a USPS PAVE-certified software program to sort your periodicals mail, determine the cost, print the necessary paperwork, and print the barcoded tags.
2. Design and print address labels for the recipient and affix them to the periodicals.
3. Once your periodicals mail has been sorted and labeled, place each bundle into its shipping container (these are available at the Post Office for free). Depending on the size of your periodicals mail (i.e., letter-size pieces and postcards, larger letter-size pieces, or flat-sized pieces), these containers can be letter trays, flat trays, or tubs. TIP: Add some packing material, if necessary, to prevent the bundle from sliding around inside the shipping container.
4. Add the mailing address to the shipping container. Be sure to include a return address.
5. Adhere the correct postage to the top right-hand corner of the shipping container. Double-check that the container is securely sealed.
6. Take each shipping container to your local Post Office to initiate delivery.

USPS Periodicals Class Mail is a practical solution for businesses and organizations seeking an economical method for distributing newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. This service will significantly reduce mailing costs by offering lower rates than First-Class Mail. Plus, with discounts for pre-sorting and non-profit status, organizations can enjoy further cost reductions. When it comes to reliability while minimizing expenditure, USPS Periodicals Class Mail delivers.

USPS also offers a wide range of services to meet various mailing needs, including Priority Mail® for expedited shipping, USPS Marketing Mail® for bulk advertising campaigns, and USPS Certified Mail® for important documents requiring confirmation upon delivery.