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Many members have requested information on the Mail Design Professional certification course. GREAT NEWS! It’s available online at NO COST and can be accessed at any time.

Below is information from PostalPro regarding the online course and exam. Once on PostalPro, enter MDP into the search bar and click on Mail Design Professional (MDP) Online.

Mail Design Professional (MDP) Online

Mail Design Professional is a self-paced online certification course approved by the U.S. Postal Service®. The course can be accessed at any time and as many times as desired for free. It is estimated at 12 hours for full completion, but this will vary depending on the individual. In addition to the free course material online, if a student would like to become a certified Mail Design Professional, successful completion of the exam is required. Please visit https://imbg.usps.com/mdp to enroll.

This course is ideal for those who wish to maximize their proficiency in designing letter-size and flat-size mail to meet USPS® standards and obtain certification as a Mail Design Professional. The course includes:

  • Postal addressing standards
  • Classes of mail and processing categories
  • Intelligent Mail® and package barcode format and print specifications
  • Designing automation letters and flats (tabbing, polywrap, deflection, flexibility, etc.)
  • Reply mail (Business, Courtesy, Meter, Permit Reply and Merchandise Return Service)
  • Address Information products and Move Update

Learners will also receive information on design standards for:

  • Customized Market Mail
  • Repositionable Notes
  • Election Mail Logos
  • Privately Printed Labels
  • Reusable Envelopes

To become a certified Mail Design Professional, successful completion of the exam is required. You can sign up to take the exam from the MDP website. The certification is good for a two-year period once you have successfully completed the 100-question exam at 80% proficiency.

Please remember that the new exam is completed online on the MDP website.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

USPS National and Illinois News

News from USPS National and USPS Great Lakes Area.
BOSTON —The U.S. Postal Service issued its International Peace stamp today at the 2026 Boston World Exposition as part of the stamp show’s international peace theme day.
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BOSTON —The U.S. Postal Service released its new Global Forever stamps today at the 2026 Boston World Exposition as part of the stamp show’s letter-writing theme day.
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BOSTON — Today at the 2026 Boston World Exposition, the U. S. Postal Service dedicated the American Bison stamp.
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BOSTON — Today at the Boston 2026 World Exposition, the Postal Service announced the winner of its Stamp Encore contest: the Mister Rogers stamp from 2018.
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BOSTON — The U.S. Postal Service dedicated its Treasures of the Revolutionary Era prestige stamp booklet today at the 2026 Boston World Exposition as part of the stamp show’s opening ceremony and theme day celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States.
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ILLINOIS — The U.S. Postal Service will observe Memorial Day on Monday, May 25. All Post Office locations will be closed. Regular mail delivery and retail services will resume on Tuesday, May 26.
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ILLINOIS — Saturday, May 9th marks the 34th anniversary of the largest one-day food drive in the nation – the National Association of Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger® Food Drive.
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A guided tour of the new Hammond Sorting and Delivery Center (S&DC) highlighting updated operations, state-of-the-art package sorting technology, facility upgrades, and Next Generation Delivery Vehicles (NGDVs). Interviews will be available following the tour.
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ILLINOIS — The U.S. Postal Service is reminding customers in Illinois that Post Office locations will be closed and regular mail delivery will not occur on Presidents’ Day, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
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USPS Makes It Easy To Send Something Real This Valentine’s Day
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PostalPro News

News from PostalPro.
For the latest updates, please review the USPS APIs Release Notes.
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Effective July 1, 2026, the Postal Service™ will revise Labeling List(s) L001, L007, L009, L012, L016, L201, and L606 to reflect changes in mail processing operations. Mailers are expected to label according to these revised lists for mailings inducted on or after the July 1, 2026, effective date through August 31, 2026, expiration date. The changes will be published in the Postal Bulletin, Issue #22704.
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