postalref

Periodicals

Periodicals is the USPS class of mail for newspapers, magazines and other publications sent to an established list of subscribers or requesters. A publisher with Periodicals mailing privileges pays for each mailing at prices set partly by how much of the issue is advertising.

Updated October 29, 202624 sources

What it is

Periodicals is a class of mail made of magazines, newspapers or other publications formed of printed sheets. Each publication is issued at least four times a year, at regular intervals, from a known office of publication. It usually must have a legitimate list of subscribers and requesters.

USPS opens a publication's permit at the Post Office serving the ZIP Code of its known office of publication. The publisher usually brings its mail there. That Post Office is the Original Entry Post Office.

A publication qualifies under one of six categories:

  • General
  • Requester
  • State Departments of Agriculture
  • News Agent Registry
  • Foreign Publications
  • Publications of Institutions & Societies

Some publications may also qualify for Special Periodicals Rates. USPS sets standards for a publication's circulation, record keeping and advertising.

The Pricing and Classification Service Center is the USPS office that reviews each application for eligibility. It also makes the changes to the national Periodicals database when a publication changes.

How it works

Applying takes one to three months, depending on document quality and speed of submission.

  1. The publisher completes PS Form 3500, Application for Periodicals Mailing Privileges.
  2. The publisher files it at the Post Office serving the publication's address.
  3. The publisher pays the application fee of $1040, which can change with future prices.
  4. USPS issues a Pending Periodicals permit so the publisher can mail while awaiting a decision.
  5. The application goes by email to the Pricing and Classification Service Center.
  6. The center reviews whether the publication meets the requirements for Periodicals mailing privileges.
  7. The center emails the publisher the result of the review.
  8. On authorization, the Pending Periodicals permits become Periodicals permits.

While the permit is pending, the publisher pays Pending Periodicals postage, usually at USPS Marketing Mail prices.

The application comes with these documents:

  • PS Form 3500, Application for Periodicals Mailing Privileges
  • a marked copy that includes the identification statement and shows the issue's advertising percentage
  • evidence that the application fee is paid
  • PS Form 3510-M, Application for Additional Mailing Office for Periodicals Publication, only if it applies

Once authorized, the publisher mails each issue with a Periodicals postage statement, PS Form 3541, that gives its advertising percentages. Periodicals mailers file mailing forms electronically, with their own software or USPS Postal Wizard.

The identification statement

Every copy of a Periodicals publication carries an identification statement in easily read type. The statement holds seven items:

  1. The publication title and number.
  2. The issue date.
  3. A statement of frequency.
  4. The issue number.
  5. The name and address of the known office of publication.
  6. The postage imprint, such as Periodicals Postage Paid at....
  7. The mailing address for change-of-address orders.

The publication number has a prefix, ISSN or USPS, and sits in parentheses right after or below the title. A publication with an International Standard Serial Number shows it, as in “THE WEEKLY JOURNAL” (ISSN 9876-543X). Without one, it shows the USPS number the Pricing and Classification Service Center assigns, as in “THE CIVIC BULLETIN” (USPS 876-690). The Library of Congress assigns an ISSN to a publication whose title qualifies.

A copy mailed while the application is pending shows a pending notice in place of the postage imprint: Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at....

An unbound publication shows the statement in one of four places:

  • one of the first five pages
  • the table of contents page
  • the masthead on the editorial page, when the table of contents on the front page gives its location
  • the cover

A bound publication can also show it on one of the last three nonadvertising pages inside the back cover. A bound publication is one secured with staples, spiral binding, glue, stitching or another permanent fastening.

