Return Service Requested: What It Means and How It Compares to the Other Endorsements
By Martin C | October 27, 2026
Return Service Requested is one of five ancillary service endorsements, and if your team inherited it with your envelope stock, you’re in good company. It’s worth a second look, though, because the five aren’t interchangeable. Pick the wrong one and you either lose address corrections or pay for returns you didn’t need. In Postal Regulatory Commission Docket RM2025-13, the USPS reported more than 2.5 billion undeliverable-as-addressed letters in 2024.
Return Service Requested and the other four endorsements, defined
Let’s start with the basics. An endorsement is a printed instruction that tells the USPS whether to forward, return or dispose of an undeliverable piece, and whether you get the new address.
ACS (Address Change Service) is the USPS service that sends change-of-address and nondelivery notices as electronic files. Full-Service is the USPS option where each piece carries a unique barcode, backed by electronic documentation.
| Endorsement | Undeliverable First-Class piece | USPS Marketing Mail piece | What you receive | Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Address Service Requested | Forwarded months 1 to 12; returned with new address months 13 to 18; returned with reason after 18 months or with no order on file | Same tiers | Separate address notice in months 1 to 12; the piece itself after | First-Class: correction fee on month 1 to 12 notices only. Marketing Mail: correction fee, plus weighted fee (single-piece price × 2.472) on returns |
| Return Service Requested | Returned with new address or reason attached; never forwarded | Returned the same way | The physical piece | First-Class: none. Marketing Mail: single-piece First-Class or Ground Advantage (USPS ground parcel) price |
| Change Service Requested | Disposed of; notice issued. A second option forwards the piece in months 1 to 12. Requires ACS | Disposed of; notice issued | Address record, no piece | Notice fee, unless Full-Service ACS applies |
| Forwarding Service Requested | Forwarded months 1 to 12; returned with new address months 13 to 18; returned with reason after 18 months or if no order on file | Forwarded months 1 to 12; returned with new address or reason otherwise | The recipient gets the piece; you get returns only | First-Class: none. Marketing Mail: weighted fee on each return. In either class, not a Move Update method (Move Update: the USPS rule to check addresses for moves before mailing) |
| Electronic Service Requested | Handled per your ACS profile | Handled per your ACS profile | Electronic notice, plus the piece if your profile returns it | Notice fee unless Full-Service ACS applies; returns follow class rules |
Months count from when the recipient filed a change-of-address order. Treatment comes from the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), the USPS rulebook, in DMM 507, Exhibits 1.5.1 and 1.5.3, which also set when a notice fee applies. Check USPS Notice 123, the official price list, before you budget.
What does Return Service Requested mean?
In plain terms, Return Service Requested tells the USPS to send every undeliverable piece back to you and never forward it. The new address or the reason for nondelivery comes attached. First-Class returns cost nothing; Marketing Mail returns cost the single-piece First-Class or Ground Advantage price.
It’s a good fit when contents shouldn’t follow a recipient to an unconfirmed address. Just keep in mind that every return needs handling, so it pays to give returned-mail processing its own workflow.
What does Address Service Requested mean?
Address Service Requested asks the USPS to forward the piece when a change-of-address order exists and to tell you the new address.
For First-Class Mail, treatment depends on the order’s age, so here’s how it plays out:
On Marketing Mail, you pay an address correction fee on month 1 to 12 forwards. Returns (no order on file, months 13 to 18, or after 18 months) carry a weighted fee equal to the single-piece price × 2.472, rounded up to the next whole cent.
What does Change Service Requested mean?
Change Service Requested tells the USPS to dispose of the undeliverable piece and send you an address record instead. It needs ACS, and each notice carries an address correction fee unless Full-Service rules apply.
What does Forwarding Service Requested mean?
Think of Forwarding Service Requested as the delivery-first option. The piece follows the recipient for 12 months, but you won’t get a separate address notice until a piece comes back.
What does Electronic Service Requested mean?
Electronic Service Requested is the flexible one. It lets your ACS mailer profile (handling rules set up in advance) treat each piece like Address or Change Service Requested. If the barcode carries a Service Type ID (STID), a code that tells the USPS which service you want, the STID overrides the profile.
The electronic pair: ACS, and when it is free
Change Service Requested and Electronic Service Requested both rely on ACS, which delivers change-of-address and nondelivery notices electronically. Full-Service pieces get their ACS notices at no charge.
If at least 95% of your eligible First-Class and Marketing Mail in a calendar month is Full-Service, you also get free notices on your qualifying Basic automation and nonautomation pieces. Those are barcoded pieces that don’t meet Full-Service rules and pieces without automation prices. All other notices carry the address correction fee.
