Quick answer: no. EDDM cannot target specific households, names, streets, or customer types. It delivers to every active address on the carrier routes you pick, whole routes only; the USPS tool won't even let you select part of one. Your targeting controls are exactly three: which routes, residential-only filtering, and the route-level demographics (age, income, household size). Need anything finer, and you've left EDDM territory; that's what targeted mailing lists are for.
Last updated: June 2026. Rules from the official USPS EDDM User Guide.
The Three Dials EDDM Actually Gives You
- Route selection. Pick any combination of carrier routes, each one all-or-nothing. This is 90% of your targeting power, and the carrier-route chapter shows how to squeeze it.
- Residential-only delivery. The tool can filter to residential delivery counts, and BMEU mailings can use the "Residential Customer" address block to skip businesses entirely. At the Retail counter, "Local Postal Customer" reaches homes and businesses; the difference lives in the Retail vs. BMEU chapter.
- Route demographics. Census-based averages per route: an adjustable age band, household income, and household size. Averages, not addresses; you're choosing better haystacks, not needles.
What EDDM Can't Do, Spelled Out
| You want to reach… | Can EDDM? | What does it instead |
|---|---|---|
| A specific person or address | No | Addressed mail with your own customer data |
| One street or subdivision inside a route | No, whole routes only | A targeted list filtered by street or subdivision |
| Homeowners but not renters | No | A consumer list filtered on owner-occupied status |
| Households by home value, age of home, pool, etc. | No | Property-data lists; a roofing favorite |
| New movers | No | New-mover lists, refreshed monthly |
| Your past customers | No | Your house list, mailed first class or Marketing Mail |
| Businesses by industry | No | Business lists filtered by SIC/NAICS |
| Everyone within drive-time of your shop | Yes | This is exactly what EDDM is for |
The Trade-Off You're Actually Making
EDDM trades precision for price. Saturation postage is the cheapest in the Marketing Mail system (a flat $0.247 per piece at Retail) precisely because carriers deliver to every door in walk order with no list processing. Addressed mail costs more per piece once you add list rental and data work, but every piece lands on a household you chose. The math favors EDDM when most doors are plausible customers, and flips to a list as your customer gets rarer. Postage fine print worth knowing: on addressed Marketing Mail, the big rate driver is address density per route (saturation and high-density tiers), which is the same economics that make EDDM cheap.
The free way to settle it: we run list counts at no charge. Tell us your ideal customer, and we'll tell you how many of them are mailable in your area and what reaching them costs next to an EDDM drop of the same budget. Request a quote or start with the postage calculator.
The Hybrid Play Most Guides Miss
This isn't either/or. Strong local campaigns often run EDDM for the tight radius (every door within drive-time, maximum cheap coverage) plus a targeted list for the outliers (high-value prospects beyond the saturation zone). Same artwork, two postage strategies, one campaign. We build these as a single job so the pieces, the timing, and the print panels all line up.
Targeting FAQ
Can I exclude specific addresses from an EDDM mailing?
No. Every active delivery on a selected route gets a piece, including any address you'd rather skip. The only exclusion tool is not picking the route.
Can EDDM reach PO Boxes?
Yes, PO Box sections appear as selectable route types in the tool, but box sections carry no demographic data, so most campaigns skip them.
Is EDDM the same thing as "saturation mail"?
EDDM is USPS's retail-friendly version of saturation Marketing Mail. Traditional saturation mailings through a mail house can do more (like suppressing a customer list), and our direct mail services cover that full spectrum.
What's the difference between EDDM and regular direct mail?
Addressing. EDDM has no list and no names, just routes; direct mail proper uses a mailing list with names and addresses, which costs more per piece and targets precisely. The fit test in the best-businesses chapter tells you which side you're on.
Can I add names to EDDM pieces?
No. The address block is the generic format ("Local Postal Customer" at Retail) by rule. Personalization requires addressed mail with variable data printing.
Match the Tool to the Target
Bring us the customer you're trying to reach and we'll pick the vehicle honestly: EDDM, a targeted list, or both. Free list counts, free route maps, itemized quotes, postage at USPS cost. Start a quote, see our EDDM service, or call (713) 882-4629.