Steps to Creating Your Intelligent Mail Barcode

The Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb®) is a 65-bar Postal Service™ barcode used to sort and track letters and flats. The barcode makes participating in multiple Postal Service programs simple by consolidating information for all of the services into one comprehensive location. It also expands mailers’ ability to track individual mailpieces and gain greater mailstream visibility.

The IMb can be applied to most Election Mail and is critical for using Informed Visibility® Mail Tracking and Reporting (IV®-MTR) service. The IV-MTR application provides information about when and where the Postal Service sorts a mailpiece on mail-processing equipment. The IMb can also be used for address correction services: manual address correction notices, Address Change Service (ACS™), OneCode ACS®, and Intelligent Mail Full-Service ACS™.

PolicyNet Resources

For more information on OneCode ACS, please review Publication 8, ACS Product Information Guide.

Additional information on the Intelligent Mail program is provided in Publication 685, Publication for Streamlined Mail Acceptance for Letters and Flats.

PostalProTM Resources

The IV-MTR User Guide can be found under the IV-MTR User Guides and Training section at https://postalpro.usps.com/InformedVisibility.

For guidance on address quality, please visit https://postalpro.usps.com/address-quality.