USPS Rate Changes July 2026: What's New on July 12 and How to Prepare

USPS rate changes July 2026 take effect on July 12, when mailing services prices rise an average of 4.8% across First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail, Periodicals, Package Services, and selected Special Services. The Forever stamp goes from $0.78 to $0.82 -- a four-cent jump.

Marketing Mail commercial letters increase roughly 5-6%, and nonprofit rates tick up by smaller amounts that vary by presort level. EDDM postage edges up about 5%, but stays the cheapest per-piece postage USPS offers.

If your organization mails any volume of letters, postcards, or flats, this rate adjustment will hit your postage budget within 60 days. The good news: there is still time to mail high-priority pieces before the increase.

This guide on USPS rate changes July 2026 breaks down exactly what's changing, who's most affected, and what we'd recommend doing right now -- before July 12.

What's Changing on July 12, 2026

The USPS rate changes July 2026 introduces is a market-dominant adjustment, meaning it applies to mail products USPS has sole authority over -- letters, flats, postcards, periodicals, and bulk mail. The Postal Service's Board of Governors approved the changes on April 9, 2026, and filed them with the PRC the same day. Once the PRC completes its review, the rates take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, July 12, 2026.

Here's the headline summary:

• Average increase: 4.8% across mailing services
• Forever stamp: $0.78 to $0.82 (+5.1%)
• Postcard stamp: $0.61 to ~$0.64 (+4.9%, pending final tables)
• Additional-ounce price: Unchanged at $0.29
• Marketing Mail letters (commercial): ~5-6% increase, varies by presort
• Nonprofit Marketing Mail letters: Lower increases, varies by presort
• Periodicals: Increases averaging 5-7%
• Package Services and Special Services: Selected products only

The 4.8% average is one of the larger mailing-services increases of the past decade. For comparison, the July 2025 adjustment was 7.8%, the January 2024 increase averaged 2%, and the July 2023 increase was 5.4%. While 4.8% sits below 2025's spike, it still outpaces consumer price index growth -- which is why budgeting for ongoing postal increases needs to be a fixed line in any mail-driven marketing plan.

New First-Class Mail Rates

First-Class Mail is the workhorse of business correspondence -- invoices, statements, transactional mail, and personal letters. Among all USPS rate changes July 2026 brings, the First-Class adjustments are the ones that affect the most organizations. Here's what we know based on USPS's PRC filing.

Mail Piece	Current Rate (since 7/13/25)	New Rate (7/12/26)	Increase
1-ounce Letter (Forever stamp)	$0.78	$0.82	+$0.04
1-ounce Letter (metered)	$0.74	$0.78	+$0.04
Postcard	$0.61	$0.64	+$0.03
Additional ounce	$0.29	$0.29	$0.00
Flat / Large envelope (1-ounce)	$1.19	$1.25	+$0.06
Certified Mail base fee	$4.85	~$5.10	+$0.25

The additional-ounce price holding flat at $0.29 is unusual -- this rate has been frozen for several adjustment cycles. It's helpful for anyone mailing two-ounce letters (statements with multiple inserts, for example), since the full impact of the increase falls only on the first ounce.

For organizations mailing 10,000 First-Class letters per month, the new rate adds roughly $400/month to postage costs. For 100,000/month, that's $4,000/month -- $48,000 annualized. If you have any flexibility on mail volume timing, the math favors front-loading June and early-July mailings before the change kicks in.

New Marketing Mail Rates

USPS Marketing Mail (formerly called Standard Mail) is what most direct mail campaigns use -- bulk postcards, letters, and flats sent at presort discounts. The July 12, 2026 rate change increases commercial Marketing Mail letters by approximately 5-6%, depending on presort level.

Marketing Mail Letter (Commercial)	Current Rate	Estimated New Rate	Increase
5-Digit AADC	$0.372	~$0.391	~+5.1%
AADC	$0.404	~$0.425	~+5.2%
Mixed AADC	$0.433	~$0.456	~+5.3%
Marketing Mail Postcard (5-Digit)	$0.244	~$0.257	~+5.3%

Note: These Marketing Mail estimates reflect typical scaling from USPS's announced 4.8% average and the historical pattern of higher-than-average increases on commercial bulk rates. Final per-piece rates will publish on Postal Explorer once the PRC approves the docket.

