The numbers
What's in the mailbox
of all U.S. mail by volume in fiscal 2025 was USPS Marketing Mail, the bulk advertising class.1
62%
of the mail households sent and received was advertising, according to USPS's own Household Diary Study.3
56.8B
pieces of Marketing Mail were delivered in fiscal 2025. That's about 1,800 every second.2
$0.28
is the average postage paid per piece. A First-Class stamp costs much more, because advertisers get bulk discounts.2
The cost
What it would take to end it
Junk mail isn't free money for the Postal Service. Advertisers paid about $15.9 billion to send it last year, and handling it cost USPS about $9.1 billion. The difference, roughly $6.8 billion, goes toward costs USPS has no matter what: carriers on every route six days a week, post offices, trucks and retiree benefits.2
If Marketing Mail ended, that $6.8 billion would have to come from somewhere else. A yearly federal payment to the Postal Service could fill the gap.
| Postage paid by advertisers, FY2025 | $15.90B |
| Cost to handle and deliver it | −$9.12B |
| Yearly gap to cover | $6.78B |
Per taxpayer, per year
$41
That's about $3.45 a month for each of the 163.6 million individual tax returns filed in 2025.4
Compared with the military budget
0.8%
The yearly gap equals 0.8% of the $841.9 billion Congress gave the Department of Defense for fiscal 2025. That's about 3 days of Pentagon funding.7
The petition
Mark it refused
We ask Congress to end unsolicited bulk advertising mail and to fund the Postal Service directly for the revenue it would lose, so every household can choose what comes through its mail slot.
Signatures are collected on Change.org, where you can sign with your name and email and share the petition with friends.
Sign on Change.orgThe petition link is on its way. Check back soon.
Then spread the word
Every share helps. Copy this site's address and send it to a friend, or post it wherever your neighbors gather online.
Do it yourself
Take your mailbox back today
You don't have to wait for Congress. Two quick sign-ups cut a big share of the junk mail that reaches your door.
Stop credit card and insurance offers
Those "You're pre-approved!" envelopes come from lists the credit bureaus sell. The bureaus run one official opt-out for all of them.
1-888-567-8688
That's 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. It's free and automated.
Pick how long
Finish the call or the online form and you're done.
Start online or by phone, then sign and mail back the Permanent Opt-Out Election form they give you.
This is the opt-out the Federal Trade Commission points people to for prescreened credit and insurance offers.5
Stop catalogs and mail offers
Most catalogs, magazine offers and donation requests from groups you've never dealt with come from marketers that check one shared do-not-mail list. You can join it at DMAchoice, run by the Association of National Advertisers.
$6 online, or $7 by mail with a check or money order. Your choices last 10 years.
Allow about 90 days for the mail to slow down.
What it covers
Promotional mail from companies and charities you don't already do business with or give to.
Mail from companies you're a customer of or charities you've donated to (contact them directly), political mail, or local "current resident" mail.
You can add a loved one who has died to the Deceased Do Not Contact list for free online, which stops mail that can be painful to receive. There's also a Do Not Contact list for caretakers to register someone in their care.6
Use the mail for good
Send a card someone will keep
The mail is at its best when it carries something personal. A handwritten card can make someone's week, especially grandparents and older friends and neighbors who live alone or don't spend much time online. Pick up a stamp and send one this week.
Not near a mailbox right now? Start with a digital card below: choose a design, write your message, and send it by email.
Find a pen pal
Keep the letters going
These programs welcome letter writers in the U.S. Most only ask you to supply the paper and the stamp. Check each site for how it matches writers today.
Older adults
Write friendly letters to seniors in care homes and senior programs across the U.S. and abroad. Students can earn service hours.
A nonprofit that gathers handwritten letters for lonely and isolated older adults.
Anyone, anywhere
Send a postcard to a random member somewhere in the world, and get one back from someone else.
A family-friendly pen pal exchange for all ages, including culture and language swaps.
Someone going through a hard time
Each month, write to people nominated by loved ones who could use encouragement.
Volunteers write uplifting letters to people living with depression. Letters are free and anonymous for those who receive them.
People in prison
A pen pal program that connects outside writers with incarcerated people.
Sources and method
- USPS, Fiscal Year 2025 results: total mail volume 108.7 billion pieces.
- USPS, Cost and Revenue Analysis, FY2025: Marketing Mail revenue $15,895.2M, attributable cost $9,117.3M, volume 56.78B pieces.
- USPS Household Diary Study, FY2022: advertising was 62% of household mail.
- IRS, 2025 filing season statistics: 163,594,000 individual returns received through Oct. 17, 2025.
- Federal Trade Commission, How to stop junk mail: OptOutPrescreen.com and 1-888-5-OPT-OUT opt-outs, five-year and permanent.
- DMAchoice FAQ, Association of National Advertisers: fees, 10-year term, 90-day wait, what's covered and exempt, deceased registry.
- Congressional Research Service, FY2025 Defense Appropriations: Summary of Funding: $841.9 billion enacted for the Department of Defense in fiscal 2025.
Method: the yearly gap is Marketing Mail revenue minus the share of its attributable cost USPS would save. It treats all Marketing Mail as junk mail, though some of it is mail people want, like catalogs and nonprofit appeals. Some advertising also goes First-Class and isn't counted. The gap is on top of USPS's existing $9 billion loss for fiscal 2025. Live counters run at the FY2025 average pace; real delivery is uneven across days and seasons.