Using the USPS Postal Wizard to Submit Bulk Mail Postage Statements Electronically

 Scott
 Postage $aver Software


Starting Jan. 28, 2024, mailers submitting bulk mailings to USPS will be required to submit postage statements electronically. Hard copy statements will no longer be accepted.

The simplest way to submit the required information is to use the free USPS Postal Wizard.

You can use the Postal Wizard for:

nonbarcoded mailings of any quantity;

basic-service barcoded mailings of any quantity;

mixed mailings of any quantity of basic-service barcoded pieces and nonbarcoded pieces; and,

full-service mailings of less than 50,000 pieces.

This page will walk you through how to use the Postal Wizard to submit a postage statement for Marketing Mail or Nonprofit Marketing Mail. The steps are similar for other kinds of bulk mail, so if you're using First Class Presort, Periodical Class, Bound Printed Matter or another bulk mail category, you can follow along as well.

Just to be clear, the Postal Wizard has nothing to do with normal retail mail dropped in a blue mailbox, picked up by your carrier, mailed at a USPS retail counter, etc., regardless of quantity. If you don't have to submit a postage statement now, you are not going to be required to do so after this change takes effect.

Postage $aver Pro and Postage $aver Lite are inexpensive software packages that can prepare your mailing and calculate all the amounts you need to submit a bulk mailing using the Postal Wizard.

The Postal Wizard is one of the tools on the USPS Business Customer Gateway. To use the Postal Wizard:

1. Log in to the Gateway. Note that the name associated with this Gateway account will be the name that will be automatically signed on the form when you submit it. If you are not the person who should be signing the form, you should log in from the account of the person who is.
   
   If your organization owns the mail you are submitting, skip to step 4. If you have prepared this mailing for another organization, follow steps 2 and 3 first.
   
   Steps 2 and 3 - Only if you have prepared this mailing for another organization. Otherwise, skip to step 4.
   
   
2. To submit mail that you have prepared for another organization, you first need to be registered with USPS as a "Mail Service Provider".
   
   To check whether your organization is registered as a Mail Service Provider, choose "Manage Account" from the top of the screen, and then click on "Manage Locations". In the chart showing your location, look at the column headed "MSP". If it says yes, then you are registered as a Mail Service Provider. Otherwise, click "Edit", scroll down to "Mail Service Provider (MSP)", click on the link to the right and use the next screen to change to change your Mail Service Provider status to "yes".
   
   
3. If the other organization knows that it has USPS identification numbers, such as a CRID, Mailer ID, Permit Number, or Nonprofit Authorization Number, get those numbers. Having them will make it easier to properly identify the organization in the Postal Wizard, as the Wizard lets you search for the organization by any of those numbers. If they have an account on the Gateway, they can log in to find their identifying numbers.
   
   You can verify the number(s) they give you by going to "Manage Account" at the top of the Gateway screen, choosing "Manage Profile", then scrolling down to the "Mail Services Provider" section. Use the "Customer Validation Tool" to verify the number(s) they have given you.
   
   If they cannot provide an identifying number, you can search by the organization's name while going through the Postal Wizard. But if the Wizard can't find the organization, you will need to come back to the "Mail Services Provider" section and use the "Get MIDs/CRIDs" link to have new numbers assigned.
   
   
4. Click on "Mailing Services" at the top of the screen.
   
   
5. Scroll down to "Postal Wizard (PostalOne!)", and click ""Go to Service".

Once you enter the Postal Wizard, you'll be asked to choose the form you want to submit. For Marketing Mail and Nonprofit Marketing Mail, click on "3602", as shown below. For other kinds of bulk mail, choose the appropriate form from the "Complete a Mailing Form" section.

Next you'll see the Account Information screen. Fill it out as follows:

1. When do you plan to submit your mailing? Select the date when you plan to take the mailing to USPS. It shouldn't be a problem if you don't make it that day, as this is not an appointment.
   
   
2. Are you submitting this mailing for yourself or for another company? This button will appear after you choose the date. Select the correct choice. It will look like "Myself" has already been selected, but you still need to actually click it.
   
   
3. Please select your account information: This question is asking about your organization's permit, even if the postage will be paid using another organization's permit.
   
   You may see three listings here, even if you only have one permit. Each listing is for a different type of postage payment, as shown under "Permit Type". Select the permit with the type "PI" if you are using a "postage paid" box (aka indicia). Select "MT" if you are using a postage meter to pay for your postage. Select "PC" if you are using an actual postage stamp on each piece. Then click "Submit".
   
