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EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail): the complete guide for local businesses
What EDDM is, how carrier routes work, what it costs, the size rules, how to order, and how to find out which routes actually brought you customers.
Open the free EDDM route mapWhat is EDDM?
Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) is a USPS product for saturation mailing. Instead of buying a list of names and addresses, you choose whole carrier routes, and USPS delivers one piece to every residential address on them, or to every address including businesses. There is no name or address on the piece, which is why it is cheaper and faster to set up than addressed mail.
It is popular with businesses that serve a neighborhood: HVAC, plumbing, roofing, lawn care, pest control, cleaning, real estate agents and restaurants.
How carrier routes work
A carrier route is the set of addresses one mail carrier covers. Each route has an ID made of the ZIP code and a route code, for example 75201C034:
| Code starts with | Route type |
|---|---|
| C | City route |
| R | Rural route |
| H | Highway contract route |
| B | PO box section |
A ZIP code usually has between a handful and a few dozen routes, each with a few hundred to a couple of thousand addresses. You can see every route, with home and business counts, on our free EDDM route map.
EDDM Retail vs EDDM BMEU
| EDDM Retail | EDDM BMEU | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Small businesses mailing locally | Larger mailers and print shops |
| Where you drop off | Your local Post Office | A Business Mail Entry Unit |
| Permit | Not needed | Needed |
| Daily limit | Up to 5,000 pieces per ZIP per day | No retail limit |
| Targeting | Residential only or all addresses | Residential, business or both |
Most small businesses start with EDDM Retail. Rules change over time, so confirm the current limits on the USPS EDDM site before you print.
EDDM size rules
EDDM pieces must be flats, which is why they are larger than a normal postcard. A piece qualifies as a flat when it is at least one of these:
- longer than 11.5 inches, or
- taller than 6.125 inches, or
- thicker than 0.25 inch,
and no bigger than 15 by 12 inches and 0.75 inch thick. Common EDDM sizes are 6.25 x 11, 6.5 x 9 and 8.5 x 11 inches. The piece also needs the correct EDDM indicia in the postage area, and Retail mailings are bundled in stacks with a facing slip per bundle.
What does EDDM cost?
Your cost has three parts:
- Postage per piece (set by USPS; check the current EDDM rate on usps.com).
- Printing per piece (falls as quantity rises; large flats cost more than small postcards).
- Design and prep (your time, a designer, or a print shop that bundles and delivers for you).
Multiply your total per piece by the number of addresses on your routes. The route map does this for you: select routes, enter postage and printing, and see the total.
Break even rule of thumb: divide your campaign cost by the value of one job. A $1,640 mailing and a $350 average job means you need 5 jobs to break even. Anything after that is profit, if you can tell where the jobs came from.
How to order EDDM, step by step
- Pick your routes. Use the EDDM route map to compare routes by size and choose residential only or all addresses.
- Design the piece at a qualifying flat size with a clear offer, your phone number and a QR code.
- Print the exact quantity for your routes, plus a few spares.
- Bundle and fill in the paperwork: bundles with facing slips and the EDDM postage statement.
- Drop off and pay at the Post Office that serves those routes. Delivery usually happens within a few days.
How to track EDDM results
This is the part most businesses skip, and the reason EDDM feels like a gamble. The Post Office tells you the pieces were accepted. It does not tell you who responded. Three ways to measure:
1. Ask every caller
Free, but people forget, and you get “I saw a postcard” with no idea which route.
2. A unique offer code or phone number
Better, but one code for the whole mailing still cannot tell routes apart, and a tracking phone number per route gets expensive.
3. One tracking QR code per route
Print a different QR code on the postcards for each route. Every scan is tied to its route, so you see which neighborhoods respond, and you can mark the scans that turned into jobs. This is exactly what TrackFlyer does: one code per route, scans and jobs on one map, ROI by route.
EDDM response rates: what to expect
Response depends heavily on the offer, the trade, the season and the neighborhood. Industry reports usually put saturation mail at around 1 percent or lower, and repeated mailings to the same routes tend to do better than a single drop. The only number that matters is yours, per route, which is why tracking each route separately pays off by the second mailing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a mailing list for EDDM?
No. EDDM delivers to every address on the carrier routes you choose, so no names or addresses are printed on the piece.
Can I choose specific streets?
No. EDDM works by whole carrier routes. You can pick residential only or all addresses on each route. For individual streets you need addressed mail with a list.
What size does an EDDM postcard need to be?
It must be a flat: longer than 11.5 inches, taller than 6.125 inches or thicker than 0.25 inch, and no larger than 15 x 12 x 0.75 inches. 6.25 x 11 inches is the most common size.
How many pieces can I mail at once with EDDM Retail?
EDDM Retail allows up to 5,000 pieces per ZIP code per day at a Post Office. Larger volumes go through EDDM BMEU with a permit. Check usps.com for the current rules.
How do I see EDDM routes for my area?
Use our free EDDM route map: enter up to 5 ZIP codes to see every route with home and business counts and a cost estimate.
How can I tell which EDDM routes worked?
Give each route its own tracking QR code or offer code. With TrackFlyer, every route gets its own QR code and you see scans and booked jobs per route on a map.
Last updated October 6, 2026.
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