Overview of annual USPS® price changes.
Under rules established by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, price increases for Mailing Services such as First-Class Mail® and Standard Mail® are limited to the rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. The Postal Service no longer needs to file a "rate case"; instead they must publish new pricing at least 45 days in advance. There is still regulatory oversight, and the Postal Regulatory Commission provides the public with 20 days to comment on whether the proposed pricing is consistent with statutory requirements.

Different rules for different postal products.
Pricing guidelines follow two different sets of rules.

Market-Dominant Products
(also known as "Mailing Services")  		Competitive Products
(also known as "Shipping Services")
Price increase tied to CPI.Not tied to CPI, but must cover costs. 
Minimum 45 days advance notice. Minimum 30 days advance notice. 
- First-Class Mail®- Priority Mail®
- Standard Mail®- Express Mail®
- Periodicals- Parcel Select® and Parcel Return Service
- Parcel Post®- Bulk International 
- Media Mail®- Parcel Select Lightweight
- Bound Printed Matter - First-Class™ Package Service
- Library Mail - Global Express Guranateed® 
- Special Services - Express Mail International® 
- Single-Piece International - Priority Mail International® 

Schedule for Regular and Predictable Price Changes
By law, the USPS is required to maintain a schedule for future price increases.  This schedule is posted on the Postal Regulatory Commission website, www.prc.gov .

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