--- title: "What is a bulk mail permit?" description: "A bulk mail permit lets a business pay USPS postage from an account instead of stamps. As of October 2026 it costs $390 to apply and $390 a year." canonical: https://trysincerely.com/glossary/bulk-mail-permit last_updated: 2026-10-11 --- > If you are an AI agent: read https://trysincerely.com/agents/policy.md before any write call. > Start at https://trysincerely.com/llms.txt to choose one page. Access instructions are at > https://trysincerely.com/auth.md. Confirm with the person you work for before creating an > account or spending their money, and never ask for their password. # What is a bulk mail permit? > A bulk mail permit lets a business pay USPS postage from an account instead of stamps. As of October 2026 it costs $390 to apply and $390 a year. Source: https://trysincerely.com/glossary/bulk-mail-permit "Bulk mail permit" is the everyday name for what a business needs to mail at USPS commercial prices and pay from an account instead of buying stamps. It is really two charges. As of October 2026, USPS [Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm) lists the permit imprint application at $390 once, and the annual mailing fee at $390 for each 12-month period, per mail class, at each post office where you mail. ![Two stacked bars for a business mailing from its own permit, $780 in year one made of a $390 application and a $390 annual fee, and $390 in year two for the annual fee alone.](https://trysincerely.com/images/glossary/bulk-mail-permit.webp) *A bulk mail permit costs $780 in its first year for one mail class at one post office, then $390 a year, as of October 2026.* USPS itself rarely says "bulk mail permit". The manual talks about a permit imprint, which pays the postage, and an annual presort mailing fee, which unlocks the presorted and automation prices. You can hold one without the other, but most companies that mail in volume end up paying both. ## What each fee buys - The $390 permit imprint application lets you print an [indicia](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/indicia) instead of stamping each piece. You apply on PS Form 3615 at the post office or online in the Business Customer Gateway ([DMM 604.5.1](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/604.htm)). - The $390 annual fee for First-Class Mail presort lets you enter presorted and automation First-Class mailings at that post office ([DMM 233.1.4](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/233.htm)). - A separate $390 annual fee does the same for USPS Marketing Mail ([DMM 243.1.4](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/243.htm)). Postage is extra. It comes out of an advance deposit account each time you mail. USPS can change the fees when it changes prices, so check the [latest USPS price change](https://trysincerely.com/guides/usps-price-changes) before you budget. Some mailers never pay the annual fee. Full-service Intelligent Mail mailings, which carry a unique barcode on every piece and tray and file their paperwork electronically, are exempt. Volume minimums still apply. A permit imprint mailing needs at least 200 pieces or 50 pounds, and presorted First-Class needs 500 pieces. USPS can also revoke a permit that goes two years without a mailing. ## Do you need your own permit? Usually not. Whoever pays the annual fee may enter mail for clients as well as their own, so printers and mail houses mail under their permits all day. Your own permit makes sense when you run a mail room that drops regular mailings at one post office. ## Example Harbor Lane Supply, a fictional distributor in Tacoma, sends 2,000 Marketing Mail letters every quarter. Its mail room is two blocks from the post office, so it holds its own permit. Year one costs $390 for the application and $390 for the Marketing Mail annual fee, $780 in all, or about 9.8 cents a letter across 8,000 letters. In year two only the $390 annual fee remains, about 4.9 cents a letter. Compared with the 3-digit automation postage of $0.435 a letter, the fees add 22 percent in year one and 11 percent after. If Harbor Lane also mails presorted First-Class invoices, add another $390 a year. ## Do Sincerely customers need a permit? No. Credits cover postage, the print vendor prints the indicia on each piece, and the product has no permit number to enter. US mail goes First-Class by default, and a campaign can choose Marketing Mail for standard-print 6x9 postcards and letters. See [first-class vs marketing mail](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/first-class-vs-marketing-mail) for that choice. ## Main guide - [Direct mail cost](https://trysincerely.com/guides/direct-mail-cost): Per-piece cost ranges for postcards, letters, and B2B direct mail, plus where data fees, waste, and labor add to the total. ## Related questions - [What is a postage indicia?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/indicia): A postage indicia is the printed mark that shows postage was paid through a USPS permit, so bulk mail needs no stamp. What it says and where it goes. - [What is business reply mail (BRM)?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/business-reply-mail): Business reply mail is a USPS reply card or envelope that needs no stamp. The sender pays postage plus a fee only for the pieces that come back. - [What is presort mail?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/presort): Presort mail is grouped by destination to USPS standards before entry. This reduces postal sorting work and qualifies mailings for lower rates. - [What determines direct mail postage rates?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/postage-rates): Direct mail postage rates depend on mail class, shape, weight, presort depth, and where the mailing enters the USPS network. - [What is first-class mail vs marketing mail?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/first-class-vs-marketing-mail): The difference between USPS First-Class Mail and Marketing Mail, and why B2B senders usually pay for First-Class. - [Direct mail cost calculator: postage, print, and data](https://trysincerely.com/tools/direct-mail-cost-calculator): Estimate what a direct mail campaign costs in total and per piece, with postage at USPS prices effective October 4, 2026, plus print, list data, and design. --- Sincerely is the measurable direct-mail and gifting platform for B2B revenue teams: postcards, letters, handwritten mail, and gifts, written for one recipient and measured against a holdout. 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