For a typical 50,000-piece direct mail campaign at 5-Digit presort, the increase represents about $950 in additional postage versus mailing the same campaign in June 2026. That's enough to fund full-color upgrades on your next print run, NCOA processing on a list of 100,000 names, or a small EDDM test campaign.

This is also a good moment to revisit whether your mail is qualifying for the lowest possible presort tier. We see this routinely: businesses using AADC or Mixed AADC rates when their list could qualify for 5-Digit if processed correctly. Working with a professional mailing house that handles presorting in-house typically captures 8-15% in postage savings -- enough to absorb most of the July 2026 increase.

Nonprofit Marketing Mail Increases

Nonprofits get preferential bulk mail rates, and the USPS rate changes July 2026 introduces preserve that preferential structure -- but rates do go up. Nonprofit Marketing Mail letter rates currently range from $0.178 (5-Digit) to $0.239 (Mixed AADC). Expect those to increase 4-5%, putting nonprofit 5-Digit at approximately $0.186-$0.187 per piece after the change.

Nonprofit Marketing Mail Letter	Current Rate	Estimated New Rate
5-Digit AADC	$0.178	~$0.187
AADC	$0.205	~$0.215
Mixed AADC	$0.239	~$0.250

A nonprofit mailing 100,000 donor appeals at 5-Digit presort will see postage costs rise roughly $900 per mailing after July 12. For organizations running multi-touch year-end appeals -- say, three donor mailings between October and December -- the cumulative impact can exceed $2,500 on a single segment.

If your fiscal year aligns with a year-end giving push, our recommendation is straightforward: time your acquisition mailings to drop in June 2026 when possible. Acquisition mailings have lower response rates than house-file mailings, so the per-postage cost matters more on prospect lists. Move what you can before the rate change, and apply the savings to a larger mail volume.

For organizations that have not yet secured nonprofit mail authorization, the qualification process takes 30-60 days -- meaning if you start now, you can still get authorized before peak fall fundraising season. Read our guide on how to get a bulk mail permit for the full PS Form 3624 walkthrough.

EDDM Rate Changes

Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) is the lowest per-piece postage rate USPS offers, and the July 12, 2026 adjustment leaves that ranking intact -- but EDDM rates are increasing too.

EDDM Option	Current Rate	Estimated New Rate
EDDM Retail	$0.247	~$0.259
EDDM BMEU (Business Mail Entry Unit)	$0.242	~$0.254

Even with the increase, EDDM still offers the lowest per-piece postage available -- the only mail product priced under $0.30/piece. For local businesses targeting specific carrier routes (restaurants, home services contractors, real estate agents, retail), EDDM remains the most cost-efficient way to saturate a neighborhood.

If you've been considering an EDDM campaign, mailing in late June pulls forward roughly $600 in postage savings on a 50,000-piece drop. For a deeper breakdown of total EDDM costs (printing + postage + handling), see our EDDM cost breakdown guide.

How These Increases Compare to Past Years

Before deciding how aggressively to mail before July 12, it's worth understanding where this increase sits historically.

Effective Date	Mailing Services Increase
July 12, 2026 (proposed)	4.8%
July 13, 2025	7.8%
July 14, 2024	7.8%
January 21, 2024	2.0%
July 9, 2023	5.4%
January 22, 2023	4.2%
July 10, 2022	6.5%

A 4.8% increase is meaningful but not catastrophic. The compound effect, however, matters: between July 2022 and July 2026, mailing services prices have risen approximately 30% cumulatively. That's why organizations that haven't reviewed their mail strategy in the past three years are often paying significantly more per piece than they need to -- the real savings live in presort optimization, list hygiene, and format selection, not in postage shopping.

USPS continues to operate under its 10-year Delivering for America plan, which includes regular rate adjustments to support infrastructure investment. Annual increases of 4-7% should now be considered a baseline assumption when budgeting any multi-year direct mail program.

Should You Mail Before or After July 12?

For mailings already in your pipeline, the answer depends on what you're sending and the lead time involved.

