13
Jan
05

USPS Postcard Standards

By Joshua Steimle 8 Comments Categories: Design

I didn’t invent these, and I can’t remember where I got it from, but it’s fairly handy if you’re designing a postcard-sized direct mail piece and want to know the United State Post Office regulations for such a piece of mail.

• Minimum Allowable Postcard Size: 3.5 x 5 Inches
If the width is less than 5 inches or the height is less than 3.5 inches the USPS will NOT mail your postcard.

• Maximum Allowable Postcard Size: 4.25 x 6 Inches
If the width is greater than 6 inches or the height is greater than 4.25 inches, the postcard must be mailed as a letter, higher rate and all.


• Minimum Thickness: .007 Inches
Any mail less than the minimum is considered Non-Mailable and the USPS will NOT deliver it.

• Maximum Thickness: .25 inches
Exceeding the maximum puts the mail piece into a different mail class, called a Parcel.

• Intermediate Sizes are Allowable
A 4 x 5.5 inch postcard is mailable at the postcard rate. As long as a mail piece meets the size, thickness, weight and aspect ratio requirements above, it can be mailed as a postcard.

• Minimum Thickness: .007 Inches

• Maximum Thickness: .25 inches
Postcard Address Box Size
The minimum size of the area on a postcard reserved for the address is 1.25 x 3.75 inches. This allows for a three line address (Name, Address, City/State/ZIP) the USPS Endorsement line and the PostNet Barcode. Add 3/16′s of an inch for each additional line (Address2, Company)

On a 3.5″ x 5″ card your left side area can be 1.25″ wide
1″ is recommended

On a 4.25″ x 5.5″ card your left side area can be 1.75″ wide
1.5″ is recommended

On a 4.5″ x 6″ card your left side area can be 2.25″ wide
2″ is recommended

View image

Related posts:

  1. USPS Temporary Mail Forwarding Could Use Some Improvement
  2. UPS Store – Run Your Business From Anywhere?
  3. Mail Receiving / Check Deposit Service
  • odawni

    Hi,

    This is great info – thanks.

    I wanted to make home-made postcards with cardboard. Do you know if the USPS has ‘material’ regulations?

    O

  • sabrebelle

    If the material is “rigid,” then it incurs a 17 cent non-machinable surcharge. I think this means that it just must be easily bent to fit in PO boxes.

  • stephanie

    can a flat object that’s been laminated and is within the size regulations be sent through the mail as a postcard? Parts of the card would be see through. Would it have to have designated areas for the address, bar code etc.? Thankyou, Stephanie

  • Dale

    That is the EXACT info I as looking for when I googled “Size of homemade postcards” I couldn’t readily find that info at the USPS even. I found the max, but not the min or thickness. Thank you.

  • Erica

    Will postcards be mailed if the height is just shy of 3.5, specifically at 3.4375 inches?

  • Brian

    So as not to be confusing, widths and heights should probably be listed in the proper order:

    width x height

    So… 5″ x 3.5″ minimum postcard size with a minimum address box size of 3.75″ x 1.25″

    For example, I found this page via Google when searching for the minimum size for the address area of a postcard. I’m looking at the above, thinking: the address area needs to be only 1.25″ wide but 3.75″ tall? Taller than it is wide? That doesn’t make sense. :P

    Print measurements should always be width then height. Otherwise, you end up with people setting things up vertically when they should be horizontal, or vice versa.

    Either that or indicate (h) and (w):

    5″(h) x 3.5″ (w)

    Anyway, just saying. I see this a lot and it drives me just a bit crazy. ;)

  • Michael

    This solves a mystery for me. I make home made post cards for my girlfriend and they only arrive about 80% of the time even though I put more postage than is needed. I don’t feel like they violated any of these requirements but they must have. I wonder where they went?

  • http://powerministries.info Paul

    can I put a bar code on the back of my post card, that contains the URL of my web-site?