--- title: "Binders, loose-leaf pages and printouts by Media Mail" description: "Loose-leaf pages that form a book qualify for Media Mail, in or with their binder. Empty binders, update pages and replacement pages don't." canonical: https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/binders-and-loose-leaf/ last_updated: 2026-10-19 publisher: "The Reseller Index" --- # Can binders, loose-leaf pages or printouts go by Media Mail? USPS's rules: Only if they form a book **Loose-leaf pages qualify if together they form a book, at least eight printed pages of reading matter with no ads, and they can ship in their binder or with it at Media Mail prices.** A binder on its own doesn't qualify, and neither do transmittal, update or replacement pages, which pay another class's price for their weight. Medical loose-leaf pages and binders for doctors, hospitals, medical schools and medical students are a Media Mail item of their own. Rates verified on Oct 19, 2026 ## The rule, in USPS's words Quoted from the official pages linked below each quote, checked Oct 19, 2026. > “Books are not required to be in bound form to qualify for the Media Mail prices.” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-010](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-010.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-010: Loose Leaf Pages, Media Mail (updated January 2017) > “Loose leaf pages that form a book may be enclosed in a binder or mailed with a binder at the Media Mail prices.” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-010](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-010.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-010: Loose Leaf Pages, Media Mail (updated January 2017) > “Transmittal pages, update pages, and replacement pages do not qualify for mailing as a book or supplement to a book at the Media Mail prices.” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-010](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-010.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-010: Loose Leaf Pages, Media Mail (updated January 2017) > “Loose-leaf pages and their binders consisting of medical information for distribution to doctors, hospitals, medical schools, and medical students.” [Domestic Mail Manual 173.4.1h](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility > “Handwritten or typewritten letters and other documents are mailable only at the First-Class, Priority Mail, or Priority Mail Express prices regardless of when they were produced.” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-091](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-091.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-091: Old Letters (updated January 2017) ## What it costs to ship Media Mail costs the same to every US address, with a 1 lb minimum ($4.39) and any fraction of a pound rounded up. Ground Advantage, USPS's ground package service with tracking included, is priced by weight and zone: online is USPS's commercial price for labels bought online, and the counter price is retail. *USD, weight not over. USPS Notice 123 effective Oct 4, 2026; Ground Advantage includes USPS's temporary holiday prices, in effect until 12 a.m. CT Jan 17, 2027 (Media Mail isn't affected). Selling platforms and label services can have their own rates.* | Package | Media Mail (if it qualifies) | Ground Advantage online, Zones 1-9 | Ground Advantage at the counter, Zones 1-9 | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1 lb | $4.39 | $8.01 to $11.22 | $10.05 to $13.65 | | 2 lb | $5.13 | $8.39 to $13.42 | $11.30 to $19.80 | | 5 lb | $7.34 | $10.35 to $20.24 | $13.75 to $27.45 | ### Worked examples - A complete loose-leaf edition in its 3-ring binder, 4 lb: Media Mail, $6.60. - Three empty binders, 2 lb: Ground Advantage, $8.39 to $13.42 online. - A typed manuscript of a novel, 1 lb: manuscripts for books qualify ([DMM 173.4.1f](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1)), $4.39. Every weight from 1 to 70 lb: [Media Mail rates](https://resellerindex.com/rates/media-mail/) · [Ground Advantage rates](https://resellerindex.com/rates/ground-advantage/) ## Edge cases - A complete new edition that replaces an old one counts as a book: PS-010's example is a sixth edition shipped with instructions to discard the old pages. - Photocopies and artwork that illustrate a manuscript go at Media Mail prices only with the manuscript, and a handwritten or typed transmittal letter or bill about the manuscript may ride with it ([PS-018](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-018.htm)). - Printouts that are neither a book nor a manuscript for a book, periodical or music aren't on the Media Mail list. - Handwritten or typed letters and documents, however old, aren't a book: USPS requires First-Class Mail, Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express for them ([PS-091](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-091.htm)), unless they're a manuscript for a book, periodical or music. ## What to do - Ship a full loose-leaf book in its binder by Media Mail. - Ship empty binders and update packets by Ground Advantage, or a light update packet as a First-Class Mail large envelope. ## Related questions - [Can textbooks, workbooks and test booklets go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/textbooks-and-workbooks/) Yes: textbooks are books, USPS accepts workbooks and fill-in textbooks, and printed objective tests qualify with their answer sheets. - [Can you ship sheet music by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/sheet-music/) Yes. Printed music qualifies whether bound or in sheet form, and so do manuscripts for music. - [Can maps, atlases, charts or posters go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/maps-charts-and-posters/) Educational only. Atlases and educational maps and charts qualify; decorative posters, poster books and mostly-text sheets don't. - [What are the Media Mail weight and size limits?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/weight-and-size-limits/) Up to 70 lb and 108 in. in length plus girth; priced per pound with a 1 lb minimum, any fraction rounded up. [All 25 Media Mail questions](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/) · [Cheapest way to ship books](https://resellerindex.com/guides/cheapest-way-to-ship-books/) ## Sources Rates verified on Oct 19, 2026 from each official page below. - [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-010: Loose Leaf Pages, Media Mail (updated January 2017)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-010.htm) - [USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm) - [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-091: Old Letters (updated January 2017)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-091.htm) - [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-018: Manuscripts (updated June 2014)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-018.htm) - [USPS Notice 123: price list (effective Oct 4, 2026), Media Mail and Ground Advantage prices](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm) - [USPS: temporary price change for 2026 holiday shipping (Aug 25, 2026)](https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2026/0825-usps-announces-temporary-price-change-for-2026-holiday-shipping-season.htm) Subscribe: https://resellerindex.com/subscribe/ --- The Reseller Index Researched and drafted with AI assistance from each platform's and carrier's own published pages. A full-time reseller runs The Reseller Index and will edit every newsletter issue once the newsletter starts. Every number links to its source and carries the date we checked it. Spot an error? [Tell us](https://resellerindex.com/corrections/) and we'll fix it in the public corrections log. General information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Not affiliated with or endorsed by eBay, Amazon, Mercari, Poshmark, Depop, Whatnot, Etsy, TikTok Shop, USPS, the IRS or the software companies whose prices we track; their names belong to them. Each page shows the date its own rates were last checked. Sponsored placements are always labeled "Sponsored". © 2026 The Reseller Index. No trackers, no ad cookies.