--- title: "What is business reply mail (BRM)?" description: "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." canonical: https://trysincerely.com/glossary/business-reply-mail 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 business reply mail (BRM)? > 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. Source: https://trysincerely.com/glossary/business-reply-mail Business reply mail (BRM) is a USPS service that lets you send someone a reply card or envelope they can mail back without a stamp. You pay the postage, plus a per-piece fee, only for the pieces that actually come back. Each card nobody returns costs you only its printing. ![A flow from 3,000 mailed letters to 90 reply cards returned, which cost $1.96 each, while the 2,910 cards never returned cost nothing in postage.](https://trysincerely.com/images/glossary/business-reply-mail.webp) *With business reply mail you pay postage and a fee per returned card, and nothing for the cards nobody sends back.* You can spot BRM by its markings. [DMM 505.1.5](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/505.htm) requires "No postage necessary if mailed in the United States" in the upper right corner, horizontal bars below it, "Business Reply Mail" above the address, and the permit number with "Postage will be paid by addressee". ## What it costs These are the USPS [Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm) prices as of October 2026, for a returned card or 1-ounce letter. | Option | Fixed fees | Per card returned | Per letter returned | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ------------------- | | Basic BRM | $390 annual permit | $1.96 | $2.13 | | High-volume BRM | $390 permit plus $1,130 account maintenance | $0.814 | $0.984 | | Basic QBRM | $1,130 account maintenance | $0.682 | $0.852 | Each per-piece figure is postage plus a fee. Basic BRM pays the retail price ($0.65 a card, $0.82 a letter) plus $1.31. High-volume BRM pays the same postage plus $0.164. Qualified BRM (QBRM) gets lower postage, $0.624 and $0.794, plus $0.058, but only for automation-compatible pieces carrying a USPS-assigned ZIP+4 and Intelligent Mail barcode. QBRM pieces also need USPS approval before they print. The high-volume account saves $1.146 on every returned piece, so its $1,130 fee pays for itself at about 986 returns a year. Below that, basic BRM is cheaper. ## Reply card or QR code Taking the stamp off lowers the effort of answering, and you pay only for the responses. You also pay for every card that comes back, blank ones included, because USPS charges the full amount on incomplete or empty BRM. For B2B, a reply card asks a busy person to fill in a form by hand and then find a mailbox. A QR code or short web address asks less, because the buyer already has a phone in hand. Reply mail still earns its place when the answer needs a signature, or when the audience rarely goes online. ## Example Corbel Insurance, a fictional broker, mails 3,000 policy-review letters with a basic BRM card. Ninety cards come back, six of them blank, and the blank ones cost the same $1.96 as the rest. The bill is $390 for the permit plus 90 × $1.96, or $566.40. A high-volume account would have cost $390 plus $1,130 plus 90 × $0.814, which is $1,593.26. At 90 returns, basic BRM is $1,026.86 cheaper. ## Sincerely and reply mail Sincerely does not print BRM cards. Its letters go out without a return envelope. A printed postcard or letter can instead carry a QR code and short link that open a page Sincerely hosts for that one recipient, and the page can hold a reply form. See the [guide to QR codes on direct mail](https://trysincerely.com/guides/qr-codes-on-direct-mail) for how to make that path work. ## 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 a bulk mail permit?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/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. - [How to write a direct mail call to action](https://trysincerely.com/guides/direct-mail-call-to-action): Give each letter, postcard, or gift note one next step that fits the format. Examples for QR codes, calls, meetings, and written replies. - [Do QR codes on direct mail work?](https://trysincerely.com/guides/qr-codes-on-direct-mail): QR codes record link visits from mail, but cannot verify the scanner or prove revenue causation. Here are the design and measurement rules. - [What is direct response?](https://trysincerely.com/glossary/direct-response): Direct response is marketing built to trigger a measurable action now, like a scan, reply, or booked meeting, so every dollar can be traced to a result. --- 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. Contact Sincerely: https://trysincerely.com/contact Agent routing index: https://trysincerely.com/llms.txt