How to Get Your Nonprofit Mailing Permit in the US

If you are a nonprofit working in the USA,  you can qualify for nonprofit mailing privileges set by the United States Postal Service (USPS). 

This includes special pricing that can help you cut costs by 50-80% when you mail your annual letter, event invites, or any other direct mail. The only challenge here is figuring out how to register for your nonprofit mailing permit and what documents you’ll need for the process.

Once you have your permit, you can make the most out of it with Postalytics. We have set up a nonprofit permit process to help you hit the ground running once you get your permit approved. It’s as simple as uploading your permit and taking advantage of special pricing to automate and send your direct mail marketing campaigns.

Here’s a quick guide for you to get started with collecting all your documents and relevant information to get your mailing permit approved.

Types of Nonprofit Postage

There are three types of postage when it comes to nonprofits. While all have the same postage rates, the difference is in the look.

1. Stamp: These can be purchased from the USPS and often are one of the most popular postage for non-profits. You can also have your mail service provider affix these stamps to your mail. The reason behind their popularity is simple — they make your mail look important and often result in a high response rate.

2. Meter: With this postage, you do not have to pre-order and pay for stamps in advance. A meter printing machine can print postage directly on each mail. This option isn’t recommended for bulk mailings as it can be time-consuming. 

3. Indicia: With indicia, you do not have to apply postage manually. You’ll need a postal permit to use this, and you’ll have to pay the post office to fund this permit. 

Non-Profit Required Documents

To apply for a mailing permit, you’ll need to have all these documents:

Formative Papers

There are three kinds of papers you’ll require:

Articles of Incorporation: 

This includes the set of documents that are filed with a government institution to document your non-profit’s foundation legally.

Organization’s Constitution: 

This document contains the core principles that denote the structure, purpose, and limits of your organization.

Organization’s Charter: 

This includes a written document filed with the registrar or Secretary of State to establish a company as a corporation. It includes details like governance, objectives, structure, and other major company details.

IRS Letter of Exemption from Federal Income Tax

This document proves that your organization meets all the requirements set forth in the Internal Revenue Code to qualify as exempt from payment of federal income tax.

Other Evidence of Non-Profit Status

To prove your non-profit status, keep in handy this set of documents:

Financial Statement

These are formal records that showcase the business activities and financial performance of the company.

Balance Sheets 

The balance sheet provides information about the company’s resources (assets) and its sources of capital (equity and liabilities/debt)

Income Statements

It reports the company’s financial performance over a specific accounting period.

Non-Profit Organization’s Qualifications

The organization types that are eligible to get USPS non-profit mailing privileges are:

• Educational
• Fraternal
• Agricultural
• Philanthropic
• Religious
• Labor
• Veterans
• Scientific 
• Political Committees (Some)

It is important to note here that while some organizations may qualify for this list, they may not be eligible to get mailing privileges. For example, chambers of commerce, certain political organizations, and social and hobby clubs do not qualify.

On the other hand, if your nonprofit does not qualify for either of these categories, you can contact USPS to determine whether you can apply to get nonprofit mailing privileges.

If your organization does qualify for all the criteria by USPS, you’ll need to apply for and receive authorization from the USPS.

Note here that someone in authority in the organization, such as the president or treasurer should sign your application. Your application can be rejected if a printer or a mailing agent signs it.

Submitting an online application is better than the offline one as it usually takes up to 10 days to get a hard copy processed. 

Once your status is approved, you can send direct mail at lower non-profit rates. To maintain this status, you must use it at least once in two years. If you don’t, you lose your non-profit qualification, and you will have to re-apply.

Filling out the PS Form 3624

You can find the link to fill out this form here.

In part 1 of Section A, the first eight fields will require you to put all your ready information to use. Remember to be precise and put your organization’s legal name, correct address, and other details.

In the 9th field, you’ll have to select your organization type. You need to tick only one option. 

Pick appropriate choices for fields 10 to 14. For the 11th one, go through your IRS Exemption documentation and pick the 501 classification that applies to you. Make sure also to attach the document, as it is key to getting your nonprofit mailing status.

The next section involves selecting your non-profit status and the documents that you’ll be attaching with the form.

Remember to select the document that best describes the “primary purpose” of your organization and all the important details.

Once you’re done filling out all the details of the form, cross-check everything and make sure you have attached all the selected documents. Once you’re satisfied with everything, submit your application. 

Upload your nonprofit mailing permit to Postalytics

Once you have received authorization from USPS, you can provide the information in the form using the permit and agree to Postalytics’ nonprofit terms and conditions.

Postalytics and its print partners will configure the permit information, and appropriate nonprofit indicia will be applied to the mailers.

Postalytics offers two options for paying postage, either by letting Postalytics pay the postage for a bundled, per-piece charge or by deducting postage from a self-funded postage account that nonprofits maintain to pay the postage.

Read more about uploading your nonprofit postage permit.

Final Thoughts

Getting your Non-Profit Mailing Permit can be challenging, but with this guide, you now have clear steps to proceed and file your permit request.

Once you have your permit, with Postalytics, you can deploy fully automated direct mail campaigns with special USPS postage pricing, create triggers for printing, delivery, and tracking, and get access to integrations that will make work seamless for your team. 

We also have many readymade templates geared towards non-profits for you to save time and start things quickly.

Get Free Account today.