Advertising and the marked copy

USPS uses each issue's advertising and nonadvertising percentages to set the mailing's pound price charge. The publisher gives the percentages on PS Form 3541 and supports them with one of four methods:

  • a marked copy of each issue, with the advertising marked so USPS can verify it
  • Periodicals Accuracy, Grading, and Evaluation, a USPS certification under which a mailer submits no marked copies
  • paying advertising prices on the whole issue, so no copy needs marking
  • the Alternate Marked Copy Program, which moves the marked copies to the Statement of Ownership review

A requester publication can't use the third method. The first page of a marked copy shows the total units and the percentage of space that is advertising and nonadvertising. The advertising percentage is rounded off to two decimal places.

Publications of Institutions and Societies usually carry only their own advertising. Publications of State Departments of Agriculture carry no advertising.

The Alternate Marked Copy Program removes the need to file a marked copy with each mailing. Instead, the publisher keeps a file of each edition of every mailing. At the annual Statement of Ownership review, USPS asks for randomly selected marked copies to verify the advertising percentages. The publisher still gives the correct advertising percentage for each mailing.

A publisher in the program files its postage statements through electronic documentation and links its Periodicals permit to an Enterprise Payment System account.

A publisher enrolls by email.

  1. The publisher emails HQMailEntry@usps.gov with the subject Request: Alternate Marked Copy Review.
  2. It attaches the completed request form from https://postalpro.usps.com/PublishersAlternateMarkedCopyRequest.
  3. It sends a separate form for each publisher.
  4. USPS headquarters emails an acknowledgement to the publisher's contact.
  5. Headquarters notifies the district, which tells the entry office to stop requesting marked copies.
  6. The district contacts the publisher to confirm the enrollment and its effective date.

A publisher leaves the program by the same email process, with the subject Request: Discontinue Alternate Marked Copy Program.

The Statement of Ownership

The Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation records the extent and nature of a publication's circulation. The publisher files it each year by October 1, at the Original Entry Post Office. Requester publications file PS Form 3526-R. All other publications file PS Form 3526.

Publishers can file the statement electronically with the Postal Wizard application in the Business Customer Gateway. Otherwise, an acceptance employee enters it into PostalOne! by hand.

A general or requester publication also prints the complete statement in one of its issues. Which issue depends on how often the publication comes out:

  • more often than weekly: an issue whose primary mailed distribution is produced by October 10
  • weekly or less often, but more often than monthly: an issue produced by October 31
  • every other publication: the first issue produced after October 1

Changes and additional offices

A change to a publication needs a reentry application, PS Form 3510, filed with the reentry fee at the Original Entry Post Office. When the known office of publication moves, the publisher files at the Post Office that will be the new Original Entry Post Office. One PS Form 3510 can ask for several changes for one fee when all take effect within 30 days.

The local Business Mail Entry Unit is the USPS office that receives, verifies and accepts business mail. It sends the changes to the Pricing and Classification Service Center with the new identification statement. A publisher whose Enterprise Payment System account is linked to the Periodicals account can file PS Form 3510 in the Business Customer Gateway.

An authorized publication can mail at any additional office linked to PostalOne! without filing PS Form 3510-M. A publication still pending needs PS Form 3510-M for each additional office. So does an authorized publication mailing at an office without PostalOne!. The additional office opens an entry account unless the publisher uses Mail Anywhere.

Entering the mail

A publisher usually brings the mail to the Original Entry Post Office. It may also mail at additional offices, and USPS sets up additional entry permits there.

Exceptional Dispatch is an arrangement in which a publisher delivers copies to other Post Offices at its own expense and risk. The postmaster of the entry Post Office authorizes it. The publisher carries time-sensitive Periodicals itself to destination Post Offices when the Business Mail Entry Unit is closed, to improve their delivery time. An agreement is not guaranteed and depends most on whether the local office has the staff for it.

Exceptional Dispatch is meant for local distribution in Zones 1 and 2 of publications with a total circulation of no more than 25,000. USPS may consider a larger publication case by case. A publication mailed under the Centralized Postage Payment System or the plant-verified drop shipment system can't use it. Its copies may qualify for destination sectional center facility or destination delivery unit prices.

