Am I Eligible to Use Nonprofit Mail Rates?

Since 1952, nonprofits have been eligible for discounted Standard Mail (A) rates, and direct mail remains a vital fundraising tool.

The first U.S. Postal Service issue for nonprofits was the 1¼-cent Liberty Bell nonprofit stamped envelope, released in 1965. The first stamp specifically bearing the words “non-profit ” for use by nonprofit organizations was the 1979 3.1-cent stamp featuring a six-string guitar.

Getting your organization nonprofit stamps is easy if you follow these steps.

Eligibility for Nonprofit Mail

Nonprofit Mail is printed material eligible to be mailed as USPS Marketing Mail® by organizations authorized by the Postal Service to mail at significantly reduced nonprofit postage rates. Self-mailers, letters, newsletters, and booklets that weigh less than 16 ounces are otherwise eligible to be mailed as USPS Marketing Mail.

There are 10 categories of organizations that may be approved for Nonprofit USPS Marketing Mail prices: Agricultural, Educational, Fraternal, Labor, Philanthropic, Religious, Scientific, Veterans, Qualified Political Committees, and State or Local Voter Registration Officials.

Individuals are not eligible for nonprofit prices, and not every organization is eligible. For example, business leagues, chambers of commerce, social and hobby clubs, and certain political organizations usually are not eligible.

How to Apply for Nonprofit Mail

Fill out PS Form 3624 and include the supporting documentation. It’s also available from your postmaster or your Business Mail Entry Unit.

Submit the completed form and supporting documentation to your postmaster or at the Business Mail Entry Unit. Applications may be submitted online at the Business Customer Gateway.

Once you have been approved to mail with nonprofit privileges, you must make a nonprofit mailing at least once during a two-year period. Otherwise, your authorization could be revoked.

Available Nonprofit Stamps

Nonprofit stamps are available with either patriotic or non-patriotic designs. The patriotic design currently available, Patriotic Block (2023), shows components of the American flag arranged in a four-quadrant block. The most recent non-patriotic is Summer Sunset, available June 25. The stamp art is an oil painting by local Martha’s Vineyard artist Rachael Cassiani of a sunset in Menemsha, a fishing village in the town of Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The previous non-patriotic design is the 2022 Butterfly Garden Flowers issuance, which included illustrations of butterfly-friendly flowers, such as cosmos and scabiosa. 

Note, however, that nonprofit mailers are not required to use physical stamps on their mailings; mailers can also be printed with a permit imprint to save time.