Rules
How to qualify for and keep USPS Periodicals mail rates
How a US publisher qualifies for USPS Periodicals prices under DMM 207: the eligibility tests by category, PS Form 3500, annual PS Form 3526, record keeping and revocation.
What to take away
- This guide covers United States rules only. The authority is section 207 of the USPS Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), which 39 CFR 111.1 incorporates by reference. Only a publication authorised under it may mail at Periodicals prices.
- The tests depend on the category. A general publication needs a legitimate list of paying subscribers and at least 50% of its distribution paid above a nominal price. The 24-page minimum applies to requester publications, not to general ones.
- Every publication needs a stated frequency of at least four issues a year, a known office of publication and an identification statement in each copy.
- Apply on PS Form 3500. DMM 207 says to file it at the Post Office that serves your known office of publication, but the form's own instructions (September 2025 edition) say to email the package to PCSC@usps.gov, so confirm the channel with USPS before you file. Notice 123, effective 4 October 2026, lists an original entry fee of $1,170 and a reentry fee of $152.
- File PS Form 3526 (PS Form 3526-R for requester publications) by 1 October every year. General and requester publications must also print the ownership statement in an issue.
- Keep records of copies printed and how every copy was distributed for at least three years from the issue date, and paid-subscriber records for at least 12 months.
Who decides, and which text governs
The Postal Service sets and enforces Periodicals eligibility. The manager of a Pricing and Classification Service Center (PCSC) rules on each application.
The rules sit in DMM 207, Periodicals on Postal Explorer. 39 CFR 111.1 incorporates the DMM by reference. Its text names the edition dated 7 April 2025 as the one approved for incorporation, while Postal Explorer carries later revisions. Prices and fees are in Notice 123, and the dated figures below come from the edition effective 4 October 2026. Check the live pages before you file, because both documents are revised.
The eligibility tests by category
DMM 207 sets five qualification categories: general publications, publications of institutions and societies, publications of state departments of agriculture, requester publications and foreign publications. A magazine sold to the public usually applies as a general publication. A free or controlled-circulation title usually applies as a requester publication.
| Test | What DMM 207 says | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Periodical | Stated frequency, intent to continue indefinitely, continuity from issue to issue, and information as the primary purpose (4.3) | All |
| Frequency | Issued at a regular frequency of at least four times a year, with a written statement of frequency (4.6) | All |
| Known office of publication | A public office open in normal business hours, where circulation records are kept or available to USPS (4.5). The form's instructions add that it may not be a PO Box or commercial mail receiving agency address | All |
| Paid list | A legitimate list of subscribers who paid or promised to pay more than a nominal price (6.1.2) | General |
| Paid share | At least 50% of distribution to persons who paid above nominal (6.1.2) | General |
| Nominal price | A price so low it is not material consideration, or a reduction of more than 70% off the basic annual price (6.1.2) | General |
| Advertising | Not primarily designed for advertising; examples include more than 75% advertising in more than half of issues in any 12 months (6.1.3) | General |
| Pages | Each issue at least 24 pages (6.4.1) | Requester |
| Advertising | No more than 75% advertising in more than 25% of issues in 12 months (6.4.1) | Requester |
| Requests | At least 50% of copies to people who requested them; requests over three years old are not valid (6.4.2) | Requester |
Some guides apply the 24-page minimum and a 25% non-advertising share to every title. The current DMM text does not. The page minimum and the 75% advertising test sit in the requester rules, and the general-publication test is built on paid circulation instead.
Digital copies can count within limits. DMM 6.5 lets electronic copies count toward eligibility if they are paid above nominal (general) or requested in writing (requester). At least 40% of total circulation must be printed copies to paying subscribers or requesters, and up to 10% of qualifying copies may be sent electronically. If printed copies fall below 60% of circulation, annual eligibility audits must be done by a certified audit bureau.
Apply: steps in order
- Pick the category and check your title against the table above.
- Print the identification statement in every copy. Section 4.11 requires the title and number (the ISSN if you have one), issue date, frequency, issue number, the known office of publication, the line "Periodicals Postage Paid at..." and a POSTMASTER address-change line. In a bound publication it may sit on the last three nonadvertising pages inside the back cover.
- Gather two copies of the issue published nearest the application date, marked to show advertising content, with the advertising percentage shown on the cover (5.1.7). The form's instructions ask instead for a PDF of the front page and of the identification statement.
- Complete PS Form 3500. DMM 5.1.1 says to file it at the Post Office serving the known office of publication. The form's instructions say to email it to PCSC@usps.gov with PS Form 3548 (Review and Verification of Circulation), a PDF of the front page and of the identification statement, a subscriber or requester list in Excel, and the print order and printer's invoice for the issue named. They add that the fee is paid at the original entry Post Office after the first review. The fee is not refunded after filing (4.13.3).