The publisher asks for Exceptional Dispatch by letter, filed at the original or additional entry office where it pays postage. The letter describes the dispatch: its transportation, its arrival time and the number of pieces at each presort price. USPS provides no form. The postmaster can approve a dispatch that improves service and adds no USPS cost. When the qualifying pieces change by more than 2%, the publisher files an amended letter.

An approved publisher funds its Periodicals account before acceptance. It submits postage statements to PostalOne! by 11:00 A.M. after the drop. It drops the mail at an agreed secure location and keeps a Critical Entry Time. USPS reviews the arrangement twice a year.

The Overnight Periodicals Program lets mailers enter time-sensitive Periodicals at a Destination Post Office when the Business Mail Entry Unit is closed. The mailer carries these mailings for short-haul local delivery in Zones 1 and 2. Requests go to the Mailing and Shipping Solutions Center. A publication must meet every one of these criteria:

  1. Funds for the mailing are in the account before the mail is deposited.
  2. It mails 500,000 or fewer copies per fiscal year.
  3. It mails 10,000 or fewer copies per postage statement.
  4. At least 50% of mailed copies are at In-County prices.
  5. It mails weekly or more often.
  6. It is enrolled in the Alternate Marked Copy Program.
  7. It submits postage statements and electronic documentation to a PostalOne! office.

The electronic postage statement and documentation are due by 11:00 A.M. after the overnight drop.

For a drop shipment, the entry office verifies the mail and takes payment, and the mailer then carries it under PS Form 8125 or eInduction. Sacks are allowed only for Periodicals entered at a Destination Delivery Unit.

Rules

Periodicals authorized as General publications must not contain more than 75% advertising in more than half of the issues published during any 12-month period (DMM 207.6.1.3a).

A general publication must not be more than 75% advertising in more than half of its issues in any 12 months.

Periodicals authorized as Requester publications must not contain more than 75% advertising in more than 25% of the issues published during any 12-month period (DMM 207.6.4.1b)

A requester publication must not be more than 75% advertising in more than a quarter of its issues in any 12 months.

An identification statement, in an easily read type, must be included in all copies of publications authorized for Periodicals mailing privileges and in all copies mailed pending approval of Periodicals mailing privileges.

Every copy must carry an identification statement, both after authorization and while the application is pending.

The publisher of each Periodicals publication, including foreign publications accepted at Periodicals prices, must file PS Form 3526 Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation by October 1 each year at the Original Entry (OE) Post Office that serves the publisher’s Known Office of Publication (KOP).

Every publisher must file the Statement of Ownership by October 1 each year, at the Original Entry Post Office.

The publisher of each publication authorized Periodicals mailing privileges as a general or requester publication must publish a complete statement of ownership, containing all information required by PS Form 3526, in an issue of the publication to which that statement relates.

A general or requester publication must print its complete Statement of Ownership in one of its own issues.

Periodicals mailers are required to file mailing forms electronically using proprietary software or USPS Postal Wizard.

A Periodicals mailer must file mailing forms electronically, with its own software or USPS Postal Wizard.

An PS 8125 is required for drop shipments entered at a plant or delivery unit if you are not using eInduction.

A drop shipment entered at a plant or delivery unit must have a PS Form 8125, unless it uses eInduction.

Every issue of each publication must be numbered consecutively in a series that may not be broken by assigning numbers to issues unavoidably omitted.

Issues must be numbered in an unbroken series, and an issue that is skipped gets no number.

What goes wrong

Failure to file PS Form 3526 may result in the Pricing and Classification Service Center revoking Periodicals mailing privileges.

The Pricing and Classification Service Center notifies the publisher when it denies an application, and the denial has three results:

  • The Pending Periodicals account is canceled, and reserve funds are not refunded.
  • A publisher who paid through an Enterprise Payment System account gets an invoice for the reserve funds due on mailings no longer entitled to Periodicals prices.
  • The application fee is not refunded.

