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 rose about 6-8%, and nonprofit rates about 4-8%, depending on presort level. EDDM postage rose about 5% (Retail) to 7% (DDU entry), but stays well below First-Class postage per piece.

If your organization mails any volume of letters, postcards, or flats, this rate adjustment is already in your postage budget: every piece entered on or after July 12, 2026 pays the new prices.

This guide on USPS rate changes July 2026 breaks down exactly what's changing, who's most affected, and what we recommend now that the new prices are in effect.

What USPS Updates Start on July 12, 2026?

New USPS mailing services rates took effect Sunday, July 12, 2026 at 12:01 a.m., with an average price increase of 4.8% across First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail, Periodicals, Package Services, and selected Special Services. The Forever stamp rises from $0.78 to $0.82, the postcard stamp goes from $0.61 to $0.65, the metered First-Class letter rate moves from $0.74 to $0.78, and the additional-ounce price holds at 29 cents (it rose from 28 cents in July 2025). USPS filed these rates with the Postal Regulatory Commission on April 9, 2026 under Docket R2026-1 and published the final rate tables on Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com) on June 17, 2026. Commercial Marketing Mail letters rose about 6-8% depending on presort tier, nonprofit Marketing Mail about 4-8%, and EDDM Retail edges from $0.247 to $0.26 per piece.

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 $0.65 (+6.6%)
• First-Class additional-ounce: $0.29, unchanged in July
• Marketing Mail letters (commercial): about 6-8% increase, varies by presort
• Nonprofit Marketing Mail letters: About 4-8% increase, varies by presort
• Periodicals: Increases averaging 5-7%
• Package Services and Special Services: Selected products only

The 4.8% average is smaller than each July increase from 2022 through 2025. For comparison, the July 2025 adjustment was 7.4%, 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 are the final prices from USPS Notice 123.

Mail Piece	Prior Rate (7/13/25 to 7/11/26)	Current Rate (since 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	$0.65	+$0.04
Additional ounce	$0.29	$0.29	$0.00
Flat / Large envelope (1-ounce)	$1.63	$1.69	+$0.06

The additional-ounce price holding flat at $0.29 is unusual - it rose from $0.28 to $0.29 in July 2025 and did not change in July 2026. 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.

Sending certified mail in bulk for legal, collections, or compliance notices? MPA's managed certified mail service prints, certifies, and mails your list with return receipt and proof of delivery on file, so the rate change is the only thing you have to think about.

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.

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 increased commercial Marketing Mail letters by about 6-8%, depending on presort level.

Marketing Mail Letter (Commercial)	Prior Rate	Current Rate (since 7/12/26)	Increase
5-Digit	$0.372	$0.395	+6.2%
3-Digit	$0.407 (AADC)	$0.435	+6.9%
Mixed	$0.433	$0.467	+7.9%

Note: The new rates are the final USPS Notice 123 prices effective July 12, 2026 (AADC was replaced by the 3-Digit tier that day).

For a typical 50,000-piece direct mail campaign at 5-Digit presort, the increase represents about $1,150 in additional postage versus the same campaign at the pre-July 12 prices. 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 3-Digit or Mixed 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 now run $0.257 per piece at the Mixed tier ($0.185 at the deepest 5-Digit sort) following the July 12, 2026 increase.

Nonprofit Marketing Mail Letter	Prior Rate	Current Rate (since 7/12/26)
5-Digit	$0.178	$0.185
3-Digit	$0.213 (AADC)	$0.225
Mixed	$0.239	$0.257

A nonprofit mailing 100,000 donor appeals at 5-Digit presort saw postage costs rise roughly $700 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 $2,000 on a single segment.

Acquisition mailings have lower response rates than house-file mailings, so postage per piece matters more on prospect lists: put them at the deepest presort tier the list supports.

For organizations that have not yet secured nonprofit mail authorization, the qualification process takes 30-60 days, so apply well before your next appeal. 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) postage stays well below First-Class postage per piece after the July 12, 2026 adjustment - but EDDM rates are increasing too.

EDDM Option	Prior Rate	Current Rate (since 7/12/26)
EDDM Retail	$0.247	$0.260
EDDM, destination delivery unit (DDU) entry	$0.242	$0.259

Even with the increase, both EDDM options still cost less per piece than First-Class postage or a commercial automation Marketing Mail letter. For local businesses targeting specific carrier routes (restaurants, home services contractors, real estate agents, retail), EDDM needs no mailing list; for most route mailings MPA recommends Saturation Mail, which costs less in postage through MPA than EDDM, quoted per job.

For a deeper breakdown of total EDDM costs (printing + postage + handling), see our EDDM cost breakdown guide.

How These Increases Compare to Past Years

Here is where this increase sits historically.

Effective Date	Mailing Services Increase
July 12, 2026	4.8%
July 13, 2025	7.4%
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, the Forever stamp has risen from $0.60 to $0.82, about 37% 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. An annual increase should be a baseline assumption when budgeting any multi-year direct mail program.

Planning Mailings at the New Rates

The July 12, 2026 prices now apply to every piece entered, so there is no longer a before-or-after decision. Pieces with fixed creative, such as an annual catalog or a transactional statement, simply keep their normal schedule. What still moves the postage line is preparation: the deepest presort tier the list supports, an NCOA-clean list, and USPS promotions where the piece qualifies.

