postalref

Mailing promotions and incentives

USPS mailing promotions take a percentage off First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail postage for mailpieces using a technology or print treatment USPS rewards. Mailers get each mailpiece pre-approved in the My Products Portal, then register on the Business Customer Gateway. Mail Growth Incentives pay postage credit for volume growth, and the Marriage Mail Incentive is a 20% discount.

Updated November 5, 202663 sources

Questions

What mailing promotions does USPS offer in 2026?

USPS's 2026 calendar has five mailing promotions, each with its own period, code and discount.

PromotionPeriodCodeDiscount
Integrated TechnologySix consecutive months from a start date the mailer picksIT5% off First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail
Tactile, Sensory & InteractiveJanuary 1 to June 30, 2026SS5% off First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail
Continuous ContactApril 1 to December 31, 2026CC5% off USPS Marketing Mail
First-Class Mail AdvertisingSeptember 1 to December 31, 2026FA5% off First-Class Mail
Catalog InsightsOctober 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026CT10% off USPS Marketing Mail

Catalog Insights and Tactile, Sensory & Interactive ended on June 30, 2026. Two add-ons, Informed Delivery and Sustainability, run all year and each add 1% to a promotion's discount.

How do I sign up for a USPS mailing promotion?

A mailer gets each mailpiece pre-approved in the My Products Portal, then registers through Incentive Programs on the Business Customer Gateway. A mailer should register at least two hours before presenting its first qualifying mailing. For the 2025-2026 Catalog Insights Promotion, USPS said it would answer a pre-approval request within four business days.

How do I claim a USPS promotion discount?

A mailer claims a promotion in its mailing's eDoc, with the promotion's two-letter code in the Component Characteristics Record, the eDoc record for a mailpiece's content and incentives. PostalOne!, the USPS system that produces postage statements, then calculates the discount and applies it at the time of mailing. In the 2025-2026 Catalog Insights Promotion, the discount had to be claimed then, during the promotion period, and could not be rebated later.

What does the Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Promotion require?

A Tactile, Sensory & Interactive mailpiece uses print that engages the senses, such as scent or texture, or interactive features such as pop-ups and infinite folds. In 2026 the promotion took 5% off First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail from January 1 to June 30, claimed with the code SS. Mailers submit its mailpiece samples to USPS through the My Products Portal, as for the other promotions.

How do I find a provider for an augmented reality mailpiece?

USPS's Direct Mail Technology Integrator Directory lists companies that integrate direct mail with digital technology, for mailers seeking it in their campaigns. Besides augmented reality, a provider can be listed for near field communication, video in print or digital to direct mail. A provider applies with case studies and samples for each technology, and approved providers are listed for free.

Can I combine USPS mailing promotions?

No: a mailpiece or mailing gets one promotion discount at most, though up to two add-ons can add to it. Full-Service incentives and the Seamless Acceptance incentive, a per-piece discount on eligible Full-Service mail, are not promotions, so both apply to eligible pieces in a promotion. Mail Growth Incentives postage credit applies too, after every other discount, incentive and promotion.

How do USPS Mail Growth Incentives work?

Mail Growth Incentives give registered Mail Owners postage credit when their qualifying First-Class Mail or USPS Marketing Mail volume grows past a threshold. The credit is 30% of the added pieces times the final average price paid per piece. Mail Owners register in the My Products Portal, and registration for 2026 ran from March through May 2026.

What is the Marriage Mail Incentive?

The Marriage Mail Incentive is a 20% discount, as of July 12, 2026, on qualifying Saturation and High Density Plus USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats. Saturation mail reaches at least 90% of a carrier route's residences or 75% of its addresses; High Density Plus mail has at least 300 pieces a route. Each piece carries at least 4 advertisers and weighs 2 oz or less, and the Mail Owner sends at least 10 qualifying mailings per 12-month cycle.

How it fits together

Mailing Promotions are USPS's discount and incentives program for First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail customers. Each promotion has a promotion period and rewards a treatment, technique or technology on the mailpiece. USPS publishes each year's promotions in a calendar with their periods, codes and discounts. Since 2025, add-ons raise a promotion's discount for features such as an Informed Delivery campaign.