Material is ineligible for Periodicals prices when it carries any of these printed items:

  • a separate price or subscription instructions that differ from the host publication's
  • the word catalog
  • a First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail, Parcel Select or Package Services permit imprint
  • an International Standard Book Number
  • an ISSN or USPS number different from the host publication's

A publisher whose Exceptional Dispatch request is denied may appeal to the Director, Pricing and Classification Service Center. The appeal should be in writing, given to the person who denied the request. The center then issues a final agency decision.

Mail under Exceptional Dispatch doesn't need a PS Form 8125. A dispute over one goes to the local Business Mail Entry Unit, then to the Pricing and Classification Service Center.

An Alternate Marked Copy verification fails when the sampled copy's advertising percentage is off by more than 5%. USPS then asks for four more marked copies and applies their average error to every unsampled issue of the fiscal year. Any added postage comes out of the publication's PostalOne! account as one amount. The publisher may appeal the results to the Pricing and Classification Service Center. A publisher that didn't keep the marked copies goes back to filing one with each mailing.

When the Intelligent Mail barcode on a piece is incomplete or damaged, the publisher gets a paper address-correction notice for a fee.

USPS recommends keeping enough money in the postage trust account at the entry Post Office to cover one mailing. That keeps mail from being held for insufficient funds.

When a subscriber's newspaper doesn't arrive.

  1. The publisher contacts the postmaster at the Post Office serving that subscriber.
  2. Without satisfaction, the publisher contacts its Business Service Network representative or USPS Customer Service.
  3. Without a resolution, the publisher contacts the Area Customer Relations Coordinator.

Terms

marked copy
Publishers supply a copy of the issue to be reviewed, with all advertising marked so the advertising content can be verified by the USPS.
Alternate Marked Copy ProgramUSPS Alternate Marked-Copy program
Publishers have the option to submit marked copies for Periodicals mailings at the time of the Statement of Ownership review; eliminating the requirement to provide marked copies with every mailing.
Exceptional Dispatch Program
allows authorized mailers to deposit mailings of time-sensitive Periodicals publications at a Destination Post Office(s) at times when the BMEU is closed.
Overnight Periodicals Program
allows mailers to enter mailings of time-sensitive Periodicals publications to a Destination Post Office at times when the BMEU is closed.
Bound Publications
secured with two or more staples, spiral binding, glue, stitching, or other permanent fastening
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)
Postal WizardPW, PSW, Postage Statement Wizard
a tool that provides a secure way to submit postage statements online
PostalOne!PostalOne! system
the information management system that provides an electronic linkage between a customer’s mailing information and the Postal Service’s business mail acceptance and induction processes. It produces postage statements and supporting documentation.
Business Service NetworkBSN
Business Service Network locations offer business mailers personalized service and help with unique mailing needs.
Mailpiece Design AnalystMDA
Postal employees specially trained to answer your questions regarding mail piece design.

Documents

User Guides

FAQs

Fact Sheets

Applications/Forms

Contacts

OfficeForContact
Mailing and Shipping Solutions CenterHelp with the application, and Overnight Periodicals requests1-877-672-0007, MSSC@usps.gov
Pricing and Classification Service CenterEligibility questions before applyingPCSC@usps.gov
Mailpiece Design Analyst Customer Service Help DeskPhysical mailpiece eligibilitymda@usps.gov, 1-877-672-0007
Local Business Mail Entry UnitStatement of Ownership questionsLocal office
HQ Mail EntryAlternate Marked Copy enrollment and disenrollmentHQMailEntry@usps.gov
District Manager, Business Mail EntryExceptional Dispatch questionshttps://postalpro.usps.com/ppro-tools/business-mail-entry
USPS Customer ServiceDelivery problems(800) 275-8777
Area Customer RelationsDelivery problems with no resolutionAtlantic 202-768-2940, Central 414-287-2538, Southern 972-665-4415, WestPac 415-819-6972

Sources