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Using Every Door Direct Mail

Affordable, Targeted Advertising

Use Every Door Direct Mail® (EDDM®) services to promote your small business in your local community. If you're having a sale, opening a new location, or offering coupons, EDDM can help you send postcards, menus, and flyers to the right customers. Use the EDDM Online Tool to map ZIP Code(s)™ and neighborhoods—even filter by age, income, or household size1 using U.S. Census data.

EDDM Online Tool

EDDM Mapping & Mailing

Watch the Advertise with EDDM video for a quick overview of how you may use the EDDM Online Tool to plan your mailing, map your routes, and let USPS deliver to every door you select.

The EDDM Online Tool is easy to use and postage discounts are available for most businesses. EDDM User Guide PDF (5.1 MB) | RTF (127 KB)

Prices - USPS Marketing Mail Flats up to 3.3 oz

EDDM flyers, postcards, and other flats are considered USPS Marketing Mail® products.

  • EDDM Retail® USPS Marketing Flats currently $0.223 per piece
  • EDDM BMEU USPS Marketing Mail Flats currently as low as $0.219 per piece

Explore Your EDDM Options

Based on your unique business needs, either create an EDDM mailing yourself or get help with any part of the mail design, printing, preparation, and drop-off process using USPS affiliate vendors2 or find a local printer in the USPS Printer Directory.

Quick Compare

See the two ways you can create your own EDDM mailings and get them to The Postal Service® for delivery: Use Every Door Direct Mail – Retail® (EDDM Retail) or enter an EDDM bulk mailing at a Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU).

EDDM Retail Features

  • Great for small businesses, restaurants, realtors, and local political campaigns
  • Use a USPS.com account
  • Send at least 200 and up to 5,000 pieces per day per ZIP Code™
  • Drop off your EDDM mailing at the Post Office™
  • No special mailing permit needed
  • Pay online or at the Post Office

EDDM BMEU Features

  • Best for large volume mailers
  • Use a Business Customer Gateway account to prepare and enter a bulk mailing
  • No volume limit on size of the mailing, multiple ZIP Codes™ can be selected
  • Drop off mailings at a large USPS mail processing center (BMEU)
  • Pay with a bulk mailing permit

Getting Started

If you're sending a bulk mailing, see our PostalPro™ business resource on how to create and prepare an EDDM BMEU Mailing.

If you're ready to send an EDDM Retail mailing, see the step-by-step process below.

How to Create an EDDM Retail Mailing

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1. Create or Use an Existing USPS.com Account

Local businesses and individuals can create an Every Door Direct Mail-Retail® (EDDM Retail®) mailing online with a USPS.com account. To use EDDM Retail, you are required to send at least 200 mailpieces but are allowed up to 5,000 mailpieces a day per ZIP Code™.

Open a USPS.com Account

2. Select Neighborhoods & Audience

Choose the neighborhoods in the EDDM Online Tool where your customers live. Use the tool to target customers by specific demographics such as age, household size, and income.

How to Start the EDDM Online Tool

  1. Search for a full address, city/state, or ZIP Code™.
  2. Click Show Table to see details on the neighborhood routes.
  3. Narrow and filter your targeted audience using the categories at the top: Route, Residential, Total, Age, Size, Income, and Cost.
  4. Select the final neighborhood(s) you'd like to use. You can select multiple routes for a single mailing.
  5. Review your selections under your Order Summary then save or continue on in the process.

EDDM Online Tool

View EDDM User Guide PDF (5.1 MB) | RTF (127 KB)

3. Design & Print Your Mailpiece

Follow direct mail design best practices to create effective EDDM advertising pieces. Sending actionable mail with a clear offer and call to action will help generate customer responses.

EDDM Retail Flats

Use the Mailpiece Size Checker, located at the top right of the EDDM Online Tool, to make sure your flyer or postcard meets the requirements for marketing mail.

For detailed size criteria and measurements for EDDM mailpieces, see Physical Standards for Flats.

Formatting Addresses & Postage

Mailpieces are simply addressed to "Postal Customer" and your mail will be delivered to every address on your selected routes.

Postage Indicia

Use the EDDM Retail Indicia, which is a postage payment mark that takes the place of a regular postage stamp or meter stamp.