A mailer uploads each mailpiece's sample to the My Products Portal for pre-approval. It registers for the promotion through Incentive Programs on the Business Customer Gateway. It claims the discount in the eDoc for its mailing, and PostalOne! applies it to the postage statement at the time of mailing.

Mail Growth Incentives reward growth instead: Mail Owners whose qualifying volume grows past a threshold get postage credit. They register in the same portal, during a registration period each year. Mailings in a promotion still count toward that growth.

The Marriage Mail Incentive is a 20% discount on qualifying Marriage Mail sent as Saturation or High Density Plus letters and flats. A negotiated service agreement is a contract between USPS and one mailer that can set customized prices. A mailpiece gets one promotion discount at most, but other incentives and discounts can add to it.

Mailing promotions

Each promotion runs in its own promotion period, and a mailer registers for it during a registration period. The 2025 Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Promotion ran from February 1 to July 31, 2025, with registration open from December 15, 2024. Its 2026 promotion ran from January 1 to June 30.

In the 2026 calendar, Catalog Insights is 10% off and the other four promotions are 5% off. Each add-on adds 1%, and a mailer can claim up to two with one promotion. An add-on cannot be claimed alone. USPS offers two add-ons, Informed Delivery and Sustainability.

Promotions over the years have rewarded these features of the mail:

  • Tactile, Sensory & Interactive rewards print that engages the senses through special visual effects, sound, scent, texture or even taste.
  • Emerging and Advanced Technology rewarded technologies such as augmented reality, near field communication and video in print.
  • The 2021 Informed Delivery Promotion took 2% off postage for an Informed Delivery interactive campaign on qualifying mailpieces.
  • The 2021 Mobile Shopping promotion took 2% off USPS Marketing Mail with mobile technology that leads to a shopping website.
  • Personalized Color Transpromo rewarded color, variable print and personalization in marketing messages, such as on bills and statements.
  • Earned Value gave postage credit for reply mail that recipients mailed back and USPS scanned during the promotion period.

In 2025, the Integrated Technology Promotion covered mobile shopping, augmented reality, near field communication and other technologies. A mailer seeking a company to build such a mailpiece can find one in the Direct Mail Technology Integrator Directory. It is USPS's online directory of companies that integrate direct mail with digital technology, and approved providers are listed for free.

Informed Delivery had a promotion of its own in 2021, and since 2025 it has been an add-on.

2025 - Tactile, Sensory & Interactive Promotion

“This Promotion will help you utilize technological advancements within the print industry to create an engaging sensory experience with your mailpieces.”

2021 Emerging and Advanced Technology Promotion

“In order to ensure that Direct Mail continues to be a relevant part of the marketing mix, the Postal Service is offering another promotion encouraging customers to incorporate technologies such as “Enhanced” Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality, Near Field Communication (NFC), Video in Print (ViP) featuring Shoppable Video, Integration with Voice Assistants, and Digital to Direct Mail in their direct mail campaigns.”

2021 Informed Delivery Promotion

“The United States Postal Service’s (USPS) Informed Delivery (ID) Promotion offers a 2% discount on postage for business mailers who register for the Promotion and conduct an Informed Delivery interactive campaign on qualifying mailpieces.”

2021 Mobile Shopping Promotion

“The 2021 Mobile Shopping promotion encourages mailers to integrate mobile technology with direct mail, thus creating a convenient method for consumers to do their online shopping.”

2021 Personalized Color Transpromo Promotion

“The 2021 Personalized Color Transpromo Promotion is intended to incorporate marketing messages highlighted through the use of color, dynamic variable print and personalization.”

Earned Value Promotion

Also called Earned Value program

“Mailers who register their Mailer ID (MID), permit(s), and use eligible Intelligent Mail® barcodes (IMbs) on their BRM, CRM, and Share Mail pieces may receive a postage credit for each mailpiece that is placed in the mailstream by the recipient and scanned during the promotion period.”

