Nonprofit Postage: Rates, PS Form 3624 and the Bulk Mail Permit

Eligible nonprofits can mail at USPS Marketing Mail nonprofit prices, which on the price list effective 4 October 2026 start at $0.185 a letter for automation mail sorted to 5-digit ZIP codes, against $0.395 at commercial Marketing Mail prices and $0.82 for a First-Class stamp. To qualify, the organization applies on PS Form 3624, which is free, at the Post Office where it will mail; it then needs a permit to pay postage, typically a permit imprint ($390 once) plus a Marketing Mail annual fee ($390 a year), and each mailing must be at least 200 pieces or 50 pounds. PS Form 3602-NZ, which many people search for, is not the application: it is the postage statement filed with a simple nonprofit mailing. This page sets out who qualifies, the costs, the current prices and the rules that most often cost organizations the rate.

Who qualifies

The Postal Service’s Publication 417 limits nonprofit prices to organizations in eight categories: religious, educational, scientific, philanthropic (charitable), agricultural, labor, veterans and fraternal, plus certain political committees and voting registration officials. The organization must be organized and operated primarily for one of those purposes, not for profit, with no net income benefiting any individual.

Two points trip people up. First, 501(c)(3) status is evidence, not the test: the Postal Service accepts an IRS exemption letter as proof of nonprofit status, but it decides the category itself from your formation documents and activities, and some exempt organizations do not qualify. The form lists exclusions including business leagues, chambers of commerce, civic improvement associations, and social and hobby clubs, so a 501(c)(6) trade association or a 501(c)(7) club usually cannot use the rate, a distinction explained in types of nonprofits. Second, the authorization belongs to the organization, not to a mailing house or printer, and only a responsible official of the organization may sign the application.

The nonprofit postage rates, October 2026

Prices are from USPS Notice 123, effective 4 October 2026, for letters weighing up to 3.5 ounces with no destination entry discount. Entering mail at a regional processing center lowers each price slightly, for example to $0.164 for nonprofit 5-digit automation letters. Flats, such as catalogues and large newsletters, have their own table. The Postal Service usually changes prices in January and July, so check the current Notice 123 before budgeting a large mailing.

The lowest prices need the mail to be barcoded, sorted and addressed to postal standards, which is why most organizations use a mail house or presort software for anything beyond a few hundred pieces. Unsorted nonautomation mail costs more but is still well under half the commercial rate.

What it costs to get started

The arithmetic is simple. Against First-Class stamps, each nonprofit automation letter saves roughly $0.56 to $0.64, so the two $390 fees in the first year are covered after about 1,300 pieces, and the $390 annual fee after about 650 pieces a year. An organization that mails a 1,000-piece appeal twice a year comes out well ahead; one that sends 300 letters at year end does not, and is better off with stamps, or with a mail house that enters your mail at nonprofit prices under your authorization using its own permit.

How to apply, step by step

Take PS Form 3624 to the Post Office where you intend to deposit your mailings, with your IRS determination letter (or an independent auditor’s financial statement) and documents showing your primary purpose, such as articles of incorporation or bylaws. Ask for a date-stamped copy. According to Publication 417, the application goes to the Postal Service’s Pricing and Classification Service Center and is normally decided within two weeks when the documentation is complete. While it is pending you can mail at regular Marketing Mail prices and keep records to claim a refund of the difference once approved, but there is no refund for mail sent First-Class. Once authorized, the national authorization number works at any Post Office that accepts presorted mail.

If you are still waiting for your IRS determination, the 501(c)(3) status guide covers that process; the Postal Service decision is separate and comes after.

PS Form 3602-NZ and 3602-N

Every Marketing Mail mailing at nonprofit prices is accompanied by a postage statement. PS Form 3602-NZ, “Postage Statement, Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail Easy, Nonautomation Letters or Flats”, is only for a single nonautomation mailing of pieces that all weigh the same. Every other Marketing Mail mailing at nonprofit prices uses PS Form 3602-N. Both ask for your nonprofit authorization number, your permit number, the Post Office of mailing and how postage is paid: permit imprint, precanceled stamps or meter. Mail houses file these for you; organizations mailing themselves submit the statement with the mailing at the Post Office of mailing.

