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Ancillary Service Endorsements

An ancillary service endorsement is a printed instruction on a mailpiece that tells USPS how to handle it when it is undeliverable as addressed. Mailers use one to learn an addressee's new address or why a piece was not delivered, and to have it forwarded, returned or disposed of.

Updated October 29, 202625 sources

What it is

An endorsement is a few printed words: one keyword, such as Return, followed by Service Requested. USPS reads it when it processes mail it cannot deliver as addressed. The endorsements are the same for every mail class, but the handling and the cost differ by class.

Each mail class has its own default treatment for undeliverable mail that carries no endorsement. USPS forwards or returns First-Class Mail, and disposes of USPS Marketing Mail and Bound Printed Matter. An endorsement asks for something else, such as disposal of First-Class Mail or forwarding of USPS Marketing Mail.

Mailers use endorsements to get updated addressee information. An endorsement alone can meet the Move Update standard, USPS's rule that mailers match their address lists against change-of-address orders.

Address Change Service, or ACS, is a USPS service that gives mailers the same change-of-address information electronically. Without it, endorsements bring paper notices that need manual work, so they are often the most costly and least effective way to keep a list current.

How it works

  1. The mailer prints an endorsement in one of four authorized places on the mailpiece.
  2. USPS finds the piece undeliverable as addressed and reads its endorsement.
  3. USPS forwards, returns or disposes of the piece as the endorsement instructs.
  4. USPS sends the mailer a PS Form 3547 notice, or returns the piece with the notice on it.
  5. The mailer makes the address changes the notices report.

The paper notice is a photocopy of the mailpiece with the addressee's new address or the reason USPS could not deliver it. The mailer should keep its address correction records for at least one year, as proof it met Move Update.

The endorsements

Each endorsement asks for a different handling:

  • Address Service Requested: USPS forwards the piece when it can, sends a separate notice of the new address and charges the address correction fee. A piece USPS cannot forward comes back with the reason.
  • Change Service Requested: USPS sends a separate notice of the new address or the reason for non-delivery and charges the fee. USPS then disposes of the piece.
  • Return Service Requested: USPS returns the piece with the new address or the reason for non-delivery attached. USPS does not forward it.
  • Temp-Return Service Requested: USPS handles the piece as under Return Service Requested, but forwards it to a temporary address. The mailer never gets the temporary address.
  • Forwarding Service Requested: asks only for forwarding where a mail class does not normally get it. It asks for no address corrections.
  • Electronic Service Requested: a stand-in that tells USPS to follow the Service Type ID in the Intelligent Mail barcode. The mailer prints it only when it requests ACS.

Change Service Requested is not available for First-Class Mail unless the mailer uses electronic ACS. Temp-Return Service Requested is available for First-Class Mail only.

Only some endorsements meet Move Update on their own. For First-Class Mail, they are Address Service Requested, Return Service Requested and Temp-Return Service Requested. For USPS Marketing Mail, they are Change Service Requested, Return Service Requested and Address Service Requested.

Under Address Service Requested, the handling changes with time:

  • Months 1 to 12: USPS forwards the piece at no charge and sends a separate notice of the new address.
  • Months 13 to 18: USPS returns the piece with the new address attached.
  • After month 18, or when the piece is undeliverable for another reason: USPS returns it with the reason attached.

Where it goes

The endorsement must go in one of four places on the mailpiece:

  • Directly below the return address, with at least a quarter inch of clearance.
  • Directly above the delivery address area.
  • Directly to the left of the postage area, below or to the left of any price marking.
  • Directly below the postage area and any price marking.

The mailpiece also needs a return address on its face.

What it costs

Printing an endorsement is the mailer's agreement to pay the fees for the services it asks for. First-Class Mail postage covers basic forwarding and return, but not address correction fees. USPS Marketing Mail postage does not cover forwarding and return, so the mailer pays more postage for them.

USPS charges an address correction fee for each kind of notice:

  • A manual fee for each PS Form 3547.
  • An electronic ACS fee for flats and Traditional ACS notices.
  • An automated ACS fee for letters, priced by the number of notices sent.
  • No fee for Full-Service ACS notices.

Electronic and automated fees are much lower than manual fees. The fees are in Notice 123, the Postal Explorer price list for other services and fees.

USPS Marketing Mail returned under Address Service Requested pays the weighted fee, so the endorsement is not recommended for that class. The weighted fee is the single-piece First-Class Mail or Priority Mail price, plus any non-machinable surcharge, times 2.472, rounded up to the next cent. It covers more than the return because it also pays for the USPS Marketing Mail that is forwarded.

Under Return Service Requested, USPS Marketing Mail and Parcel Select come back at the single-piece First-Class Mail or Priority Mail price, by weight.

Endorsements and the barcode

In a Basic or Full-Service barcoded mailing of First-Class Mail or USPS Marketing Mail, a mailer who wants paper notices must print an endorsement. The Service Type ID in the barcode must then request manual corrections.

Full-Service mailers that print Address Service Requested or Change Service Requested get ACS notices instead. PS Form 3547 is not available for Full-Service mail.

With ACS, the endorsements are Address Service Requested, Change Service Requested and Return Service Requested. They have more disposition options than paper notices offer. Each endorsement and option has its own Service Type ID, which the barcode must carry to request it.

First-Class Mail letters that request OneCode ACS in the barcode need no printed endorsement. First-Class Mail flats, all USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats, and Bound Printed Matter flats do need one. Traditional ACS always needs a printed endorsement.

