Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) is a USPS service that delivers your postcard or flyer to every address on the carrier routes you choose, with no mailing list. You pick neighborhoods, USPS delivers to every door. Below: how it works, what it costs, whether it is worth it and who can use it.
What is EDDM, in one paragraph?
A carrier route is the path one mail carrier covers each day. With EDDM you choose whole routes, print a flat mailpiece addressed to "Postal Customer", and USPS puts one in every mailbox on those routes. EDDM Retail postage is $0.26 a piece and needs no permit, according to the USPS EDDM page. Because there is no list to buy, EDDM is built for businesses whose customers live near them: restaurants, contractors, dentists, gyms, real estate agents and churches.
How does EDDM work, step by step?
- Choose your carrier routes. Search a ZIP code or address on a route map and click the routes you want. Each route shows how many homes and businesses it has, so your print quantity is the sum of the routes you pick. To see who lives in a ZIP first, look it up in our free ZIP code demographics and carrier route data.
- Design a piece that qualifies. USPS treats EDDM pieces as flats. A piece must be longer than 10.5 inches, or taller than 6.125 inches, or thicker than 0.25 inch, and weigh no more than 3.3 oz (DMM 143). The 6.5 x 9 postcard and the 8.5 x 11 flyer are common choices; every qualifying size is on our EDDM sizes page, and our free EDDM templates already leave room for the postage box.
- Print it. EDDM pieces are printed full colour on heavy stock, with an EDDM postage box on the mailing side.
- Bundle, file the paperwork and drop it off. USPS wants the pieces in bundles of 50 to 100, each with a facing slip, plus PS Form 3587, taken to the Post Office that serves those routes. With EDDM Full Service we do this part. With Print Only you do it yourself.
- USPS delivers. Carriers deliver your pieces with the regular mail on each route. USPS does not guarantee EDDM delivery dates, so plan a buffer before any event.
What are the USPS rules for EDDM Retail?
- Quantity: at least 200 and at most 5,000 pieces per ZIP Code per day (USPS).
- Size: a flat, as above, and no bigger than 15 inches long, 12 inches high and 0.75 inch thick.
- Addressing: no names or street addresses, just "Postal Customer" (or "Local Postal Customer").
- Paperwork: a facing slip on every bundle and PS Form 3587 at drop-off.
- Where: the Post Office that serves the routes you picked, so routes in two ZIP codes can mean two drop-offs.
What happens at the Post Office?
EDDM Retail mail is not dropped in a blue box or at any counter you like. It goes to the Post Office that serves the carrier routes you picked (DMM 143), in bundles, with a facing slip on each bundle naming the route, and with PS Form 3587 filled in. You can pay the postage online when you set up the mailing with the USPS EDDM tool on usps.com, or at the counter by card, cash or check.
That drop-off is the part people underestimate. Five routes spread over two ZIP codes can mean two Post Offices, and each ZIP still has the 5,000-pieces-a-day cap. With Full Service, we bundle by route, prepare the paperwork and deliver the mail to each Post Office for you, and the postage is already in your price.
How much does EDDM cost? A worked example
Here is one real order at the time of writing: 5,000 Full Service 6.5 x 9 postcards, printed full colour on both sides. Full Service covers printing, bundling by carrier route, the USPS paperwork, drop-off and postage (shown as its own line on your order). Sales tax of 8.25% is added at checkout on everything except the USPS postage, in every state.
| 5,000 postcards, 6.5 x 9 | Full Service | Print Only |
|---|---|---|
| Our price | $2,643.17 (postage included) | $688.36 (printing only) |
| Sales tax, 8.25% (not on USPS postage) | $107.59 | $56.79 |
| USPS postage at the counter (5,000 x $0.26) | included above | $1,300.00 |
| Total | $2,750.76 | $2,045.15 plus shipping |
That is $0.53 a piece before tax with Full Service. Smaller runs cost more per piece: 1,000 of the same card are $748.52 before tax ($0.75 a piece), or $788.18 with the $39.66 tax. Print Only saves about $705 at 5,000 pieces, before shipping, in exchange for doing the bundling, paperwork and Post Office trips yourself. Every size and quantity is broken down in our EDDM cost guide.
EDDM vs regular mail: what's different?
