LetterAgent
Mail physical letters by just asking your AI assistant.
Home > Guides > Address Service Requested
Address Service Requested is a USPS endorsement that tells the post office to forward the letter to the recipient's new address AND send you a separate notice with the corrected address. It costs a fee per piece served, and you pay nothing for pieces delivered as addressed.
If the recipient still lives at the address, nothing special happens: the letter is delivered normally and you pay nothing extra. The machinery kicks in only when the address is stale. If the recipient filed a change of address, USPS forwards the letter to the new address and separately sends you a correction notice with the updated address, so your mailing list gets smarter with every send. If the letter can't be forwarded (expired forwarding order, no new address on file), it comes back to you with the reason attached.
| Endorsement | What USPS does with a stale address | You learn the new address? |
|---|---|---|
| Address Service Requested | Forwards the piece, then sends you a separate correction notice | Yes |
| Return Service Requested | Never forwards; returns the piece with the new address attached | Yes |
| Change Service Requested | Does not forward; discards the piece; sends you an electronic correction notice | Yes |
| Forwarding Service Requested | Forwards if possible, otherwise returns; correction notice in both cases | Yes |
| No automatic forwarding (or no endorsement at all) | Returns or discards depending on class of mail | No |
With Return Service Requested, the letter is never forwarded: it comes straight back to you with the recipient's new address (if there is one) attached. That's the right choice when forwarding would be pointless or dangerous, like a time-sensitive legal notice or a piece containing sensitive information. Address Service Requested is the middle ground: the letter still reaches the recipient, and you get the correction notice as a bonus. If the letter arriving at the new address matters most, Address Service Requested wins. If keeping control of the piece matters most, Return Service Requested wins.
You, the sender. USPS charges a per-piece fee for each piece that gets forwarded or returned, and a separate fee for each correction notice; pieces delivered as addressed cost nothing extra. The endorsement is printed on the envelope below your return address. For bulk or marketing mailings, these fees are baked into the mailing budget: a stale list costs real money per piece. Canada Post has its own version of these mechanics with different names and handling, so don't assume US endorsements work the same way on Canadian mail.
Use it when keeping your mailing list current matters as much as reaching the recipient: alumni mailings, subscription renewals, donor letters, and any recurring business mail. It turns every stale address into a free list update (minus the per-piece fee). Skip it for one-off personal letters: if the recipient moved, forwarding happens automatically anyway under USPS's standard rules, and you can just ask them for the new address yourself.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is printed and mailed.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
Need help? Ask your assistant: it can check a job's status any time. If it ever can't handle something: hello@getletteragent.com