A Complete Guide To EDDM Size And Paper Requirements In 2025

EDDM Size and Paper Requirements

EDDM mailpieces must be a minimum of 10.5” long OR 6.125” high OR .25” thick and can be a maximum of 15” long, 12” high, and .75” thick. The minimum height is 3.5”. The minimum thickness is 7pt (0.007 inches), the equivalent of most 80lb Gloss Cover commercial printing papers. The maximum weight is 3.3 ounces per piece.

Quick Reference Table

Breakdown of EDDM Size, Thickness, and Weight Requirements

The above information, while being factually correct, can be a little tough to wrap your head around.

Choosing the correct Every Door Direct Mail size ensures that you comply with USPS requirements while maximizing visibility. Therefore, understanding the right EDDM size is critical for your campaign.

Let’s break it down piece by piece.

Length and Height Requirements

The length of an EDDM mailpiece is the longest dimension of the mailpiece and the height is the shortest dimension. Very simple and straightforward.

The length and the height are not correlated to the orientation of the mailpiece (landscape vs portrait) nor the printed address (mailing label) as it is with other types of mail.

Minimum Length and Height Requirements

EDDM mailpieces must be a minimum of 10.5" long OR 6.125" high OR .25" thick with a minimum height overall of 3.5".

There’s a lot of “OR” statements that make the length and height requirements difficult to understand.

Ignore the thickness for now because most companies who use Every Door Direct Mail simply send oversized postcards and would never bump up against the thickness requirements.

Therefore, the simplified minimum EDDM size requirements are:

More than 10.5" long OR 6.125" high with a minimum overall height of 3.5".

In practice, the smallest standard EDDM sizes typically offered by mail service providers are 4.25″ x 11″ and 6.25″ x 9″.

EDDM mailpieces are often referred to as “postcards”. While EDDM’s are often rectangular sheets of cardstock like a postcard, technically they aren’t postcards.

A postcard is a very specific type of mail that is between 3.5″ x 5″ and 4.25″ x 6″ and between 7pt and 16pt in thickness.

Standard postcards are too small to be mailed as an EDDM.

This is important to understand because I have fielded countless phone calls from desperate people who ordered thousands of 4″ x 6″ postcards thinking they could mail them as an EDDM 😔

This is why most mail service providers refer to EDDM’s as “Oversized Postcards”, “Jumbo Postcards”, or “EDDM Flyers”.

Maximum Length and Height Requirements

The maximum EDDM size is 12" x 15". Pretty plain and simple.

You can send folded pieces in the mail like a folded brochure or menu. In those cases, just make sure the folded size is less than 12" x 15".

Thickness Requirements

Minimum Thickness Requirements

Every Door Direct Mail has a minimum thickness requirement of 7pt (0.007 inches). This is the equivalent thickness of 3 sheets of standard copier paper you’re most familiar with at the office or your home.

We'll talk about this in more detail in a later section of this article, "EDDM Paper Requirements".

Maximum Thickness Requirements

You might have asked yourself:

"0.75 inches thick? Who in the world would send a postcard or flyer that thick?”

It conjures very odd images in ones head 😂

This is because EDDM’s are part of the “Flat” family of mail that encompasses things like large 200-page catalogs, magazines, and newspapers.

If you’re just planning on mailing an oversized postcard or flyer, you’ll never have to worry about your mailpiece being too thick to mail.

Weight Requirements

As mentioned previously, Every Door Direct Mail can be used to mail large, heavy envelopes, books, and catalogs but this is not the use case for the vast majority of companies looking to send an EDDM.

If you’re one of those rare people, call us, we can help. Otherwise, you can ignore the 3.3 ounce weight limit for EDDM’s.

EDDM Paper Requirements

The minimum paper thickness is 7pt but I wouldn’t recommend this in most cases. The only time I would is if you’re sending a notification for compliance reasons or something similar.

7pt thick paper is the equivalent of most 80lb Gloss Cover commercial printing paper.

Some print and mail service providers might call out the thickness of the papers they offer. They might even specifically mention that it meets minimum USPS specifications for EDDM. Unfortunately, many do not.

Many discount EDDM providers don’t even advertise what paper they're using. In these cases, they are most likely using the cheapest paper allowed by USPS specifications; 7pt 80lb Gloss Cover.

This allows them to advertise a low, flat rate without getting bogged down in any of the details.

However, I would strongly advise against 80lb Gloss Cover for your EDDM campaign.

7pt 80lb Gloss Cover is far too thin and flimsy and will make your mailer seem cheap and disposable, totally missing the boat on what you’re trying to achieve: more customers.

Here are the papers I would recommend:

• 110lb or 120lb Gloss Cover
• 10pt, 12pt, 14pt, or 16pt C2S (Coated both sides) Board Stock

Board stocks are the best choice, in my humble opinion. Board stocks are more rigid and durable compared to cover stocks, resisting tearing and folding more effectively. Also, board stocks feel weightier making your mailer, brand, and offer seem more valuable.

Other Requirements

EDDM’s must also be:

• Flexible
• Rectangular (if that wasn’t already obvious. No squares!)
• Have four square corners OR rounded corners not exceeding a radius of .125 (1/8) inch.
• Uniformly Thick
• Unwrapped, sleeved, wrapped, or enveloped.

These requirements are pretty self-explanatory and if you’re simply sending oversized postcards or flyers, you don’t have to worry about them.

Common EDDM Sizes

Now that you understand the Every Door Direct Mail size requirements, you can avoid making a costly mistake. You can do any size mailpiece you want, as long as it meets the above criteria.

However, if you want to make life easier and keep your costs down, you should consider some of these standard EDDM sizes:

• 6.25″ x 9″
• 4.25″ x 11″
• 5.75″ x 11″
• 6.25" x 11"
• 8.5″ x 11″
• 9″ x 12″
• 12″ x 15″

You don’t have to just send oversized postcards or flyers either. You can send folded brochures and menus, as well.

Standard EDDM sizes differ slightly between print and mail service providers. This is largely due to each provider having different printing equipment. Providers come up with their standard EDDM size offerings based on what runs most economically on their equipment.

For example, one mail service provider might have 5.75" x 11" as a standard size while another might have 6.25" x 11".

Whatever standard EDDM sizes your print and mail service provider offer, it’s likely best to go with those rather than a custom size. Custom sizes will cost you more money with little benefit in most cases.

Also, they're likely to have templates you can use to make the design process easier.

Ultimate EDDM Size and Paper Recommendation

If you asked me the Every Door Direct Mail size and paper I most recommend, it would be the following.

5.75″ x 11″ on 12pt or 14pt C2S (coated) board stock.

This gives you the size to stick out of the mail stack and be seen, the weight and thickness to be a real “thumb stopper”, and the affordability that EDDM is known for. The best of all worlds.

In Conclusion

I hope this helps you understand the size and paper requirements of Every Door Direct Mail. If you have any questions or would like us to double check your mail piece for you, feel free to call or text us at 512-328-9206, or email us at [email protected]. We’d be glad to help.

We also offer full-service EDDM and can take care of all the design, printing, and mailing for you. That way, if there’s an issue, it’s our fault! 😂

Request your quote today.

Frequently Asked Questions