For OneCode ACS, you’ll need:
Pieces using a Change Service Requested STID are exempt from Move Update verification assessment. Other pieces mailed at presort or automation prices still have to meet Move Update, including the 0.5% error threshold (DMM 602, section 5.3) and the 95-day NCOA Move Update standard. NCOA is the USPS National Change of Address database.
What the choice costs at 100,000 pieces
At a 5% undeliverable rate, 100,000 Marketing Mail pieces cost $10,150 in Address Service Requested return fees versus $4,100 under Return Service Requested. Full-Service ACS notices cost nothing. First-Class returns carry no postage, so your cost is staff time ($7,500 under Table B assumptions).
These assumptions are illustrative, so feel free to swap in your own volumes and rates. The price used is the 1 oz stamped single-piece letter price of $0.82 in USPS Notice 123, effective October 4, 2026. Heavier pieces and flats return at higher prices, plus any nonmachinable surcharge.
Table A: USPS Marketing Mail, 100,000 pieces
| Line | Formula | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Undeliverable pieces (assumed rate) | 100,000 × 5% | 5,000 |
| Return Service Requested | 5,000 × $0.82 single-piece price (1 oz letter, stamped retail) | $4,100 |
| Address Service Requested, all 5,000 returned rather than forwarded | 5,000 × ($0.82 × 2.472 weighted fee, rounded up = $2.03) | $10,150 |
| Change Service Requested, standard ACS | 5,000 × per-notice fee | Check current Notice 123 |
| Full-Service pieces, Full-Service ACS | 5,000 × $0 notice fee | $0 |
Table B: First-Class Mail, 100,000 pieces
| Line | Formula | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Undeliverable pieces (assumed rate) | 100,000 × 5% | 5,000 |
| Return Service Requested postage | 5,000 × $0 First-Class return postage | $0 |
| Handling returns (assumed: 2 minutes per piece at $45/hour loaded) | 5,000 × 2 ÷ 60 × $45 | $7,500 |
| Electronic notices instead, standard ACS | 5,000 × per-notice fee | Check current Notice 123 |
| Full-Service pieces, Full-Service ACS | 5,000 × $0 notice fee | $0; no pieces to handle with a Change Service Requested STID |
One practical note: keying a correction from the yellow USPS sticker on a return is typically slower and more error-prone than loading a notice file. Returns are only part of what undeliverable mail costs, because you’ve already paid for printing and outbound postage.
Which endorsement for which mail stream
The easiest way to choose is to ask what you need back: the piece, the new address or delivery. For statements and tax documents, Return Service Requested is the safe pick.
| Mail stream | Recommended endorsement | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Regulated statements and notices | Return Service Requested | Sensitive content is never forwarded to an unconfirmed address, and First-Class returns are free |
| Marketing Mail campaigns | Change Service Requested with ACS | You get the address data without paying return postage on low-value pieces |
| Membership communications | Address Service Requested | Members still receive the piece while you capture the new address |
| Tax documents | Return Service Requested | The returned form documents nondelivery and triggers your re-mail process |
| Bills and payment reminders | Electronic Service Requested, forward-and-notify profile | The bill reaches the payer while the correction arrives as a file |
FAQ
Can a mailpiece carry more than one endorsement?
Not if they conflict. Mail with invalid or conflicting endorsements won’t be accepted for mailing, so it’s simplest to plan on one endorsement per piece, chosen by mail stream.
Where does the endorsement go on the envelope?
DMM 202, section 4.3 allows four positions: directly below the return address, directly above the delivery address, directly to the left of the postage area, or directly below it.
What happens to undeliverable mail with no endorsement?
Unendorsed First-Class Mail is treated like Forwarding Service Requested: forwarded free for 12 months, then returned with the new address or a reason, and you won’t get an address notice. Unendorsed USPS Marketing Mail is disposed of by the USPS.
Is Return Service Requested the same as Return Receipt Requested?
No, though the names are easy to mix up. Return Receipt is a paid extra service that provides proof of delivery for Certified Mail and similar services. Return Service Requested only covers undeliverable pieces.
How Mailing.com cuts returns before the endorsement applies
Mailing.com cleans address data before print, so fewer of your pieces reach an address that triggers an endorsement: NCOA updates and deduplication run before production. Its on-site USPS verification then checks addresses, barcodes and USPS preparation rules before handoff. For transactional programs, one team handles the data through delivery, so the people who cleaned your list are the ones who mail it.
Talk to the Mailing.com team about which endorsement each of your mail streams should carry. They’re happy to help you sort it out.
