Key takeaways
- Take EDDM Retail to the Post Office, DDU or S&DC that delivers your routes, as named in the EDDM Online Tool, or ship it to that office's Postmaster by Priority Mail.
- Bundle 50 to 100 pieces no taller than 6 inches, secured with at least two cross-strapped bands or shrink-wrap plus one; rubber bands haven't been allowed since July 1, 2025.
- Put a facing slip on top of every bundle, under the straps, with that bundle's piece count and its "1 of X" number.
- Bring a signed PS Form 3587 with the route table on the back filled in, a sample piece, any do-not-deliver list, and your online receipt or a way to pay.
An EDDM Retail mailing must go to the Post Office that delivers the routes you picked, not simply the one nearest you. USPS calls it the delivery Post Office, destination delivery unit (DDU) or sorting and delivery center (S&DC) (DMM 145.1.1 (opens in new tab)). You hand it over in bundles of 50 to 100 pieces, no taller than 6 inches, each held by cross-strapped bands with a facing slip on top, together with a signed PS Form 3587 and a sample piece. If driving there isn't practical, you can ship the whole mailing to that office's Postmaster by Priority Mail instead (DMM 146 (opens in new tab)).
This guide picks up once your pieces are printed and your routes are chosen in the USPS EDDM Online Tool. It walks through the office, the bundles, the paperwork, a two-office example, what USPS records at acceptance and the shipping option. If you're new to EDDM, see our EDDM articles.
Find the Post Office that must accept your mailing#
The EDDM Online Tool (opens in new tab) tells you which office is responsible for delivering your carrier routes or PO Box sections. Every piece must be entered at the designated Post Office for its routes (DMM 143.2.5 (opens in new tab)), so routes served by two offices mean two drop-offs.
Once you've selected routes, the tool's Order Summary shows your payment and the specific Post Office drop-off location (USPS EDDM (opens in new tab)). If your routes need more than one drop-off location, the tool alerts you while you're choosing them, and you can continue or remove that route (EDDM User Guide (opens in new tab), p. 13).
Among the forms the tool prints with your order is the Retail Post Office Listing Form. It gives each office's address and hours, the number of pieces to take there and the approximate cost at that office (User Guide, p. 27). Use it to plan your stops.
Each mailing needs at least 200 pieces (or 50 pounds of mail), and you can enter no more than 5,000 EDDM Retail pieces per day for each 5-digit ZIP Code (DMM 145.1.2 (opens in new tab)). The one exception to the minimum: a mailing to every address in a ZIP Code with fewer than 200 deliverable addresses may have fewer than 200 pieces (DMM 143.2.5 (opens in new tab)).
USPS doesn't publish an appointment requirement. You choose a drop-off date in the tool, up to 30 days ahead (User Guide, p. 21), and the listing form shows each office's hours.
Bundle 50 to 100 pieces, up to 6 inches, with cross-straps#
Separate the pieces by route, then make bundles of 50 to 100 pieces (DMM 145.1.3 (opens in new tab)). No bundle may be taller than 6 inches (USPS EDDM (opens in new tab)). Face every piece in a bundle the same way, so the addresses read in the same direction and an address shows on the top piece (DMM 203.4.2 (opens in new tab)).
Secure each bundle as DMM 203.4.5 (opens in new tab) requires:
- Use two or more cross-strapped bands, or shrink-wrap plus at least one cross-strapped band.
- Run the bands around both the length and the girth of the bundle at least once.
- Pull them tight enough to press down the bundle's edges. Loose banding isn't allowed.
- Add extra bands if you like, as long as none sits within 1 inch of an edge.
- Plastic bands and similar material count as banding. Rubber bands, twine or string, wire and metal banding are not allowed.
The cross-strap rule took effect on July 1, 2025 (Federal Register notice (opens in new tab); PostalPro (opens in new tab)). Some older USPS materials and printer guides still show rubber bands. Follow the DMM.
With thick stock, the 6-inch cap can bind before the 100-piece limit. Divide 6 by the thickness of one piece: a folded menu 0.08 inch thick tops out at 75 pieces a bundle.
Plan each route's split so no bundle falls below 50. For a 430-piece route, rather than four bundles of 100 and one of 30, make five bundles of 86. If a route needs fewer than 50 pieces in total, ask the entry office how it wants that bundle prepared.
