Whether 5X7 Envelope Requires Extra Postage?

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Do you need to post your wedding invitations, R.S.V.P cards, save the date and other wedding cards? Do you know when and how to send your wedding invitations properly? Do you have to pay any extra charges? What is the standard weight and size? Does a 5x7 envelope require extra postage? The United States Postal Service (USPS) has answers to all these important questions. Before buying stamps for your wedding invitation postage, you need to know a few important things about the USPS policies.

Does a 5X7 Envelope Require Extra Postage?

In April 2016, USPS decreased the prices and current rates for 1st class mail. Here are the new rate guidelines:which

A rectangular 5x7 envelope is the standard size that is used in the United States for mailing letters and invitations, so if your envelopes are within the weight range of 1 oz, then you will only need to pay $.47 for each one without any additional charge. You should also note that the USPS even offerswedding-themed stamps (1st class 1oz ) at 47 cent!

Posting charges are not only limited to the size but also to weight of the mailings. Even if you have used a 5x7 envelope, but your invite is heavy (because along with the wedding invitation you have also inserted the reception card and R.S.V.P card, etc.), you will have to pay additional fees. Layered or folded invitations will require cost 68 cents per postage stamp or possibly more. In addition, the envelope thickness should be no more than ¼ inches. Using thick envelopes may also lead to what the USPS calls “the application of nonmachinable charges.” 

Rigid, squared cards (or any other shape besides rectangle) are some of the characteristics which may result in extra postage fees (i.e. at least 21 cents extra per card). These extra charges are referred to as nonmachinable charges because the deviation from the standard requirements may block the usual postal equipment and its automation process. In others words, these extra charges are due to hand stamping and the additional time it takes  

To find out the exact amount you will need to pay to mail your wedding invitations, go to the nearest post office and ask them to weigh your mailing items.

Postage Calculator

You can also seek help from the postage calculator, which helps in giving an estimate of the total postage cost (depending on postage cost and/or nonmachinable charges). A postage calculator is very convenient to use; all you have to do is enter the dimensions of your invitation and it will tell you the approximate mailing cost and whether any extra postage is required.

More About This Issue You Should Know

  • If there is more than one card, the smallest card should be placed at the top of the pile of mailable items.

  • An inner unsealed envelope will be placed inside the outer envelope.

  • The R.S.V.P. envelope should be stamped, so your guests don’t have to pay for the postage.

  • Customized stamps add to the beauty of your wedding invitations, but they may cost you a little more than standard stamps.

What People Have to Say?

Does a 5x7 envelope require extra postage? A lady said:

“If you are mailing wedding invitations in 5x7 envelope then there is no need to paste an extra stamp unless or until it is heavier than the standard weight.”

At another forum, one of our brides shared:

“Though I used 5x7 envelope, I pasted 68 cents stamps because my mailings were heavier than the standard as I also inserted the R.S.V.P and detail cards.”

The number of cards doesn’t matter as long as your 5x7 envelope is under the recommended weight limits. For example, one woman said:

“My save the date card dimension was 5 1/2 X 7 ½. It was two layered, including 4 business cards enclosed in a small envelope. Postage was 47 cents only because total weight was one ounce”.