  • Every EDDM mailpiece must include the EDDM Retail Indicia above and to the right of the address block.
  • The EDDM Retail Indicia does not have a specific size requirement but must be larger than 0.5" x 0.5".
  • The type font must be in all caps and at least a 4 point size.
  • It should fit in the area 1.625" from the right edge and 1.375" from top edge.
  • Leave 1/8" of space around the top and right edge.

Download a ready-to-use EDDM Retail Indicia.

Need more help?

If you need assistance with properly formatting your mailpiece indicia or need access to a printer, online direct mail specialists and local printers can help you get the job done.

Find a Local Printer

Image of PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid EDDM Retail.
Image of Local Postal Customer.
Image of a blue sample envelope.

4. Choose Drop-Off Date & Payment Options

Select your drop-off date and payment type. The EDDM User Guide explains the specific drop-off steps and options available.

EDDM User Guide PDF (5.1 MB) | RTF (127 KB)

Paying Online

  1. Pay with a credit/debit card.
  2. Your order documentation includes a proof of payment receipt.
  3. Present your receipt when you deliver your mailing to the Post Office™.

Paying at the Post Office

  1. Your order documentation will show the order is unpaid.
  2. Includes a proof of payment receipt.
  3. When you deliver your mailing to the Post Office, you can pay by cash, credit/debit card, or check.

Need a refund?

EDDM Retail refunds can be requested online and at the Post Office, depending on how you paid for the order and whether you have already dropped your mailing off.

5. Print Forms & Prepare Mailing Bundles

On the Order Confirmation screen, you'll view and print all necessary Postal Service™ processing forms and the right EDDM facing slip to attach to your mailing bundles.

  • Bundle your mailing in stacks of 50-100 mailpieces.
  • Bundles may not be higher than 6".
  • Fill out and attach an EDDM facing slip to the top of every bundle.
  • Write the number of pieces in the bundle on the facing slip.

Do Not Deliver Addresses

If a customer has contacted you and asked to be removed from your mailing list, include the customer's address in the "Do Not Deliver Address" column on the facing slip.

6. Drop Off or Ship Your Mailing

Take or send your mailing to the Post Office locations that will deliver to your selected EDDM routes. Choose to either drop off your mailing or ship it to a Post Office location if that's easier.

Dropping Off Your Mailing at a Post Office

The Order Summary in the EDDM Online Tool will show your payment and specific Post Office drop-off location.

  1. Gather your mailing bundle(s) with the proper facing slips.
  2. Include a completed Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) Retail® form PS Form 3587 PDF (19 KB). Note: Be sure to fill in the carrier route information on the back.
  3. Take the mailing to the Post Office for your selected ZIP Code™.

Shipping Your Mailing to a Post Office

If you want your EDDM mailing sent to a distant ZIP Code™, send your mailing by Priority Mail® service to the Postmaster for that neighborhood route.

  1. Place your mailing bundles with attached facing slips in a box. Order USPS Shipping Boxes
  2. Place an envelope containing the following in the box:
    • Sample mailpiece
    • If you haven't paid for your order online, include a check or money order payable to "Postmaster" or "Postal Service" for the amount of postage for your mailing. Include your telephone number on the front of the check, in the Memo section.
    • Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) Retail® form PS Form 3587 PDF (19 KB)
    • Postmaster Instruction Letter PDF (23 KB)
  3. Address your boxes to "Postmaster" at the Post Office you're shipping to.
    POSTMASTER
    CITY, ST 22222
  4. Write "Every Door Direct Mail–Retail" and "Open Immediately" on each box.
  5. Label and number the boxes. For multiple boxes, number them as "1 of X", with "X" being the total number of boxes. Example: "1 of 5," "2 of 5," etc.

EDDM Customer Support

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Reference EDDM Forms & Guides

Download and print the forms you need for your EDDM mailings to be delivered successfully.

Using the EDDM Online Tool

EDDM Retail Specific Forms & PDFs

For EDDM BMEU forms, please go to our bulk mail resource on PostalPro.

Request a Refund

EDDM Retail refunds can be requested online and at the Post Office, depending on how you placed the order and whether you have dropped your mailing off.

Contact Your Support Team

If you still have specific questions about EDDM mailings, contact the EDDM Retail Service customer support team.

USPS National Customer Support Center
1-877-747-6249

1. Data, including age range and average household income and size, is based on prior report of the U.S. Census Bureau. Back ^ to legal disclaimer 1
2. USPS assumes no liability for the results of any contact with any company listed. Private vendors may apply non-USPS charges. Back ^ to legal disclaimer 2