Mail before July 12 if:

• Your campaign is already designed and the list is finalized
• You can move the in-home date earlier without hurting response (most acquisition campaigns)
• You're sending an annual catalog, transactional statement, or other piece with a fixed creative
• You're running a high-volume campaign (10,000+ pieces) where the 5% increase materially impacts budget
• Your nonprofit is doing a mid-year donor appeal or membership renewal push

Mail after July 12 if:

• The campaign creative isn't finished and rushing it would hurt quality
• Your in-home date is tied to a specific event (election, holiday, fiscal year-end)
• You're testing a new format or list and the 5% change won't move the needle on learnings
• The mailing is small (under 5,000 pieces) where total dollar impact is modest

A common mistake we see: organizations rushing every planned mailing into a June crash-window, only to have data quality slip because there wasn't time to run NCOA properly. Mailing 50,000 pieces with 12% bad addresses (no NCOA) at the old rates costs more in wasted postage than mailing 50,000 clean pieces at the new rates. Rate increase or not, mail clean lists.

For mailings that need to drop the week of June 22-29, our scheduling capacity is filling fast. Contact MPA to get a job slot reserved before quotes are tight.

Who's Most Affected by the July 2026 Rate Change

Not every mailer feels USPS rate changes the same way. Here's how the impact distributes across the most common mail-driven business types.

Nonprofits and Fundraising Organizations

Year-end fundraising campaigns drop most of their volume in October and November, well after July 12. Nonprofits will absorb the increase across their entire fall and year-end appeals. Budget impact: typically 4-5% of total postage spend, which on a $200,000 annual postage budget translates to ~$9,500 in additional costs. Mitigation: revisit list hygiene, increase 5-Digit presort qualification rate, consider commingling for smaller drops.

Healthcare and HIPAA-Compliant Mailers

Patient communications, EOBs, and provider mailings tend to follow recurring monthly volume patterns. Budget impact: predictable 4-5% increase. Mitigation: confirm your vendor is hitting the deepest presort tiers possible, consolidate multiple recurring mailings to qualify for higher-volume discounts.

Healthcare Marketing

Acquisition mailings (new patient campaigns, dental practice growth, specialty practice promotion) can be timed. Move acquisition test campaigns to June 2026 when feasible, then resume normal cadence after July 12.

Insurance Agencies

Medicare AEP runs October 15 through December 7 -- well after the rate change. Open enrollment volume drops at full new rates. Mitigation: secure mail house capacity in early September to avoid peak-season pricing premiums on top of the postal increase.

Political Campaigns

Most political mail volume drops between Labor Day and Election Day, after July 12. The 5% Marketing Mail increase applies to most non-political-discount campaigns. Mitigation: ensure mail union certification is current if required, qualify for Political Campaign Mail discounts where available.

Real Estate Agents and Brokerages

Recurring "Just Listed" / "Just Sold" postcard cadences are typically EDDM-based, picking up the ~$0.012/piece EDDM increase. Budget impact: modest on individual campaigns. Mitigation: consolidate carrier routes when possible, switch from EDDM Retail to EDDM BMEU for higher-volume drops.

Local Service Businesses (Home Services, Restaurants, Retail)

EDDM-driven local saturation campaigns absorb the ~5% EDDM increase. Mitigation: tighter creative testing to lift response rate -- a 0.2% response rate lift more than offsets the postage increase on most campaigns. See our direct mail for home services guide for response rate benchmarks.

5 Ways to Offset the July 2026 Postage Increase

A 4.8% postage increase is meaningful, but it's smaller than the savings most organizations can capture by tightening their mail program. Here are the five highest-leverage moves.

1. Run NCOA on Every List Before Every Mailing

The National Change of Address (NCOA) database flags addresses where the recipient has filed a USPS change of address in the last 48 months. Skipping NCOA means paying full postage to send mail to homes where your prospect or customer no longer lives. For lists that haven't been run through NCOA in 12+ months, expect 8-12% of records to be flagged.

If you mail 50,000 pieces and 10% are stale addresses, you're burning $1,200-$1,500 in postage on undeliverable mail per drop. NCOA processing typically costs $25-$75 per file. The math is obvious. Read about MPA's data services and NCOA processing for full pricing.

2. Move to 5-Digit Presort

Marketing Mail rates drop substantially as you move from Mixed AADC ($0.433) to AADC ($0.404) to 5-Digit AADC ($0.372) -- savings of 14% from highest to lowest presort tier. Many lists qualify for 5-Digit but never get sorted that deeply because the in-house preparation isn't there or the list volume per ZIP code is too low.

