Intelligent Mail Barcode for Mailpieces

IMb (Intelligent Mail barcode) is the new USPS requirement beginning May 2011. The IMb replaces the Postnet and (if you use it) the Planet Code barcodes.

All outgoing and incoming pieces of presorted (First and Standard Class) mail MUST contain the new barcode. And, with a long ‘tail’ on returns, you bet you’ll need it on your Reply Envelopes well before May!

Complying with the new USPS Regulation is not difficult. However, you must have a Mailer ID (MID) in order to have an IMb created that identifies your organization or company. To get an MID, visit https://gateway.usps.com/bcg/login.htm. If you’re an existing user*, Login and follow the steps under “Mailer ID” on the ‘Select a Business Service’ screen.

What is an IMb? As stated earlier, it’s the USPS’s new barcode requirement for mail. Not only does it contain the Zip+4 and check digits like the Postnet, it also incorporates “OneCode” services (like electronically receiving address corrections) that were once included in the separate Planet Code barcode. You can even track your mail (outgoing and incoming) throughout the postal system!

For detailed information about IMb, please visit: https://ribbs.usps.gov/index.cfm?page=intellmailmailpieces

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*If you or someone at your location is not an existing user and you or someone at you location does not have a Customer Registration ID (CRID), you will first need to obtain one by clicking on “Sign Up” under ‘New Users’.