"Regular" direct mail is addressed: each piece carries a name and street address from a list, which you own or buy. EDDM skips the list and targets places instead of people. That trade drives every other difference.
| Feature | EDDM | Addressed (list) direct mail |
|---|---|---|
| Mailing list | Not needed | Needed (bought or your own) |
| Targeting | Places: whole carrier routes | People: names on a list |
| Postage | $0.26 a piece (EDDM Retail) | Depends on mail class, sort level and list |
| Minimum | 200 pieces per ZIP per day | Depends on mail class |
| Personalization | None | Names, variable offers |
| Setup | Pick routes on a map | Build or buy a list, clean and sort addresses |
The honest summary: EDDM is simpler and cheaper to mail per piece, but every household on a route gets one, including homes that will never buy. Addressed mail costs more per piece and takes more setup, but nothing goes to people outside your list. If your customers are a place, EDDM usually wins. If they are a type of person, a list usually does.
Who can use EDDM?
Anyone can mail EDDM Retail: a business of any size, a sole trader, a nonprofit, a church, a political campaign or an individual. There is no permit and no USPS account needed for Retail. Nonprofits pay the same Retail rate unless they hold separate USPS authorization for nonprofit prices (DMM 703).
It fits best when customers are defined by where they live: restaurants and cafes, home services such as roofing, HVAC and landscaping, dental and chiropractic offices, gyms, retail stores, real estate agents farming a neighborhood, and churches inviting the streets around them.
Is EDDM worth it?
It is worth it when three things are true: your customers live near you, one new customer is worth more than a small share of the mailing cost, and you can mail the same routes more than once. It is not worth it when those are false.
Do the break-even math with your own numbers. Suppose, hypothetically, that a new customer is worth $300 in profit to you. The 5,000-piece Full Service mailing above costs $2,750.76 all-in, so it pays for itself at 10 new customers (10 x $300 = $3,000). That is one customer for every 500 homes mailed. If your real customer value is lower, you need more responses, or fewer, better-chosen routes. For sourced benchmarks rather than guesses, see our EDDM statistics page.
When to skip EDDM: if your customer is a specific kind of person rather than a place (new parents, people over 65, every dentist in a county), EDDM spends pieces on everyone else. A list-based mailing costs more per piece but reaches only the people you want.
A sensible first test is two or three routes close to you, mailed more than once with one clear offer and a way to track calls or codes. That tells you more than one thin mailing across a whole city.
Full Service or Print Only?
Full Service means we print, bundle by route, fill in the USPS forms, take it to the right Post Offices and pay the postage, which shows as its own line on your order. A person reviews every paid order before it goes to print. Print Only means we print and ship the pieces to you; you bundle them, fill in PS Form 3587 and the facing slips, and pay USPS at the counter. Print Only saves the mailing service; Full Service saves the time and the trips.
Frequently asked questions
What does "every door" mean in EDDM?
USPS delivers to every delivery point on the carrier routes you select: houses, apartments and, unless you choose homes only, businesses. You cannot skip individual addresses.
Do I need a permit for EDDM?
Not for EDDM Retail, which is what most small businesses use. EDDM BMEU, the high-volume version, needs a bulk mailing permit and uses the permit rate, which differs; check usps.com.
Can I drop off EDDM mail at any Post Office?
No. EDDM Retail mail goes to the Post Office that serves the routes on the mailing, with facing slips and PS Form 3587. Routes in different ZIP codes can mean more than one drop-off.
How long does EDDM delivery take?
It depends on the production speed you choose when you order and on USPS, which delivers on each route's schedule and does not guarantee EDDM dates. Leave a buffer before any event date.
Is EDDM only for postcards?
No. Any flat that meets the USPS size and weight rules can go EDDM: oversized postcards, flyers, sell sheets, and larger pieces mailed folded, such as the 11 x 17 flyer folded to 8.5 x 11.
Is EDDM worth it for a small business?
Often, if the customers are local and one customer is worth a meaningful share of the mailing cost. Work out how many customers cover the all-in price, then test a few nearby routes before scaling up.
The quickest way to see what EDDM would cost for your area is to see the homes on your routes and the price, free, before you give us any contact details. Questions? Call (346) 306-EDDM (3336).