Mailing it yourself or using a mail house

The lowest prices assume the mail is barcoded, sorted into trays by ZIP code and accompanied by the right paperwork, which is a skill and usually software. For most organizations, a local mail house is cheaper than learning it: it prints, folds, addresses, sorts and enters the mail, and can mail at nonprofit prices under your authorization. Ask three for a quote on the same job, and ask each whether its price includes the postage, the presort and list processing, or only the printing.

Mailing it yourself makes sense for a simple, regular piece, such as a quarterly newsletter of a few hundred to a few thousand identical letters, where PS Form 3602-NZ and nonautomation prices are enough. The saving against First-Class is still large: $0.263 a letter for nonautomation machinable mail against $0.82 for a stamp.

Keeping the address list clean

Presorted mail at these prices must meet the Postal Service’s address quality standards, which in practice means running your list through its change-of-address data before mailing; a mail house will do this as part of list processing. It is worth doing whatever the rules require. Every piece sent to an old address costs postage and returns nothing, and duplicate records mean the same donor receives two appeals and wonders what else you are getting wrong. Remove deceased donors and those who have asked not to be mailed before every campaign, and merge duplicates in your donor database rather than in the mail file.

Which mail goes which way

Marketing Mail is for appeals, newsletters, event invitations and annual reports. Personal correspondence and bills or statements of account have to travel as First-Class Mail, so individually written thank-you notes and gift receipts usually go First-Class. Marketing Mail is also slower and is not forwarded to a donor’s new address unless you add an endorsement and pay for it, so time-sensitive pieces, such as a year-end appeal with a December 31 deadline, need to go out early or go First-Class.

The rules that cost organizations the rate

• The cooperative mail rule. Nonprofit prices are only for the authorized organization’s own mail. A mailing that shares its cost, risk or benefit with a business that is not authorized, such as a joint promotion with a sponsor or a mailing designed and paid for by a commercial partner, is ineligible. There is an exception for fundraising mail made with a professional fundraiser, provided it solicits money only for the nonprofit, sells no goods or services, and the nonprofit receives the list of donors.
• Advertising in the mailpiece. Nonprofit mail may carry some advertising, but DMM section 703 restricts using nonprofit prices to promote certain products and services, including credit cards, insurance and travel, unless they meet its relatedness tests. A newsletter that sponsors pay to appear in, or a mailing that offers merchandise, needs checking against those rules first.
• Minimum volume. 200 pieces or 50 pounds per mailing, counted separately from any regular-price mail in the same mailing.
• Using someone else’s authorization. Chapters and affiliates need their own authorization or must mail under the parent’s on the parent’s terms; a printer cannot mail your piece under its own nonprofit status.

Is mail still worth it?

For fundraising, often yes. A printed appeal and a thank-you letter reach people who do not open fundraising email. The cost per dollar raised differs sharply by channel, which the fundraising metrics guide shows how to measure. For most small organizations the sensible pattern is mail for year-end appeals, annual reports and lapsed donor reactivation, and email for everything frequent. The donation letter templates cover what to put in the envelope.

How this page was put together

Prices and fees were read on USPS Notice 123, effective 4 October 2026, on 13 October 2026. Eligibility, the application process and the cooperative mail rule are from Publication 417; form details from PS Forms 3624 and 3602-NZ; exclusions from the Domestic Mail Manual section 703. The break-even figures are our arithmetic on those prices. This page summarises the rules; for a specific mailing, the Postal Service’s business mail entry staff are the authority.

This is reference information, not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by state and change over time. For a decision that carries real consequences, check the current text at irs.gov or your state registry, and talk to a nonprofit attorney or CPA.