A common mistake we saw before the change: organizations rushed planned mailings into a June window, and data quality slipped because there wasn't time to run NCOA properly. Mailing 50,000 pieces with 12% bad addresses (no NCOA) costs more in wasted postage than mailing 50,000 clean pieces at the new rates. Rate increase or not, mail clean lists.

Contact MPA to schedule your next mailing.

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. The July 12 prices now apply to every drop, so put tests at the deepest presort tier the list supports.

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 Marketing Mail increase of about 6-8% applies to most campaign mail. Mitigation: ensure mail union certification is current if required, and check whether the sponsor is a qualified political committee (national and state party committees can mail at nonprofit Marketing Mail prices); USPS has no general political mail discount.

Real Estate Agents and Brokerages

Recurring "Just Listed" / "Just Sold" postcard cadences are typically EDDM-based, picking up the $0.013/piece EDDM increase. Budget impact: modest on individual campaigns. Mitigation: consolidate carrier routes when possible, mail EDDM under a USPS permit when a drop exceeds the 5,000-pieces-per-ZIP daily Retail limit.

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 Marketing Mail letters and 10% are stale addresses, you're burning about $2,300 in postage (at the $0.467 Mixed price) 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 ($0.467) to 3-Digit ($0.435) to 5-Digit ($0.395) - savings of about 15% 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 45% less than commercial rates at the Mixed tier ($0.257 vs $0.467).

The PS Form 3624 application takes 30-60 days, so the time to start is now. After the July 12 increase, nonprofit 5-Digit at $0.185 still runs less than half the commercial 5-Digit rate of $0.395.

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 USPS EDDM Retail $0.260 per piece since the July 12 change, remains a low-postage option. 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.

One more offset that costs nothing to claim: USPS promotions. Most 2026 programs return a 5% postage discount (catalogs up to 10%) and stack with 1% add-ons, on top of your automation rates. The windows and qualification rules are in our USPS direct mail promotions 2026 guide.

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 2026	PRC approves the price changes
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. The July 12 change took effect as filed.

USPS filed its full proposed price list with the PRC on April 9, 2026 (Docket R2026-1), and those prices took effect July 12, 2026. Those final per-piece tables published on June 17, 2026, so the exact July 12 rates are now locked.

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. Want your exact numbers now? Use our free USPS Postage Rate Calculator to see per-piece and total 2026 postage for any mailing.

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 a postage increase every year. As of October 16, 2026, USPS had not filed a January 2027 change, and the PRC has limited any January 2027 increase to CPI authority, about 2.1% per class. 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 took effect Sunday, July 12, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. The Postal Regulatory Commission completed its review of Docket R2026-1, and USPS published the final per-piece rate tables on Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com) on June 17, 2026.

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 First-Class 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 about 6-8%, nonprofit Marketing Mail up about 4-8%, and Periodicals up 5-7%.

How much did the July 12 rate change add to a typical mailing? +

The July 12, 2026 prices now apply to every mailing. On a 50,000-piece Marketing Mail drop at 5-Digit presort, the change added about $1,150 in postage. Deeper presort, NCOA-clean data, and USPS promotions are the levers that offset it, and they matter more than the rate itself.

Are nonprofit postage rates increasing in July 2026? +

Yes. Nonprofit Marketing Mail letter rates rose about 4-8% on July 12, 2026, with the exact percentage varying by presort level. Nonprofit 5-Digit rates increased from $0.178 to $0.185 per piece. Despite the increase, nonprofit rates remain 45-53% lower than commercial Marketing Mail rates, depending on presort tier - 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 $0.260 per piece. EDDM dropped at the destination delivery unit (DDU) rises from $0.242 to $0.259. Even with the increase, EDDM postage stays low per piece, and EDDM needs no mailing list; for most route mailings MPA recommends Saturation Mail, which costs less in postage through MPA than EDDM, quoted per job.

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. As of October 16, 2026, USPS had not filed a January 2027 price change, and the PRC has limited any January 2027 increase to CPI authority, about 2.1% per class; mail program budgets should still plan for a postage increase every year.

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 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. The current USPS Notice 123 price is $1.75 for a First-Class Mail International letter or postcard (first ounce), the same to every country. International package prices are competitive products and change under separate USPS filings.

Get Lower Postage Rates on Your Next Mailing

The July 12, 2026 rate change is in effect. What you control is how efficiently your mail moves through USPS. The difference between a campaign mailed at Mixed and one mailed at 5-Digit with NCOA-clean data is roughly 15% 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 handing the presorted mail directly to USPS. Whether you're mailing 1,000 fundraising letters or 1,000,000 marketing pieces, we prepare your mail for the presort and automation prices it qualifies for.

Ready to lower the postage on your next mailing?

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

Sources for rate data: USPS press release, April 9, 2026; USPS Postal Regulatory Commission Docket R2026-1 filing; Postal Explorer (pe.usps.com/PriceChange/Index). Marketing Mail and nonprofit per-presort prices are the final USPS Notice 123 figures effective July 12, 2026.