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| To insure the best possible service, speed and readability by an OCR (Optical Character Reader), the United States Postal Service (USPS) recommends that you use these automation requirements: |
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Size
Mail-pieces smaller than the dimensions below are not mailable. Letter mail larger than the dimensions is mailable but must bypass the OCR and be processed through slower and less efficient manual methods.
| Dimensions(inches) |
Minimum |
Maximum |
| Height |
3 ½" |
6 1/8" |
| Length |
5" |
11 ½" |
| Thickness |
.007" |
1/4"* * Card stock should not exceed .0095" |
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| Address Location |
| The OCR looks for the address within a rectangular space on each mail-piece, called the OCR read area. No portion of the return address should appear in the OCR read area. |
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| Address Lines |
| Keep address lines in the same order as shown below. Make sure the address is as complete as possible including all apartment (APT) or suite (STE) numbers and proper delivery designations such as RD, ST, NW, S, etc. |
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| Address Characters |
| Capitalize everything, using plain block letters or a Sans Serif typeface such as Helvetica (use 10 or 12 point type). Omit all punctuation, except the hyphen in the ZIP+4 code. Use abbreviations whenever possible (see list provided below). |
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| Spacing |
| The OCR must see a clear vertical space between each character and each word or it won't know where one ends and the next begins. It also needs a clear horizontal space between each line of the address. Clear spaces between words should be at least equal to the width of one full-size character. |
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| Barcode Clear Area |
| The barcode clear area must remain free of all printing, markings, or colored borders and allow for a clean display of the bar code. |
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| Non-Address Information |
| Extraneous printing such as advertising copy or university logos should be positioned above the OCR read area. The space below and on either side of the OCR read area should be clear of all printing and markings not actually part of the address. |
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Foreign Addresses
Foreign mailings should have the full country name (not abbreviated), printed in capital letters, as the only information on the bottom line. The postal zone, if any, should be included with the city.
For Example:
MR. THOMAS CLARK
117 RUSSELL DRIVE
LONDON W1P6HQ
ENGLAND |
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| Windowed Envelopes |
| The entire address must always be visible through the window. If part of the address is hidden, the OCR will reject the envelope and send it off for manual processing. |
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| Print Quality and Color |
| The OCR performs best with black ink on a white background. Keep the ink as dark as possible and the background as light as possible. |
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| State/Territory Abbreviations |