Pieces with one edge thicker than the rest, such as saddle-stitched booklets or folded pieces, can be counter-stacked: addresses up, in no more than four roughly equal groups, each turned 180 degrees from the next (DMM 203.4.7 (opens in new tab)).
Put a facing slip on top of every bundle#
Every bundle gets its own facing slip, placed on top of the bundle and under the straps, with the number of pieces in that bundle written on it (DMM 145.1.3 (opens in new tab)). The User Guide says the tool prints one slip per route (EDDM User Guide (opens in new tab), p. 27), so print or copy enough that every bundle has its own.
You print the slips with the other processing forms from the tool's Order Confirmation screen (USPS EDDM (opens in new tab)). The EDDM Retail facing slip (opens in new tab) carries the 5-digit ZIP Code and route number (both required), the number of pieces in the bundle, the bundle number written as "__ of __", the Post Office of mailing and a Do Not Deliver Address column.
If you have multiple bundles, number each as "1 of X", where X is the total number of bundles. That's the instruction on the tool's order confirmation page.
If someone has asked to be taken off your mailing, write their address in the Do Not Deliver Address column on the slip (USPS EDDM (opens in new tab)).
Complete PS Form 3587 and gather the rest of the paperwork#
Every EDDM Retail mailing must come with a PS Form 3587 (opens in new tab) postage statement, completed and signed by you (DMM 144.2.1 (opens in new tab)). Make sure the route table on the back is filled in, with each 5-digit ZIP Code, route number and number of pieces. USPS's own steps flag it: "Be sure to fill in the carrier route information on the back" (USPS EDDM (opens in new tab)).
Read the signature statement first: signing certifies that you accept liability for, and agree to pay, any postage shortfall USPS assesses on the mailing, subject to appeal.
The rest of the required documentation is a sample mailpiece and, if anyone has opted out, a list of do-not-deliver addresses (DMM 144.2.2 (opens in new tab)).
If you paid online by credit or debit card, your order documentation includes a receipt to present at the counter (USPS EDDM (opens in new tab)). If you chose to pay at the Post Office, you can pay there by cash, check, or debit or credit card. The tool's order confirmation page also lists money orders and meter strips, with checks and money orders made payable to "US Postal Service" or "Postmaster".
USPS may also check that the pieces qualify for the price you're paying. Each must weigh no more than 3.3 ounces and exceed at least one of these: 10-1/2 inches long, 6-1/8 inches high or 1/4 inch thick (DMM 143.2.5 (opens in new tab)). Each also needs the EDDM Retail indicia printed above and to the right of the address (DMM 144.1.3 (opens in new tab)).
What to bring to each office
Item | Requirement | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
Bundles for this office's routes | 50 to 100 pieces, no taller than 6 inches, cross-strapped | You prepare them |
Facing slips | One on top of every bundle, with its piece count and 1 of X number | Order Confirmation screen |
PS Form 3587 | Signed, with the route table on the back filled in | Order Confirmation screen |
Sample mailpiece | One finished piece from the mailing | Your print run |
Do-not-deliver list | Only if someone has opted out | Your records |
Retail Post Office Listing Form | Confirms the office, its hours and its piece count | Order Confirmation screen |
Payment | Online receipt, or cash, card, check, money order or meter strips | Online checkout or the counter |
Worked example: two routes, two Post Offices#
Say your pieces cover two carrier routes in neighboring ZIP Codes, and the listing form sends each route to a different office. Route 1 takes 486 pieces and goes to Office A. Route 2, in the next ZIP Code, takes 352 and goes to Office B. Each ZIP Code's share, 486 and 352 pieces, clears the 200-piece minimum and stays well under the 5,000-a-day cap.
Split each route into bundles of 50 to 100 with no short bundle at the end:
Two-route example
Route | Pieces | Bundles (one slip each) | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|---|
Route 1, ZIP Code A | 486 | 100, 100, 100, 100, 86 | Office A |
Route 2, ZIP Code B | 352 | 100, 100, 100, 52 | Office B, or Priority Mail to its Postmaster |
Total | 838 | 9 bundles, 9 slips | 2 offices |
Office A gets five bundles with slips numbered 1 of 5 through 5 of 5. Office B gets four, numbered 1 of 4 through 4 of 4. Each stop also gets the forms the tool prints for that office and a sample piece. Before you hand anything over, check that the piece counts on the forms match the bundles in front of you: 486 pieces in five bundles at Office A, 352 in four at Office B.
