The letters which are posted from one country to another country are known as International Letters. Compared to domestic letters which are sent within your country, you need to follow different procedures and steps for the postage of International Letters.
If you are looking for how to post an International letter, then you are at the right place because we will explain in detail how can you send an International letter from the USA to another country using USPS.
How to Mail an International Letter using USPS?
You can post a standard domestic letter in the USA by using 1 Forever Stamps which will cost you around $0.60 presently. But to send a letter internationally you will have to pay more money and it is much more expensive compared to posting a letter within the country.
There are many mediums of sending a letter Internationally but the most convenient, simple, and cheapest way is to post it through USPS.
USPS is the official organization that is responsible for handling all types of Postage in the USA. Therefore posting an International letter through USPS has many advantages over other platforms.
Steps to Send a Letter Internationally
There are many differences when posting a letter Internationally and within the country through different platforms. But here we will choose USPS for International Mails for which you will have to follow a 5 step procedure that we have explained below:
- Check Eligibility of Letter for International Postage
- Select an Envelope or Postcard for the Mailing
- Address your International Letter
- Evaluate the Stamps Required and Cost
- Mail your International Letter
Check Eligibility of Letter for International Postage
USPS has set up various standards for the Postage of an International Letter. If a letter is intended for International Mailing, then the first step is always to identify whether your letter meets these International Standards of USPS or not.
In addition to following these USPS standards, you must have to check various rules and regulations of the particular country to which you want to send your International Letter.
To check the rules and standards of other countries you can visit any nearest USPS branch or can open their website. By choosing any of these, you will be able to know the Standards of International Mailing of other countries in the USPS Index of Countries.
Select an Envelope or Postcard for the Mailing
Once you have an idea about the International Posting standards of USPS and the other country you want your letter to send to, the next step you require to take is to choose the envelope or Postcard for your postage.
For this you have mainly two choices, the first is the Envelope and the second is the Postcard.
Using Envelopes
If you want to send an International letter that has some sensitive details in it, then you should go for Envelopes because they have extra protection and security for the mailing of your Information.
Using Postcards
If you want to send an International letter for Direct Mail Marketing purposes, then choosing ‘Postcard’ will be the best option. There are a few reasons behind this, first one is that choosing Postcard for Direct Mail Marketing will cost of less and the second is that you can also attach Pictures along with your International Letter.
Address your International Letter
The third step in the posting of an International Letter is to mention the address on your envelope or postage. If you want to know how to address an International Letter, then we will give you some useful tips for this.
The format of Addressing an International Letter for Envelopes and Postcards is different. Also, there may be changes in the format of addressing based from country to country. Different countries have different languages like Spanish, German, and Italian. So this language difference also affects the format of addressing.
The format for Addressing an International Letter for Envelope and Postcard is mentioned below:
Addressing Format for Envelopes
For addressing an International Postage on Envelope, follow the below steps
- The address of both Sender and Receiver on an envelope should be written in the top left corner.
- The Center of the Envelope can be chosen to mention the Delivery Address.
- Make sure, it should not be too far from the bottom part of the Envelope.
- Mentioning the Country name of both the Sender and Receiver is a must.
Addressing Format for Postcards
Follow the below steps to address an International Postage on Postcards
- There is an area already marked on the Postcards and the address must be written within that area only.
- You should choose to Print the Address on Postage rather than writting it with Pen or Pencil.
- Write down the Address in Capital Letters on Postcards.
- Although Printing an address is the best option, but still, if you choose to write it with your hands then choose a Pen or Permanent mark.
- For the proper clarity of the Address, you should not use Commas and Periods while addressing an International Letter on Postcards.
Evaluate the Stamps Required and Cost
Identifying how many Stamps you require for posting an International is one of the most important steps while sending an International Letter.
To check how many Stamps and what type of Stamps you need for an International Letter postage can be done through the ‘International Postage Calculator’ facility of USPS. You can post your International by using Global Forever Stamps and one Globar Forever Stamp will cost you $1.40 at this time.
- You visit the Postage Calculator of USPS by Clicking here
- Once you click on the above link, you will see various fields like Destination Country, ZIP Code are you mailing from, ZIP code you are mailing to, and some other fields.
- After filling these fields you will be able to know the Postage required for your International Letter.
- Paste the required Stamps on the Envelope that you are intended to send Internationally.
- Now your letter is ready to post Internationally.
Mail your International Letter
When you have completed all the above steps i.e checked the eligibility of the International Letter, Addressed it, Calculated the Stamps required, and the cost, then you are ready to Post your International letter. So this is the last step.
There are a few options for mailing your International Letter, first and the easiest method is to put your letter in your mailbox but it will take some time for your letter to be picked up.
If you want your International letter to be posted quickly, then you should go to your nearest post office and put your letter in the blue Collection box
If your International letter has a weight above 10 Ounces, then you must submit your letter at the Lobby Drop of the Post Office.