   If you do not see your permit in this chart, then it probably is not connected to the Gateway login that you are using. You should contact the Postal One Help Desk to have that corrected. The Help Desk can be reached at (800) 522-9085 or postalone@email.usps.gov.
   
   
4. Great! Which account are you using to pay for the mailing? You'll next see this question only if you said that you are mailing for another company. If you choose "My Account" or "Mail Owner's Account", you'll be shown a search grid to identify the mail owner. If you choose "A third party is paying for the mailing", you'll first get a search grid to identify the third party, and then will get the grid to identify the mail owner.
   
   
5. Are you submitting this mailing as Regular or Nonprofit? Click the one that applies. If you choose nonprofit, and there is no nonprofit authorization number associated with the mail owner, then you will not be able to proceed.
   
   
6. Are you bringing your mailing to [City, State, Zip]? Confirm that you will be bringing your mail to the post office where the permit you selected is located. Click "Yes" to confirm or "Change" to select another post office.

This screen is where you'll start entering the specific details about your mailing. Not all boxes described will appear for all mailers. Fill it out as follows:

Mailing Characteristics Section:

1. Mailing Date: This should already be filled in and should match the date you entered on the first screen. You can change it if you need to.
   
   
2. Total Pieces: Enter the number of pieces in your mailing.
   
   
3. Move Update Method: Choose the method that applies to your mailing. If you have printed "Or Current Resident", or similar wording, in your addresses, choose "Alternative Address Format". If you had your mailing list checked using NCOA before preparing your mailing, choose "NCOALink". For details on the other choices, see our Move Update help page.
   
   
4. Special Postage Payment System: You should leave this as "None" unless you know you are using one of the listed options. For most mailers, "None" is the correct answer.
   
   
5. Destination Entry: If you are taking your mailing to a postal sorting center, rather than a local post office, and you are claiming Destination Entry rates, choose "Yes". Otherwise, choose "No".
   
   To determine whether you are claiming Destination Entry rates, look at the pages after the first page on your postage statement, where you'll find the pricing grids. In each grid that's used, look at the column named "Entry" or "Entry Discount" or something similar. If all of your pieces are listed in rows marked "None", then you are NOT using Destination Entry rates. If any of the pieces are shown in rows marked "DNDC", "DADC", "DSCF", "DHUB", "DDU" or something similar, then you are claiming "Destination Entry" rates.
   
   Here's an example of a postage statement that shows Destination Entry rates. Note that some of the pieces are shown in line A8, which has "DSCF" in the "Entry" column:
   Click to enlarge
   
   Here's an example of a postage statement that does not show Destination Entry rates. Note that all of the pieces are shown on lines with "None" in the "Entry" column:
   Click to enlarge
   
   If you choose "Yes" for Destination Entry, two more choices will appear. You generally should click "No" to both, unless you are taking your mailing to more than one location.
   
   
6. Full Service: Check this box if you are using full-service barcoding.
   

Mail Piece Information:

1. Processing Category: Choose the size category from the dropdown list.
   
   
2. Piece Weight: For a mailing where all pieces are the same weight, enter that weight and select the correct box for whether the weight is in pounds or ounces. For a mailing of mixed weight pieces, check the "Non-identical" box and leave the weight field blank.
   
   
3. Total Weight (lbs): If you entered a weight in the "Piece Weight" box above, the total weight will be automatically calculated. If you checked the "Non-identical" box, enter the total weight of the mailing in this field. The total weight is just the weight of all pieces. It should not include the weight of the trays or sacks.
   
   
4. Barcode Type: If you are using barcodes on this mailing, choose "Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb)" from the dropdown list. If you are not using barcodes, select "None". If you selected full service above, "Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb)" will be automatically selected.
   
   
5. Marriage Mail Incentive: Marriage Mail is when a mailer combines advertisements from various companies into one mail piece (for example, an envelope of various companies' coupons). There is a postage discount incentive for Marriage Mail that meets certain requirements. Approval by USPS is required. Leave this box unchecked unless you know that you are participating in this incentive program.
   
   
6. Windowed Letters or Flats: If you have selected letters or flats and selected barcoding, you will see this selection. Select "Yes" if you are using windowed envelopes, or "No" if you are not.
   
   
7. Political Mailing, Official Election Mail or None: If you have selected letters or flats as your processing category, you will see this selection.
   
   Political Mail is "any material mailed for campaign purposes by a registered political candidate, campaign committee, or committee of a political party, or political message mailing by a PAC, super PAC, or other organization engaging in an effort to influence or drive voter mobilization".
   
   Official Election Mail is "any item mailed to or from authorized election officials or local election offices that enables citizens to vote, such as official ballot materials, voter registration cards, absentee applications and polling place notifications."
   

