Presented By the US Postal Service

Mail piece Design: Business Reply Mail

Introduction

Business Reply Mail (BRM) allows a mailer to distribute preprinted First-Class Mail reply pieces to customers. The mailer, not the customer, pays the return postage. The mailer does not prepay postage on BRM pieces. The Postal Service collects postage only on pieces that the customers actually send back to the mailer. This allows mailers to save postage costs on large volumes of distributed reply pieces when a response is not assured.

BRM is appropriate when your customer needs a little extra inducement to reply — in other words, the response or its timing is not certain. This type of reply mail is frequently used by direct marketers seeking to encourage orders, researchers needing survey responses, or magazine publishers soliciting subscriptions.

The extra inducement is provided by the fact that your customer does not pay the return postage, does not have to supply a postcard or envelope, and does not need to put an address on the mail piece.

Business Reply Mail is subject to strict standards for format, markings, and addressing. The templates provided at this web site will allow you to produce BRM that meet all the Postal Service’s standards. 

Obtaining a Business Reply Mail Permit Number

You must have a valid Business Reply Mail permit before you can mail. You may apply for a permit at any time by filling out PS Form 3615, Mailing Permit Application and Customer Profile. Note: Form 3615 is a simple form requiring you to know the company name, address where the mail will be returned, contact person, and telephone number. The forms are available at your local post office, mailing requirements office, or Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU).

A Business Reply Mail permit number is issued at the post office where the PS Form 3615 is filed, generally where the mail is returned, and requires a $100.00 fee. The fee is paid annually by cash, check or money order. Note: Checks must be made out to the US Postal Service or Postmaster.

You have three options to pay for returned Business Reply Mail pieces:

• Payment upon delivery; take no special steps prior to distributing business reply mail (other than obtaining your BRM permit), and the Postal Service will ask for payment upon delivery, before turning the pieces over to you. Payment can be made by check, cash, or meter strip.
• Postage Due Account; establish a Postage Due Account with your local delivery post office. There is no cost or fee to establish a Postage Due Account. The Postal Service will automatically deduct the charges for all incoming postage due mail from this account, including, but not limited to, all BRM and Address Change notifications. The deductions to this account are made automatically prior to delivery.
• Dedicated BRM advance deposit account; this account is similar to a postage due account, however, the Postal Service will only deduct BRM charges from this account. This allows for separate accounting of BRM and other postage due charges. You may maintain both a BRM advance deposit account and a postage due account. The Postal Service requires an additional annual fee to establish and maintain this dedicated account. This type of account is required for Qualified Business Reply Mail (QBRM) qualification.