--- title: "Maps, atlases, charts and posters: Media Mail rules" description: "Atlases and educational maps and charts qualify for Media Mail; decorative posters, poster books and mostly-text sheets don't. USPS's chart rule and prices." canonical: https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/maps-charts-and-posters/ last_updated: 2026-10-19 publisher: "The Reseller Index" --- # Can maps, atlases, charts or posters go by Media Mail? USPS's rules: Educational only **An atlas qualifies as a book, since USPS treats maps on book pages as reading matter, and a single-sheet map or chart qualifies if it's designed for educational reference and conveys its information mainly through graphs, diagrams, tables or other non-narrative matter.** A decorative poster isn't on the list, poster books are ruled out by name, and a sheet that is mainly narrative text doesn't count as a chart even with a graph on it. A qualifying chart rolled in a tube pays Media Mail prices by weight: $4.39 up to 1 lb. 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. > “Each chart must be a single printed sheet of information designed for educational reference.” [Domestic Mail Manual 173.4.1g](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility > “must be conveyed primarily by graphs, diagrams, tables, or other nonnarrative matter.” [Domestic Mail Manual 173.4.1g](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility > “Examples of qualifying charts include maps produced primarily for educational reference, tables of mathematical or scientific equations, noun declensions or verb conjugations used in the study of languages, periodic table of elements” [Domestic Mail Manual 173.4.1g](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/173.htm#a_4_1) · USPS Domestic Mail Manual 173: Media Mail and Library Mail prices and eligibility > “Maps printed on pages of books are considered for postal purposes to be reading matter.” [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-236](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-236.htm) · USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-236: Atlas, Media Mail (updated June 2014) ## 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 road atlas, 2 lb: Media Mail, $5.13. - A rolled periodic-table wall chart in a tube, 1 lb: $4.39. By Ground Advantage online it's $12.51 to $15.72, because a tube adds the $4.50 nonstandard fee ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm)). - A rolled movie poster in a tube, 8 oz: not a chart, so Ground Advantage, $11.83 to $13.45 online with the tube fee. 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 - Cards of narrative text packed loose with a qualifying book can go at Media Mail prices as printed matter, as USPS ruled in [PS-213](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-213.htm). - A globe isn't on the list: a chart has to be a single printed sheet. - A tube costs nothing extra by Media Mail, since DMM 173 sets no nonstandard fees; Ground Advantage online adds $4.50 for a cylindrical tube or roll and $10.00 for anything over 30 in. long ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm)), and a tube over 30 in. pays only the higher of the two ([USPS](https://www.usps.com/ship/mail-shipping-services.htm)). - Poster books don't qualify ([PS-064](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-064.htm)); see [activity books](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/activity-and-coloring-books/). ## What to do - Ship atlases and educational charts by Media Mail. - Ship decorative posters and art prints by Ground Advantage. ## Related questions - [Can binders, loose-leaf pages or printouts go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/binders-and-loose-leaf/) Only if they form a book. Loose-leaf pages qualify, with or without their binder, when together they make a book. An empty binder, update pages or replacement pages don't. - [Can coloring, puzzle and activity books go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/activity-and-coloring-books/) Mostly no. Crossword, pattern, poster, iron-on transfer and cut-out books don't qualify; workbooks do. USPS hasn't named coloring books. - [Can film reels, slides or negatives go by Media Mail?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/media-mail/film-slides-and-negatives/) 16 mm or narrower prints. 8 mm, Super 8 and 16 mm positive prints ready for viewing qualify; 35 mm film, negatives and slides aren't on the Media Mail list. - [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. ### USPS package rules beyond Media Mail - [Why does USPS charge extra for a poster tube, tin or wooden box?](https://resellerindex.com/usps/rules/tube-can-wooden-box-fee/) [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 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-236: Atlas, Media Mail (updated June 2014)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-236.htm) - [USPS Notice 123: price list (effective Oct 4, 2026)](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm) - [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-213: Books and Charts, Media Mail (updated January 2017)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-213.htm) - [USPS: Mail and shipping services (Media Mail eligibility, Ground Advantage, First-Class Mail)](https://www.usps.com/ship/mail-shipping-services.htm) - [USPS Customer Support Ruling PS-064: Media Mail, Books (updated January 2017)](https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-064.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. 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