Postal Commission Tweaks Mail Discounts: First-Class Postage Gets Boring Rule Update
Published Date: 2/26/2025
Rule
Summary
Starting March 28, 2025, the Postal Regulatory Commission is updating rules about discounts and promotions for popular mail services like First-Class and Marketing Mail. These changes affect mailers who use these services by clarifying how discounts count toward price limits, helping the Postal Service manage rates better. If you send mail regularly, these updates could impact your costs and the timing of discounts.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
New rule lets volume-growth discounts count
Starting March 28, 2025, certain discounts that require a mailer to increase its mail volumes can be counted in the Postal Service's "percentage change in rates" calculation (the calculation the Commission uses to measure allowable rate changes). To qualify, the incentive must be a discount (or translatable to a discount), have sufficient billing data, be designed to increase volume, and require a mailer in a specified period to send more mail than a specified threshold that is not less than the mailer's volume during a 3- to 12-month comparison period (or, for 1-calendar-year incentives, the most recently ended calendar year or fiscal year).
Targeted promotions can be used more often
The Commission removed the (previously not-enforced) rule that a rate incentive must be made available to all mailers equally to be included in the percentage change in rates calculation. This means the Postal Service may offer promotions that are not identically available to every mailer and still seek to include them in the rate-change calculation.
Mandatory disclosure of promotion details and impacts
When the Postal Service files to include a rate incentive in the percentage change in rates calculation, it must provide the incentive's terms, eligibility factors, a statement that it will not benefit only a single mailer, a statement that it is not available only by written agreement, the purpose of the incentive, and an estimate of the incentive's effect on mailers in the affected class who do not participate plus the calculations used to make that estimate.
Commission can require extra reporting on incentives
The Commission codified authority to require submission of information or reporting to ensure that rate incentives included in the percentage change in rates calculation comply with rules. The rule notes that reporting requirements may be imposed to show how incentives operate in practice.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2025-10758, System for Regulating Rates and Classes for Market Dominant Products
Starting in 2025, the Postal Service will only change rates for Market Dominant products once a year until 2030, making prices more predictable and easier to manage. They’ll also fix discounts to better match actual cost savings, stopping unfair price cuts. These changes affect businesses and customers who use postal services and aim to save money and simplify how rates are set.
2026-19893, New Postal Products
The Postal Service has asked for approval of new deals that offer special shipping options to businesses. These changes could affect companies using competitive mailing services and might bring new pricing or service tweaks. If you want to share your thoughts, you have until October 2, 2026, to comment online.
2026-19425, New Postal Products
The Postal Service has asked for approval of new deals that offer special shipping options to businesses. These changes could affect companies using competitive mailing services and might change prices or services soon. Everyone has until September 28, 2026, to share their thoughts before the Postal Regulatory Commission makes a decision.
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The Postal Service wants to update how it measures worker productivity in mail processing to improve cost calculations for discounts. This change affects how reports are made and could impact pricing decisions. People can share their thoughts by October 30, 2026, so get ready to weigh in!
2026-19285, Competitive Postal Products
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2026-19353, New Postal Products
The Postal Service has asked for approval of new or changed special deals for competitive mail services. This affects businesses and customers who use these services, with the chance to comment before any changes happen. The Commission is reviewing the requests now, so expect updates soon on how these deals might impact prices or options.
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