A professional mailing house running commingling -- where your mail is combined with other clients' mail to hit ZIP-code density thresholds -- typically captures 5-Digit qualification on 75-90% of pieces, even on smaller jobs. This single change can save more than the entire July 2026 rate increase.

3. Qualify for Nonprofit Rates

If your organization has 501(c)(3) status but hasn't applied for USPS nonprofit authorization, you're leaving 50% of postage savings on the table. Nonprofit Marketing Mail letters cost 50-52% less than commercial rates ($0.178 vs $0.372 at 5-Digit).

The PS Form 3624 application takes 30-60 days, so the time to start is now -- well before the July 12 increase. Even after the rate change, nonprofit 5-Digit at ~$0.187 still beats commercial pre-July-2026 5-Digit at $0.372.

4. Consolidate Multiple Mailings into Single Drops

Splitting 30,000 pieces into three monthly drops of 10,000 typically costs more in postage than mailing 30,000 once per quarter. Larger volumes hit deeper presort tiers, qualify for commingling at the mailing house level, and amortize fixed setup costs across more pieces. Where business needs allow, consolidate cadence.

5. Use EDDM for Local Saturation

For any campaign where carrier-route saturation is the goal (versus a specific named list), EDDM at $0.247 (or ~$0.259 after July 12) remains the lowest postage available. EDDM avoids list costs entirely, requires no postage permit, and works perfectly for local services, restaurants, and retail.

See our EDDM cost breakdown and our complete Every Door Direct Mail guide for full pricing tables and route-selection workflow.

Timeline: Filing, PRC Review, and What Happens Next

Understanding the regulatory timeline helps you plan around the rate change with confidence.

Date	Event
April 9, 2026	USPS files Docket R2026-1 with the PRC
April 9, 2026	Board of Governors approves the proposed rates
Late April - May 2026	PRC public comment period
~May 28, 2026	Expected PRC determination on the docket
June 2026	Final rate tables publish on Postal Explorer
July 12, 2026, 12:01 a.m.	New rates take effect

The PRC almost always approves USPS-filed rate changes -- the regulatory review focuses on whether the rates fall within statutory caps, not on whether they're a good idea. In the past 10 rate filings, the PRC has approved every one. There is no realistic scenario where the July 12 change does not occur.

What can change between now and July 12 is the specific per-piece rate table. USPS publishes filed proposals with broad guidance (4.8% average, Forever stamp at $0.82), but the per-presort-tier breakdowns get refined during PRC review.

We update our complete USPS postage rates 2026 guide the day final rates publish so you always see the official numbers as soon as they go live.

The Bigger Picture: Why USPS Keeps Raising Rates

The 4.8% July 2026 increase is the latest move in USPS's 10-year Delivering for America plan, launched in 2021. The plan committed to $40 billion in infrastructure investment -- new sorting facilities, EV delivery vehicles, network consolidation -- funded partly by ongoing rate increases above the consumer price index.

For the past three years, USPS has used rate increases to close annual operating losses while modernizing the network. Whether that strategy succeeds long-term is debated, but the practical reality for mailers is clear: expect 4-7% annual increases through at least 2028, possibly longer. Multi-year mail program budgets should bake in 5-6% annual postage growth as a baseline assumption.

The implication for organizations that rely on direct mail: the marginal cost-efficiency of bad data, sloppy presort, and unoptimized format selection compounds every year. A program that overpays 8% on postage in 2024 will overpay 9% in 2025, 10% in 2026, and so on -- not because the inefficiency grows, but because each rate increase magnifies the dollar impact of the underlying waste.

FAQ

When do USPS rate changes July 2026 take effect? +

The new USPS mailing services rates take effect Sunday, July 12, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. The Postal Regulatory Commission completes its review of Docket R2026-1 in late May 2026, with final per-piece rate tables publishing on Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com) approximately 30 days before the effective date.

How much is the Forever stamp going up in July 2026? +

Among all the USPS rate changes July 2026 introduces, the Forever stamp increase is the most visible. It goes from $0.78 to $0.82 on July 12, 2026 -- a 4-cent increase, or approximately 5.1%. The metered rate for First-Class letters increases proportionally from $0.74 to $0.78. The additional-ounce price stays unchanged at $0.29.

