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Mail Anywhere

Mail Anywhere is a USPS program that lets a mailer use a single permit at any location. The permit that pays the postage is not local to the facility that verifies the mail. Taking part requires submitting mailings electronically.

Updated October 31, 202625 sources

What it is

Mail Anywhere is a way to pay for business mailings with one permit wherever they are entered. A mailer in the program can move mail from one site to another without opening a permit at the new site or changing the imprint on the mail. The mailer manages one permit in place of several. It pays for mailings nationwide from one locally held trust account or one Enterprise Payment System account.

The issuing office's permit number and city and state, or a company permit imprint, may be printed on the piece and entered at any location. Additional mailing locations need no permit application fee.

Because the mailings go in electronically, they carry the mail owner's Customer Registration ID, which identifies the volume that earns Mail Growth Incentives postage credit.

Who can take part

Taking part needs only the ability to submit mailings by one of the eligible submission methods. Preapproval is not required, and Full-Service is not a requirement.

The Mail.dat specification is stricter: it limits entry to mailers who meet the quality thresholds for Full-Service electronic verification. The Intelligent Mail for Small Business fact sheet says using the same permit at any Business Mail Entry Unit, or BMEU, needs approval. A BMEU is the USPS office that receives, verifies and accepts bulk mail.

Four mail classes are eligible:

  • First-Class Mail cards, letters, flats and parcels
  • USPS Marketing Mail letters, flats and parcels
  • Bound Printed Matter flats and parcels
  • Periodicals letters and flats

The Mail.dat specification's list has no parcels, and it names Standard Mail letters and flats, Nonprofit included.

Five permit types are eligible:

  • Permit Imprint
  • Precanceled Stamps
  • Metered Mail
  • OMAS, the Official Mail Accounting System for federal agencies' official mail
  • Periodicals, pending Periodicals included

Permit types are not interchangeable: a precanceled stamp permit can't be used to mail by permit imprint. Under Mail Anywhere, pending and authorized Periodicals mailers need no PS Form 3510-M for multiple entry locations, as long as the eDoc includes the Publication ID.

How it works

A Mail Anywhere mailing reaches USPS as electronic documentation, an electronic postage statement that can also hold barcode information and qualification reports. Mail Anywhere requires an eDoc submitted by one of four methods:

  • Mail.dat
  • Postal Wizard
  • Mail.XML
  • Intelligent Mail for Small Business, or IMsb

Mail.dat, a format for that documentation, is an industry-defined database structure of files linked by key fields.

A Mail Anywhere job differs from an ordinary job in two ways. The eDoc names the account number of the paying permit, and the ZIP Code where the mail will be inducted.

In a Mail.dat file, a mailing is a Mail Anywhere mailing when two fields hold values: the .mpa Payment Account Number and the .seg Verification ZIP+4. The Payment Account Number is linked to the permit or publication number that pays.

A filled Account Number field tells USPS the customer wants Mail Anywhere processing and validations. USPS finalizes the postage statements at the mailing facility tied to the Verification ZIP+4.

The Verification ZIP+4 holds the ZIP of the Post Office of Mailing, the BMEU where the mail will be accepted. That field decides which BMEU's Dashboard shows the job. The system needs only a 5-digit ZIP to identify the Post Office, so the +4 is optional.

In Mail.XML, both values go in the Open Mailing Group Request message. Its Payment Account Number must match the paying permit's Account Number. Its Post Office of Mailing ZIP field holds the ZIP Code of the BMEU taking the mail.

The payment account number

The .mpa Payment Account Number is the account number Balance and Fees shows once a permit is set up and its fees are paid. It is also called the national Account Number, a unique 6-7 digit number for each permit number, permit type and finance number combination. The field is mandatory for Mail Anywhere. Its value is left justified, with no leading zeroes and no leading spaces.

For a permit linked to an Enterprise Payment System account, or EPS account, the EPS account number takes the national Account Number's place in the field. The EPS account number has 10 digits. USPS takes payment from the EPS account first and the national Account Number second. The system uses the linked EPS account number even when the field is blank. Every permit linked to one EPS account shares that EPS account number.

To name a mail owner by permit, the mailer puts the owner's permit number in the .mpa mail owner reference field. That permit is held at the same office as the paying permit. A mail service provider can find a customer's account number by searching by permit in the Customer Validation Tool.

Postal Wizard and IMsb

In Postal Wizard and IMsb, the mailer searches for the BMEU that will accept the mail while entering the postage statement.

In Postal Wizard:

  1. Enter the Postal Wizard module.
  2. Select the postage statement type, such as First-Class Mail or USPS Marketing Mail.
  3. Select the permit.
  4. To change the Post Office of Mailing, choose Search next to PO of Mailing on the Permit Entry screen.
  5. Search for the entry unit by BMEU city, and select the BMEU state.
  6. Complete the postage statement entry.

