USPS Media Mail rules: what can be sent and what cannot

What can be sent Media Mail

The USPS Media Mail rules sit in section 173 of the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM). Media Mail prices apply to only the items listed in DMM 173.4.1. If an item is not on that list, it does not qualify, however educational or cheap it is.

The table lists every qualifying category in the order the DMM gives them, with the condition that matters most for a seller.

Library Mail is a separate, related price in DMM 173.5. Each piece must name a sender or addressee from a narrow list: schools, colleges, universities, public libraries, museums, herbariums and certain nonprofit organizations. An ordinary shop cannot use it.

What does not qualify for Media Mail

Most things a small shop sells fall outside the list. The common mistakes come from items that look like books or media but fail one of the conditions.

• Handmade goods, clothing, candles, ceramics, art prints and other merchandise. None of these is on the list, and a qualifying book in the same box does not change that.
• Blank journals, planners, notebooks, sketchbooks and coloring pages with little text. The rule allows reading matter with incidental blank spaces for notations, so a book that is mostly blank pages is not reading matter.
• Books or booklets that carry advertising. Under the DMM, advertising includes paid advertising and the publisher's own advertising in display, classified, or editorial style, so a catalog, a brand lookbook or a zine with paid ads fails.
• Magazines and other periodicals mailed as periodicals. Manuscripts for periodicals qualify; the printed periodical itself is not on the Media Mail list.
• Posters, wall art and charts that are mostly text. Only educational reference charts qualify, and a chart conveyed mainly by narrative text does not qualify.
• Blank CDs, DVDs and USB drives. Recordings and computer media qualify only when they hold prerecorded content.
• Video game consoles, players, record players and other equipment. The recording qualifies; the device that plays it does not.

Media Mail for makers: which of your products qualify

Independent publishers, musicians and zine makers can often use Media Mail. The test is the same as for a large publisher: the item must match a category on the list and must carry no advertising.

When you are unsure, ship the item by USPS Ground Advantage instead. The cost of the wrong choice is covered in the next section.

Inspection and postage due: what happens if a package does not qualify

Media Mail is not sealed against postal inspection. The DMM adds that, regardless of how the box is closed, mailing at Media Mail prices is consent to postal inspection of the contents. Postal employees can open a Media Mail package to check what is inside.

If the contents fail, the package can be charged at the proper rate and sent to the recipient postage due, or the sender may be contacted for additional postage. Either way, the low price is lost, and a buyer who is asked to pay postage due may refuse the package.

DMM 173.6 allows a few extras in the box: printed matter that is mailable as USPS Marketing Mail may be included loose with the qualifying items; incidental First-Class Mail, such as a personal message or a bill, may be enclosed without paying First-Class Mail postage; and an invoice for the contents may go inside the piece or in an attached envelope marked Invoice Enclosed. None of these turns an ineligible item into an eligible one.

Media Mail prices, weight and size limits

Media Mail prices are based on the weight of the piece, and any fraction of a pound counts as a whole pound. The prices below are the retail single-piece prices in USPS Notice 123, effective July 12, 2026. USPS Tracking is included for Media Mail.

The general DMM limits apply: 70 pounds at most, and no more than 108 inches in length and girth combined.

Speed is the trade-off. USPS states no guaranteed delivery time for Media Mail, so it suits buyers who are not waiting on a date. Example: a box of self-published books weighing 1 lb 3 oz is billed as 2 lb, which is $5.13 at retail.

How to ship by Media Mail and stay within the rules

These steps cover a single package bought at retail or through a shipping label tool.

1. Check the item against the list

   Confirm the item matches a category in the table above, because Media Mail prices apply to only the items listed in DMM 173.4.1. For a book, check it has at least 8 pages and is reading matter, not blank pages.

2. Check the book for advertising

   A book must carry no advertising matter other than incidental announcements of books. Loose extras are limited too: printed matter that is mailable as USPS Marketing Mail may be included loose with the qualifying items.

3. Pack only qualifying items

   Keep merchandise such as totes, mugs or other goods out of the box, or ship the whole order by another service.

4. Weigh and round up

   Weigh the packed box. Under DMM 173.1.2, any fraction of a pound counts as a whole pound, so a box just over a pound is charged the 2 lb price.

5. Set the buyer's expectations

   Tell the buyer the order ships by Media Mail, which has no guaranteed delivery time, and share the tracking number.

Where Nation fits

Questions about Media Mail rules