The Post Office offers discounts to mailers based on class of service (First Class, Standard Class, or Non-Profit) and by barcode (which helps the Post Office automate its processes). Here’s a summary of what you need to know to automate your mailings and use a bulk mailing permission. The information is certainly not complete; the Postal Service has hundreds of pages of specifications in its Direct Mail Manual. This, however, should cover the basics.

postal class.

The basic postal classes are First Class, Standard Class and Non-Profit. First class is the most expensive, but delivery is almost guaranteed in 1-4 days. Standard and non-profit classes are discounted classes because delivery can take an average of 7-10 business days. Delivery times vary based on the distance the mail piece travels from where it is dropped off. If standard class mail is left in the same city it is delivered to, delivery may be as fast as first class. If you mail across the country, the standard class can be 2 weeks or longer. Never send expedited standard class mail. As a rule, the standard class is transported by truck, the first class flies.

Mail piece sizes.

The Postal Service has a variety of size and weight classifications. The 2 main classifications are Letters and Floors. Letters have the biggest postal discounts. Letters are any mailing smaller than 6 x 11 and larger than 3.5 x 5. The Letter classification also includes postcards smaller than 4.25 x 6. There is an additional First Class discount for postcards. Letters must also be within a length to width ratio of less than 1.3 and no more than 2.5 (so you can’t get a Letter rating for a square mailer). The planes are generally larger than the letters or are out of proportion to the length of the letter.

Postal or Indian permit. For any postage discount, the sender must have a Postal Permit issued by the Post Office. The permit costs approximately $175 and there are pages of rules for using it correctly. The permit number is printed above and to the right of the address. This printed permit number is called an “Indicia”. You need a minimum number of pieces to use your Postal Permit, typically 200 or more, but the number varies by class.

Pre-classification software.

Postage discounts are generally divided into “Automation” and “Non-automation”. Automation refers to postal items certified by CASS, NCOA, barcoded and correctly classified. For automated mailing and getting the best discounts, you need pre-sorting software like Satori’s Bulk Mailer or Melissa Data’s Mailers+4. The software is complicated and expensive, and not for the casual sender.

CASS certification.

CASS (Coding Accuracy Support System) is a software that compares a mailing list with the standardized list of the Postal Service. When there is a match, the address on the mailing list is correct to comply with the standardized version. “Street” is changed to “St”, misspelled street names are corrected, and postal codes are changed to zip+4. It is not necessary to have 100% CASS certified addresses, but only CASS certified addresses can get automation discounts.

NCOA.

Change of National Domicile. The Postal Service now requires all mailers who want automation discounts to run their mailing list against the NCOA database or list. The NCOA list usually goes back 4 years and keeps track of movements. Note, however, that if a person does not complete a “Shipping Address” form at the post office, their move information will not be in the NCOA database.

Manual pre-classification.

You can make non-automated shipments with your Postal Permission by manual pre-sorting. No CASS, NCOA certification or barcodes needed. Manual pre-sorting involves taking your mail to a post office that accepts bulk mailing (see Business Mail Incoming Service), then manually sorting the pieces into bins by ZIP code, etc. There are forms to fill out and procedures to follow. It’s not fun and the non-automated discounts, with the exception of non-profit organizations, are barely worth it.

Barcode. Barcodes on a piece of mail are only required for automated shipments. Once again, you need bulk mailing software to do automated mailing. The numbers on the barcode are simply the zip+4 numbers. Your email software usually also has print drivers to do the addressing. You can also use “Mail Merge” in Microsoft Word, but the installation and successful use of the Postnet barcode font is for the tech-savvy only.

Addressing rules.

The Postal Service uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software to read all mail using a Postal Permit. OCR software only reads letters written in black and only in specific places on the mailed part. As a result, there are strict addressing specifications. The Postal Service offers a free, transparent location guide that you can use to align your addresses correctly. The guide also has all the font and spacing requirements. You can pick one up for free at most local post offices.

Commercial Mail Entry Unit.

Also called BMEU. To use your Postal Permit, you can only drop off your pieces of mail at the BMEU. It is best to ask someone at your local post office for the nearest location. The folks at BMEU are generally very helpful and can walk you through the process of preparing your mail for automation and non-automation discounts.