A mailer that enrolls in Traditional ACS or IMpb ACS names its endorsements on the ACS Enrollment Form, for every mail class but Periodicals. The mailer signs that an unreadable or incorrect printed endorsement may produce unintended results and extra postage or fees.

Rules

Mailers wishing to meet the Move Update standard while using an Ancillary Service Endorsement must first send at least one mailpiece to the address with an approved Ancillary Service Endorsement at either a single-piece First-Class Mail® price or via any other class of mail within 95 days prior to the use of the address in a commercial First-Class Mail or USPS Marketing Mail mailing.

To meet Move Update this way, the mailer must send at least one endorsed piece to the address within 95 days before using it in a commercial mailing.

To complete the Move Update process, mailers who used the Ancillary Service Endorsement must make any returned address changes before mailing to the address again when the Move Effective Date (an addressee’s move date) of that COA will be older than 95 days at the time of the next mailing.

The mailer must apply each returned address change before mailing again, when the move date will be more than 95 days old at the next mailing.

When a printed ancillary service is required to receive ACS, the printed endorsement must match the ancillary service requested in the Service Type ID in the IMb (except for Electronic Service Requested).

When ACS needs a printed endorsement, the printed words must name the same service as the barcode's Service Type ID. Electronic Service Requested is the exception.

If a conflict exists between the request represented by the Service Type ID in the IMb and the printed ancillary service endorsement, the printed endorsement will take precedence.

When the barcode's Service Type ID and the printed endorsement disagree, USPS follows the printed endorsement.

On Basic or Full-Service mailings for which address correction is not desired, mailers must not include a printed Ancillary Service Endorsement and the Service Type ID used in the IMb must request no corrections.

A mailer who wants no address corrections must not print an endorsement, and the Service Type ID must request none.

When printing the endorsement, the “Option” desired must not be printed.

The mailer must not print the option it wants; only the barcode's Service Type ID carries it.

Pieces with an alternative addressing format (such as the addressee’s name and “Or Current Resident” and the delivery address) must not use an Ancillary Service Endorsement.

A piece addressed to a name and Or Current Resident must not carry an endorsement.

USPS Marketing Mail pieces containing hazardous materials must bear a permissible endorsement.

A USPS Marketing Mail piece that holds hazardous materials must carry a permissible endorsement, and Change Service Requested is not one.

What goes wrong

A first mailing with endorsements does not meet Move Update, because endorsements correct addresses only after a mailing. It meets the standard only when one of these is true:

  • Each address came directly from the addressee within 95 days before the first endorsed mailing.
  • Each address went through NCOALink and was updated within 95 days before the first endorsed mailing.
  • The first endorsed mailing paid single-piece First-Class Mail prices, and the addresses were updated within 95 days before the discounted mailing.

Forwarding Service Requested does not meet Move Update, because it requests no address corrections.

Address corrections from a printed endorsement need a domestic return address on the address side of the piece. A mailer based outside the United States can still use one, if its return address is a legitimate domestic address. A piece with a foreign return address cannot use a printed endorsement, because USPS cannot collect address correction fees from abroad.

A package does not need an endorsement, but one returned without the correct endorsement may be returned to the sender or destroyed. A returned Parcel Select package without the proper endorsement pays the weighted fee.

Parcel Select pieces that contain hazardous materials cannot use Change Service Requested. Parcel Select Lightweight pieces that contain hazardous materials must carry Address Service Requested, Forwarding Service Requested or Return Service Requested.

Terms

Ancillary Service EndorsementASE
a post-mailing, on-piece printed endorsement used to instruct the Postal Service regarding the appropriate disposition, upon determining that it is Undeliverable-asAddressed (UAA): Address Service Requested, Change Service Requested, Return Service Requested.
Undeliverable as AddressedUAA, UAA mail
mail that the USPS cannot deliver as addressed and must be forwarded to the addressee, returned to the sender, or discarded depending on the authorized treatment for that mail class and/or specific instructions provided by the mailer through ancillary service requests
Address Service RequestedASR, AS
An Ancillary Service endorsement printed on mail by the sender that directs USPS to forward undeliverable-as-addressed mail and provide the sender notice of the new address. If no change-of-address order is on file or the time period for forwarding has expired, the piece is returned to the sender with the reason for nondelivery attached. Fees charged can vary by mail class and product.
Change Service RequestedCSR, CS
Allows the USPS to recycle or securely dispose of mail that is UAA, unless forwarding is requested
Return Service RequestedRSR, Return Service Request
An Ancillary Service endorsement printed on mail by the sender that directs USPS to return undeliverable-as-addressed mail with the new address or the reason for nondelivery attached. Fees charged can vary by mail class and product.
Electronic Service RequestedESR
a generic endorsement that instructs Post Offices to send UAA mail to a CFS or PARS operation so an electronic ACS notice can be generated
Weighted Fee
the appropriate single-piece First-Class Mail or Priority Mail price, plus the non-machinable surcharge when applicable, multiplied by 2.472 and rounded to the next whole cent
PS Form 3547
provides an image of the First-Class, Standard, or package services mailpiece with either the recipient's new address or the reason the piece couldn’t be delivered
Move UpdateMove Update standard, Move Update address quality standard
a means of reducing the number of mailpieces in a mailing that require forwarding or return by the periodic matching of a mailer’s address records with change-of-address orders received and maintained by the Postal Service

Documents

User Guides

Publications

Quick Service Guides

Fact Sheets

FAQs

Applications/Forms

Contacts

Address Improvement and Administrative Support answers questions about ancillary service endorsements at 800-238-3150 or MoveUpdate.ncsc@usps.gov.

Sources