Container Information:

1. Fill in the number of each type of postal container you used to assemble the mailing. Note that tubs are officially called "flat trays" because they hold flat-sized mail, even though the trays themselves are not "flat".
   

Full Service / Barcode Information:

1. Mailer ID (MID): If you have chosen barcoding, you will see this section. Enter the USPS Mailer ID that was used when creating the barcodes for this mailing. The Mailer ID number is a 9-digit number that begins with 9 (unless you are a very large volume mailer). If you are preparing the mailing for another organization, it could be your Mailer ID or their Mailer ID.
   
   If you used Postage $aver Pro to prepare your mailing, the Mailer ID will be listed on the front page of the Mail Preparation Instructions report. If you used Postal Barcoder Max to create the barcodes, the Mailer ID will be the one you entered on the setup screen when you created the barcodes.
   
   If you are not sure of what Mailer ID was used to create the barcodes, you can use a barcode scanner app to read one of the barcodes. The Mailer ID will start at the sixth digit in the barcode. If that digit is a 9, then the Mailer ID is the nine digits starting with the 9. If the sixth digit is not a 9, then the Mailer ID is the six digits starting with the sixth digit.
   
   
2. Mailing ID or Lowest Piece ID, and Mailing/Piece ID: You only need to fill this out if you checked "full-service" in the left column.
   
   This can be confusing because USPS uses similar words to mean two different things. The "Mailing ID" is not the "Mailer ID".
   
   Each barcode has a serial number. Your mailing can either use the same serial number for all pieces in any one mailing, or it can use a different serial number for each piece.
   
   If all the barcodes in your mailing have the same serial number, then that serial number is called the "Mailing ID". In that case, you should select the "Mailing ID" option and enter that serial number in the "Mailing ID" box below.
   
   If each barcode in your mailing has its own serial number, rather than using the same serial number on all the pieces, then you should select the "Lowest Piece ID" option and enter the lowest serial number for the mailing in the "Lowest Piece ID" box below.
   
   If you used Postage $aver Pro to prepare your mailing, you can find the lowest piece ID or the Mailing ID on the front page of the Mail Preparation Instructions report. If you used Postal Barcoder Max to create your barcodes, you can find the lowest piece ID or the Mailing ID by going to the "Bulk/Presort Mail" menu and selecting "Show Serial Numbers from Last Run".
   
   If you choose "Lowest Piece ID", the Postal Wizard will add a box for "Highest Piece ID" and automatically fill in that box. It will assume that your serial numbers within the mailing are in a sequence and don't skip any numbers. For instance, if your starting number is 1, and you have 200 pieces in the mailing, it will assume that you are paying postage on pieces numbered 1 through 200.
   
   If USPS finds a number outside of that range, and it's not in the range of another mailing you have entered, it will think that you haven't paid the postage for that piece, and can issue a penalty.
   

On this screen, enter the quantities in each rate category for your mailing. You can find these on your postage statement on the pages after the first page. The screen should include lines that match those that have quantities filled in on your postage statement.

If a rate line used on your postage statement is not shown on the screen, that probably means you have not made the same selections in the Postal Wizard that were used when preparing your mailing. Check the selections shown on the left side of this screen to confirm that they are correct for the mailing you have prepared. Click the "Previous" button to go back and make any necessary corrections.

This screen summarizes all of the information that you have entered. It's the last step. Make sure the information shown is correct. If you need to go back and correct something, click the "Previous" button. When you click "Submit", you will be finalizing your mailing and entering it into the USPS "Postal One" system.

Signature: Your name should appear in the signature line, based on the name associated with the Gateway login. Make sure the correct phone number is shown.

Email a copy of my eCan to my email address: When you submit this screen, you will get a confirmation page that includes a barcode that identifies your mailing. You'll need the barcode when you take your mailing to USPS. Check this box to also receive a copy of the barcode by email.

Warning of not enough pieces on a specific line: You may see a warning that looks something like this:


This warning is often wrong. Most rates have minimum quantities, but there are exceptions to the minimums for pieces staying within your local area. The Postal Wizard does not currently take those exceptions into account, and will show this warning if the minimum is not met regardless of whether an exception may apply.

We recommend you trust your software on this until USPS confirms that they have clarified the warning to account for local pieces. If everything else is correct, you should be able to click "Submit" to continue the process even though the warning is showing.

Congratulations! You're finished and can now take your mailing to USPS!

Feel free to ask us a question if you get stuck. We'll do our best to help.

And, of course, you can always reach out to the USPS help desk.