GLOSSARY
Postage meter
By Justin Winter · Updated August 28, 2026
A USPS-licensed device or software system that prints prepaid postage directly onto mail or a label, in place of a physical stamp.
A postage meter applies postage electronically, drawing down a prepaid balance rather than requiring a physical stamp to be affixed. Modern meters are almost always software-based ("PC postage") rather than the physical desktop machines the term originally described.
A permit imprint achieves a similar result for bulk commercial mail through a different licensing mechanism; a metered piece and a permit-imprint piece both skip the physical stamp, but through separate USPS programs with different eligibility rules.
See also
- Permit imprint — Printed postage indicia used instead of stamps or a meter, drawn against a prepaid account held under a USPS mailing permit.
- Forever stamp — A First-Class stamp that always covers the current one-ounce letter rate, whatever it cost when you bought it.
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