Add-On

“a series of add-ons to USPS® Mailing Promotions, through which you can increase your Promotion discount by pairing your qualified mailpiece with features that enhance mail’s reach and ROI”

incentive

“Any price reduction (i.e., discount) to a postal product or service relative to the next highest relevant price or a rebate for the use of a product or service based on various requirements such as mailer-specific volumes.”

Enrolling and claiming

A mailer enrolls in the promotions and in the Mail Growth Incentives through the Business Customer Gateway and the My Products Portal.

OfferWhere the mailer signs upHow it lowers postage
Mailing promotionsIncentive Programs on the Business Customer Gateway, at least two hours before the first qualifying mailingA discount on the postage statement at the time of mailing
Mail Growth IncentivesThe My Products Portal, during each year's registration periodPostage credit, claimed in July, October and from January 15 to February 28
Marriage Mail IncentivePostalOne!, then a check box in each mailing's eDocA 20% discount on qualifying pieces

A mailing promotion, from the sample to the mailing.

  1. Request access to the My Products Portal, if the mailer has not signed up before.
  2. Upload every sample of the mailpiece to the portal for pre-approval.
  3. Wait for USPS's pre-approval; for Catalog Insights, USPS promised an answer within four business days.
  4. Register for the promotion in Incentive Programs on the Business Customer Gateway.
  5. Claim the promotion's code in the eDoc's Component Characteristics Record.
  6. PostalOne! applies the discount to the postage statement at the time of mailing.

In Mail.dat, each claim is a code in the Component Characteristics Record, the eDoc record for a mailpiece's content and incentives. Mail.XML carries the same codes as MailCharacteristic values, and Marriage Mail in its Content block.

ClaimCode in the eDoc
A promotion, such as Integrated Technology in 2026IT, Type I
An add-on, such as Informed Delivery in 2026PI, Type A
Mail Growth Incentives postage creditMG for USPS Marketing Mail, FG for First-Class Mail
Marriage Mail IncentiveMM, Type C for content

Business Customer Gateway

Also called BCG, BCG (Business Customer Gateway)

“where shippers can manage their mailing activity”

Electronic Documentation

Also called eDoc, Electronic Documentation of Mailing Information, electronic document, electronic mailing documentation

“an electronic postage statement that may also contain specific information about a mailing such as barcode information and qualification reports”

postage statement

Also called mailing statement

“Documentation provided by a mailer to USPS that reports the type and volume of mail being presented, type of postage method used, processing category of the mail, total weight of the mailing, and other required information and certifies that the mail meets the applicable eligibility standards for the prices and fees claimed. Postage statement data can be submitted electronically or on hardcopy using official USPS forms or approved mailer facsimiles of those forms.”

eDoc submitter

“the mailer who submitted the electronic documentation for the mailing”

Mail Growth Incentives

The Mail Growth Incentives are two separate offers, the First-Class Mail Growth Incentive and the Marketing Mail Growth Incentive. They run at the same time and cannot be combined. Only Mail Owners earn postage credit: the businesses that decide what a mailpiece says, benefit from it and pay its postage.

Once registered, a Mail Owner keeps mailing as usual, and USPS tracks its volume in PostalOne! by its Mail Owner CRID. Postage credit is 30% of the added pieces times the final average price paid per piece. The Mail Owner claims it in the portal and spends it only on qualifying mail of the class that earned it.

For 2026, growth is measured over January through December 2026, against January through December 2025. A fiscal year in the incentives, as in a fiscal year baseline volume, is USPS's, October 1 to September 30, not the Mail Owner's. Registration for 2026 ran from March through May 2026.

Mail Owner

Also called MO

“the business entity, organization, or individual who makes business decisions regarding the mailpiece content, directly benefits from the mailing, and ultimately pays for the postage on the mailpiece directly or by way of a Mail Service Provider”

MGI registration

Also called Mail Growth Incentive registration

“the process by which a Mail Owner reaches agreement with the USPS to participate in either of the Mail Growth Incentives – to include agreement with the Terms and Conditions of participation and agreement on the baseline volume.”