- Wait for the ruling. The PCSC manager may ask for more information, and failure to supply it is grounds for denial (5.3.2). Authorisation takes effect on the date of application or the date of eligibility, whichever is later (5.3.4).
You cannot mail at Periodicals prices before approval. While an application is pending, copies must carry the line "Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at..." and postage is paid at another eligible price. A refund of the difference is possible only for postage paid through an advance deposit account with proper records (5.3.5). Editorial suggestion: budget the first issues as a cash-flow cost, because the refund is not automatic.
Each mailing is reported on a postage statement. USPS names PS Form 3541 as the Periodicals postage statement for one issue or one edition. At least once a year, USPS checks the advertising percentage on the statement by measuring one issue (17.2.1).
Keep the privileges
Annual ownership statement. Every Periodicals publication must file a statement of ownership by 1 October at the original entry Post Office (8.3.1). Use PS Form 3526, or PS Form 3526-R for requester publications. It names the editor, managing editor, publisher and owners, any corporation and stockholders that own at least 1% of the stock, known bondholders and mortgagees, and the extent and nature of circulation (8.3.2).
General and requester publications must also publish the complete statement in an issue. The deadlines depend on frequency: for publications issued more often than weekly, an issue whose primary mailed distribution is produced by 10 October; for weekly or less often but more often than monthly, by 31 October; for all others, the first issue produced after 1 October (8.3.3).
Changes. File PS Form 3510 for reentry to change the title, frequency, category, price or known office of publication (9.1.1). Notice 123 lists $152 for reentry. A change of ownership alone does not require it in most cases (9.1.2).
Records. Keep records that show copies printed and how every copy was distributed. Retain them for at least three years from the issue date, and keep paid-subscriber records for at least 12 months after the issue date (8.1.3). The three-year rule has an exception for circulation records of general or requester publications verified by a USPS-authorized audit bureau, which keeps its own records for three years. Acceptable types include print orders and invoices, subscription orders, newsstand sales and returns, receipts, bank deposit records and records of copies destroyed (8.1.4). The audience and subscription guide covers how to run subscriber records that meet this standard.
Sample and nonsubscriber copies. At Outside-County prices you may mail nonsubscriber copies up to 10% of the copies mailed to subscribers in the calendar year. Copies above that limit qualify only if they are commingled and presorted with subscriber copies (7.9.1). Complimentary copies count as nonsubscriber copies (7.7).
Back issues. Unbound back issues may be mailed at Periodicals prices while the entry is in effect. Permanently bound back issues pay other prices (4.10).
Audit, suspension and revocation
USPS may ask to see records to look for signs of ineligibility, to check the copy counts and postage on statements, and to confirm that general publications meet the circulation standards (8.2.1). Verification can be done by USPS staff or by an authorised audit bureau (8.2.2).
Revocation follows a set path, and 5.4.1 says the USPS revokes privileges if it finds, after a hearing, that the publication no longer meets the standards. The PCSC manager may ask a publisher for eligibility information. If the manager decides the privileges no longer apply, a notice of suspension or revocation goes to the last known address with reasons. It takes effect 15 days after receipt unless the publisher appeals through the PCSC (5.4.2 and 5.4.3). Appeals of most decisions go to the USPS Recorder under 39 CFR Part 954, titled Denial, Suspension, or Revocation of Periodicals Mail Privileges, whose rules of practice are issued by the Postal Service's Judicial Officer.
Two specific triggers appear in the DMM. If a publication does not keep its stated frequency, even after notice, the PCSC revokes its privileges (4.6.3). If a publisher misses the PS Form 3526 filing or publication duty and does not comply within 10 days of a Certified Mail notice from the postmaster, the PCSC may suspend or revoke (8.3.4).
No dollar figure for back postage appears in the DMM text, so this guide gives none. Ask USPS what it would assess in your case.
What the postage looks like
Outside-County prices have three parts: a charge per addressed piece, a charge for the weight of the advertising portion and a charge for the weight of the nonadvertising portion (11.1.1). Notice 123 lists these regular pound prices:
| Entry point | Advertising, per pound | Editorial, per pound |
|---|---|---|
| Destination delivery unit | $0.122 | $0.092 |
| Destination sectional center facility | $0.180 | $0.135 |
| No destination entry | $0.300 | $0.205 |
Piece prices depend on presort level and shape. Carrier route saturation mail is $0.333 per addressed piece in the same edition of Notice 123. Nonprofit and Classroom publications receive a 5% discount off Outside-County postage excluding the advertising pounds (11.1.3).
In-County prices apply when the issue is entered in the county of the original entry Post Office for delivery in that county, and either its paid or requested circulation is under 10,000 copies or more than 50% goes to addresses within the county (11.3.1).
A US Periodicals permit is separate from Canadian magazine funding. See Canada Periodical Fund eligibility for that program. Frequency and page counts also depend on your production plan, so read the editorial calendar guide before you commit to a stated frequency.
