Business or Courtesy Reply Mail

Business or Courtesy Reply Mail is a service from the U.S. Postal Service that is used when a written response is desired from recipients. To encourage a reply, preprinted envelopes or postcards are included with the outgoing mail. There are three types of reply mail: Business Reply, Courtesy Reply and Metered or Postage Stamp Reply Mail. Your selection is going to depend on the size of your mailing, the expected number of responses and the cost of preparing the reply piece.

Business Reply Mail

Business Reply Mail (BRM) enables you to send any number of reply pieces (envelopes, cards or self-mailers) and only pay for those that are returned. Since BRM requires additional handling by the USPS, delivery times can be longer than First Class mail. It is the most cost effective way to provide reply pieces for a wide variety of mailings, including fundraising solicitations, surveys, subscription renewals, etc. See below for a sample:

BRM Design and Recharge

Mail Services maintains the Business Reply Mail account for the campus with the USPS, and we can also help you with a FREE design. Click here to place your order – we will produce a design and send it via campus mail to you.

Returned pieces will be recharged at postage cost and the USPS handling fee plus recharge. If you are using the campus BRM account, it is required that you use a layout designed by Mail Services in order to meet the specifications mandated by the USPS. If you are reprinting an earlier layout designed by Mail Services, please contact us to verify that the design is still current.