What's the average USPS postage increase in July 2026? +

The average mailing services price increase is 4.8%, applied across First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail, Periodicals, Package Services, and selected Special Services. Per-mail-class increases vary: First-Class letters up about 5.1%, Marketing Mail commercial letters up roughly 5-6%, nonprofit Marketing Mail up 4-5%, and Periodicals up 5-7%.

Should I mail before or after the July 12 rate change? +

For high-volume campaigns (10,000+ pieces) where creative is finalized and the list is ready, mailing before July 12 captures meaningful postage savings -- approximately $950 saved per 50,000-piece Marketing Mail drop. For smaller campaigns, campaigns tied to specific event dates, or campaigns where data quality would suffer from rushing, mail after July 12 at the new rates. The dollar impact is small enough that creative quality and list hygiene matter more than the rate timing.

Are nonprofit postage rates increasing in July 2026? +

Yes. Nonprofit Marketing Mail letter rates rise approximately 4-5% on July 12, 2026, with the exact percentage varying by presort level. Nonprofit 5-Digit AADC rates increase from $0.178 to approximately $0.187 per piece. Despite the increase, nonprofit rates remain 50-52% lower than commercial Marketing Mail rates -- the preferential structure is preserved.

Will EDDM rates change in July 2026? +

Yes. The USPS rate changes July 2026 brings include EDDM. EDDM Retail rates increase from $0.247 to approximately $0.259 per piece. EDDM BMEU (dropped at a Business Mail Entry Unit) rises from $0.242 to approximately $0.254. Even with the increase, EDDM remains the lowest per-piece postage rate USPS offers, and is still the most cost-efficient way to saturate a local carrier route without a mailing list.

Why is USPS raising rates again? +

The July 12, 2026 increase funds USPS's ongoing 10-year Delivering for America plan, a $40 billion infrastructure modernization initiative covering sorting facilities, EV delivery vehicles, and network consolidation. USPS rate adjustments above the consumer price index are now a baseline expectation -- mail program budgets should plan for 4-7% annual postage increases through at least 2028.

How can my business reduce postage costs after the July 2026 increase? +

The five highest-leverage moves are: (1) run NCOA processing on every list before every mailing to eliminate undeliverable addresses, (2) qualify for 5-Digit AADC presort instead of higher tiers, (3) apply for nonprofit rates if eligible, (4) consolidate small recurring mailings into larger drops to hit better presort qualification, and (5) use EDDM for any campaign where carrier-route saturation matches your targeting goal. Working with a professional mailing house that handles presorting and data hygiene in-house typically captures 8-15% in savings -- enough to absorb the entire July 2026 rate increase.

Does the July 2026 rate change affect international mail? +

Yes. International First-Class letter rates increase from $1.70 to approximately $1.79 for the first ounce. International package rates also adjust under the same Docket R2026-1 filing, with specific rate tables publishing on Postal Explorer once the PRC completes its review.

Get the Lowest Postage Rates on Your Next Mailing

The July 12, 2026 rate change is locked in -- there is no realistic scenario where the increase doesn't happen. What you control is how efficiently your mail moves through USPS. The difference between a campaign mailed at Mixed AADC and one mailed at 5-Digit AADC with NCOA-clean data is roughly 14% in postage savings, plus another 8-12% in eliminated undeliverable mail.

Combined, that's 20-25% in real dollar savings -- five times the impact of the July 2026 increase.

MPA handles the postal optimization work that most organizations can't do in-house: presorting, commingling, NCOA and CASS processing, tray-level preparation, and direct USPS BMEU induction from our 15,000 sq ft facility in Lakeland, FL. Whether you're mailing 1,000 fundraising letters or 1,000,000 marketing pieces, we make sure you're paying the lowest postage your mail qualifies for -- before and after July 12.

Ready to lock in the lowest possible postage rate on your next mailing?

• Schedule a free consultation to talk through your campaign and your timing
• Learn about our mailing services -- print, presort, and USPS induction under one roof
• Contact MPA with questions about any of the rates above

Sources for rate data: USPS press release, April 9, 2026 (about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2026/0409-usps-recommends-new-prices-for-july.htm); USPS Postal Regulatory Commission Docket R2026-1 filing; Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index). Marketing Mail and nonprofit per-presort estimates extrapolated from announced 4.8% average and historical adjustment patterns. Final per-piece rates publish on Postal Explorer following PRC determination.