Agreed Upon Baseline

Also called baseline volume

“the confirmed total mail volume of all qualified previous calendar year First Class or Marketing Mail the customer has agreed to.”

Customer Registration ID

Also called CRID, Customer Registration Identification Number, Customer Registration Identifier, Customer Identifier, Customer Reference ID, Customer Registration Identifications

“a USPS-generated numeric code of up to 15 digits that uniquely identifies a business at a specific location”

The Marriage Mail Incentive and negotiated agreements

The Marriage Mail Incentive lowers the price of mail that combines several companies' advertisements into one mailpiece. USPS introduced it with the July 9, 2023 price change. The Mail Owner claims it by checking the Marriage Mail Incentive box in the eDoc, which certifies that the mailing meets every requirement. USPS checks compliance afterward, by frequency in the month after each 12-month cycle and by random audits.

A negotiated service agreement is a contract between USPS and one mailer. It can set customized prices and classifications and change mailing standards for that mailer. Terms that affect prices or classifications need a recommended decision from the Postal Regulatory Commission, which USPS requests. A commercial contract price is an incentive available through such a contract, generally with a large-volume mailer. A USPS Ship shipper should work with USPS sales to be approved for pricing under a negotiated service agreement.

Marriage Mail Incentive

Also called Marriage Mail Price Incentive

“The Marriage Mail Incentive is a discounted (incentive) price offered on Saturation (including EDDM-Commercial) and High Density Plus Marketing Mail letters and flats which meet certain requirements including weight and advertiser content.”

Negotiated Service Agreement

Also called NSA, Negotiation Service Agreements

“A customized and mutually beneficial contractual agreement between USPS and a specific mailer (customer or organization).”

Marriage Mail

Also called MM

“Marriage Mail is a form of marketing mail in which marketing service companies combine advertisements from multiple businesses into a single mailpiece to reduce the cost of the mailing for individual customers.”

commercial contract price

“An incentive available through a negotiated contract generally with a large-volume mailer.”

Stacking discounts and credits

A mailpiece or mailing gets one promotion discount at most, and using several qualifying treatments does not raise it. Up to two add-ons can be claimed on top of the promotion.

Must
In general, only one promotion can be availed at a time (with the exception of the Earned Value promotion), however Full-Service and Seamless incentives are not promotions and can be claimed on eligible pieces in a promotion.

A mailpiece can get only one promotion at a time. The exception, the Earned Value Promotion, was last held in 2022. Full-Service and Seamless incentives are not promotions, so a mailer can claim them on eligible pieces in a promotion.

As of July 12, 2026, the Seamless Acceptance incentive takes $0.002 off each eligible Full-Service piece of First-Class Mail or USPS Marketing Mail. Mail Growth Incentives postage credit comes off the final amount due, after every other discount, incentive and promotion. The Marriage Mail Incentive combines with other incentives and discounts too, when the mailing meets each one's requirements.

What goes wrong

In the 2025-2026 Catalog Insights Promotion, a discount had to be claimed at the time of mailing and could not be rebated later. A mailing whose prototype had no written approval before its entry date did not qualify. A final mailpiece that differed from its approved sample could lose the discount. A mail diversion message, one that steers recipients away from USPS products, services or features, such as a "pay online" call to action, made the mailing ineligible.

For Catalog Insights, USPS's promotion office said it would audit mailings at random. A mailer that could not furnish its sample and approved Service Request within 15 business days of notice could lose its discounts.

USPS charges a Mail Owner the entire Marriage Mail Incentive claimed in a 12-month cycle when it sends fewer than 10 qualifying mailings in that cycle. A Mail Owner that does not send requested samples within 30 business days pays the full non-incentive price.

USPS may withhold Mail Growth Incentives credit when mail is not entered under a registered CRID in the Mail Owner CRID field. A Mail Owner with no agreed baseline by the last day of registration is not registered. One that does not name a permit in time forfeits its remaining postage credit.

Index: 38 entries

Programs (22)

System (1)

Documents (9)

Terms (6)

Sources