In IMsb, a tool in the Business Customer Gateway:

  1. Select IMsb from the Mailing Services menu.
  2. Select BMEU on the Mailer Information page.
  3. On the Method of Entry page, search for the entry unit by BMEU city and state.
  4. Submit the postage statement electronically.

Rules

The Account Number field in the .mpa record must be populated for a Mail.dat submission.

A Mail.dat file for a Mail Anywhere job must fill the Account Number field in the .mpa record.

Deposits must continue to be made at the Post Office of permit unless payment is taken from an Enterprise Payment System (EPS) account.

A mailer must keep making deposits at the Post Office where the permit is held, unless payment comes from an EPS account.

The Payment Account Number must be linked to the Permit Number or Publication Number.

The account number in a Mail Anywhere file must belong to the permit or publication number that pays for the mailing.

A single eDoc may contain Mail Anywhere and non-Mail Anywhere records in a single submission but the .mpa Permit ZIP+4 of records without the Payment Account Number must match the .seg Verification ZIP+4.

One eDoc may mix Mail Anywhere records with other records. Each record without a Payment Account Number must have a Permit ZIP+4 that matches the Verification ZIP+4.

The .mpa account number field remains optional, however if populated it must match the Account Number linked to the permit number.

When a mailer paying through EPS fills the .mpa account number field, the number must match the account linked to the permit.

If the permit number has been linked to a EPS account, then the EPS account number replaces the display of the national Account number and should be used in the .mpa Payment Account Number instead.

A mailer whose permit is linked to an EPS account should put the EPS account number in the Payment Account Number field.

An additional entry account would need to be created at the additional mailing office unless Mail Anywhere privileges are being utilized.

A Periodicals publisher must create an additional entry account at each additional mailing office, unless it uses Mail Anywhere.

Earned credit may also be applied to future Mail Anywhere mailings through the permit to which the credit is assigned.

A mail owner may apply earned postage credit to later Mail Anywhere mailings, through the permit the credit is assigned to.

What goes wrong

Three mistakes in a Mail.dat eDoc keep a Mail Anywhere job from being processed correctly:

  • With no Account Number in the .mpa record, the job is processed as an ordinary job.
  • With an Account Number that doesn't match the paying permit, an error message is triggered and the job is not processed.
  • With the Post Office of Permit's ZIP Code in the Verification ZIP+4 field, the job goes to the Dashboard of the BMEU where the permit is held, and is in effect a normal job.

A Mail.XML job can go wrong the same three ways, in its Payment Account Number and Post Office of Mailing ZIP fields.

The Mail.dat client returns an error when no valid rate code is found for the .mpa Mail Owner’s Lcl Permit Ref Num field of a Mail Anywhere mailing. The fix is a value in that field associated with a valid rate code.

Other errors fire when that field holds permit information that doesn't map to the piece's rate type, such as C for Classroom. The fix is a value that maps to that rate type.

Terms

Mail Anywhere
Mailer can use a single permit at any location via the Mail Anywhere program.
permitmailing permit
Any authorization required for specific types of preparation or postage payment. Specifically, an authorization to mail by using indicia or an imprint in place of stamps or meter impressions. Payment is made against an advance deposit account that is established with USPS for postage and services. Other types of mail, such as Business Reply Mail, service require the use of imprints.
Enterprise Payment SystemEPS, Electronic Payment System, EPS system, Enterprise System
allows customers to pay for Postal products and services through a single account, called the Enterprise Payment Account (EPA).
Enterprise Payment AccountEPA, Electronic Payment Account, EPS Account Number
The Enterprise Payment System (EPS) allows customers to pay for Postal products and services through a single account, called the Enterprise Payment Account (EPA).
Trust AccountTrust
Funds are deposited with USPS and transactions are deducted from the available balance.
Electronic DocumentationeDoc, 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
Mail.dat
Mail.dat is an industry-defined database structure consisting of files linked by key fields.
Postal WizardPW, PSW, Postage Statement Wizard
a tool that provides a secure way to submit postage statements online
Full-Service Intelligent MailFS, Full-Service, Full-Service Intelligent Mail option
One of two Intelligent Mail offerings that requires a maximum 31-digit Intelligent Mail barcode comprising five fields: the Barcode ID, Service Type Identifier, Mailer ID, Serial Number, and Routing Code. The Full-Service Intelligent Mail option requires unique mailpiece barcodes, the use of Intelligent Mail barcodes on tray labels or container placards, electronic documentation, and the use of Facility Access and Shipment Tracking to schedule appointments for the entry of mailings.
Business Mail Entry UnitBMEU, BME, PAU, Business Mail Entry, platform acceptance unit
Business Mail Entry Unit (A specialized USPS organization responsible for receiving, verifying, and accepting business (bulk) mail)
Customer Registration IDCRID, 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
Mail OwnerMO
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

Documents

Publications

Fact Sheets

Contacts

The Mailing & Shipping Solutions Center help desk is at 1-877-672-0007 and MSSC@usps.gov.

Sources