At the current EDDM Retail price of $0.26 a piece, postage for all 838 pieces comes to $217.88. By office, that's $126.36 for Office A's 486 pieces and $91.52 for Office B's 352; the listing form shows an approximate cost for each office. For printing and the rest of the budget, see our EDDM cost guide.
If Office B is a long drive, ship its four bundles to its Postmaster by Priority Mail (steps below) and drive only to Office A.
What USPS records when it accepts your mailing#
USPS doesn't publish its acceptance procedure: its Postmaster Instruction Letter (opens in new tab) for shipped mailings lists a few handling steps, then refers the office to an internal SOP. The USPS-only blocks on PS Form 3587 (opens in new tab) show what gets recorded, and its verification section names three checks: eligibility for the price claimed, proper preparation and a properly completed statement.
What USPS records at acceptance
What USPS records | What to have right |
|---|---|
Mail arrival date and time | Arrive during the hours on the listing form |
Weight of a single piece | A sample piece at 3.3 ounces or less |
Total number of pieces | The same total as the route table on PS 3587 |
Number of bundles | One facing slip per bundle, numbered 1 of X |
Total postage | Your online receipt, or payment ready |
Any adjustment to your postage figures | Counts that match what you hand over |
Round-date stamp | Nothing to prepare; it dates the acceptance |
After acceptance, carriers deliver the pieces with the day's mail on the routes you selected (USPS EDDM terms (opens in new tab)). USPS doesn't guarantee a delivery date: EDDM Retail is USPS Marketing Mail, which may receive deferred handling (DMM 143.2.1 (opens in new tab)).
Shipping the mailing to the Post Office instead#
If driving to the delivering office isn't practical, ship the prepared mailing to that office's Postmaster by Priority Mail. DMM 146.1.2 (opens in new tab) sets out the steps:
- Pack the bundles, facing slips attached, in Priority Mail boxes. Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes are allowed.
- Write "Every Door Direct Mail - Retail" and "Open Immediately" on each box.
- If you're sending more than one box, number them starting with 1 of X, where X is the total number of boxes.
- In box 1, put an envelope holding a sample mailpiece, your completed and signed PS Form 3587, USPS's Postmaster Instruction Letter (opens in new tab) and a contact name and phone number, which the letter tells the Postmaster to expect.
- If you didn't pay online, add a check or money order payable to "Postmaster" or "Postal Service" for the EDDM postage only, not the Priority Mail shipping, with your phone number on the front of the check (USPS EDDM (opens in new tab)).
- Address every box to "Postmaster" at the Post Office that will deliver the pieces.
- Put a USPS Tracking label on every box, then ship the boxes at your local Post Office or through Click-N-Ship.
A mailing split across two offices means two shipments, each to its own Postmaster.
Retail drop-off vs BMEU#
Everything above is EDDM Retail. The other option, EDDM BMEU, is built for large-volume mailers: you drop off at a large USPS mail processing center (a Business Mail Entry Unit), pay with a bulk mailing permit, and have no volume limit on the mailing (USPS EDDM (opens in new tab)). A BMEU order also needs PS Form 8125 and the documents supporting PS Form 3602, which the EDDM Online Tool (opens in new tab) lists with the facing slips, and you pay for and finalize it in Postal Wizard. Retail skips all of that: no permit, no trip to a processing center, and payment online or at the counter. To see when BMEU costs less than Retail, read our EDDM cost guide.
Before you leave for the Post Office#
Run this check before you load the car:
- The listing form names this office for the routes you're carrying.
- Each bundle holds 50 to 100 pieces, faced the same way, no taller than 6 inches.
- Each bundle has at least two cross-strapped bands, or shrink-wrap plus one, pulled tight, with no rubber bands, string or wire.
- A facing slip sits on top of every bundle, under the straps, with its piece count and its "1 of X" number.
- PS Form 3587 is signed, with the route table on the back filled in.
- A sample mailpiece is in your folder.
- Any do-not-deliver addresses are on the slips and on a list.
- You have your online payment receipt, or a way to pay at the counter.