Department Mail

All mail sent to Mail Services requires a completed transaction card. Transaction cards are used to identify and charge for services required by departments. Transaction cards should be completed for all mail requiring postage. Virginia Tech interdepartmental on-campus mail does not require postage.

Once printed, type or print your organization name, organization number, and index or Banner fund number on the appropriate lines.

In order to facilitate processing, separate all classes of mail and use a transaction card for each group requiring external delivery. If campus mail is mixed with off-campus mail, for example, the campus mail may be stamped and delivered to the post office. Prepaid mail may be stamped again if it is mixed with other mail.

Departments should pay particular attention to separating mail intended for international delivery. Check the box on the transaction card labeled “Air Mail.”

To ensure an address can be machine read, the following guidelines are recommended:

• Make sure the return address is in the top left corner of the envelope.
• Use a printer or typewriter to write the address in block lettering. Use Courier as the font type at 10 or 12 point size. The characters must not touch and must not be in italics.
• The city, state, and zip code should be the last line of the address. The street address should be the next–to–last line. The lines of the address should be evenly spaced.
• Write the street address, city, and state in capital letters without punctuation.
• The entire street address should be on a single line including secondary information, such as an apartment number. If a street has a North, South, East, or West designation, use standard postal abbreviations.
• Write the address in the center of the envelope. When using labels, make sure the labels are attached horizontally and not skewed either up or down. Check to see that the address is not partially hidden in an envelope with a transparent window.
• The surface of postcards / envelopes must not be glossy or dark finish; otherwise, the postage ink will not dry or show up and will be returned to your department.

Separating Mail

• All letters and flats to be metered must be turned the same direction in the mail tray/hod. This increases the speed of metering the mail piece and ensure that the mail will be processed that day.
• There is no advantage to separating Blacksburg (local) mail from other United States Postal Service mail.
• All first class, international mail, and campus mail should be separated.
• A separate transaction card should be filled out for each class of mail.

Envelope Sealing

Departmental Mail is capable of sealing letter–sized envelopes with the flaps folded up or down; leaving the flaps up is preferred.

External Mail

Critical First Class Mail must be at Virginia Tech Mail Services by 12 p.m. to guarantee same day processing. 

Regular First Class Mail must be at Virginia Tech Mail Services before 2 p.m. for same day processing. Mail received after 2 p.m. may be held for next day processing, excluding weekends.

Large mailings may be dropped of at Virginia Tech Mail Services, 1425 South Main Street between 7:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 1 - 4 p.m.

Internal Mail

Mail carriers deliver pieces of university mail to various departments on the Blacksburg, Virginia campus. There is no charge for internal mail.

To expedite delivery, employees are asked to address university mail as follows:

Joe Hokie
Department Name (your mail code)  (LINK)

All international deliveries must have a destination telephone number, complete street address, and postal code of the destination country.

For comprehensive guidelines on managing large volume mailings at Virginia Tech, including best practices and requirements, please visit our Large Volume Mail page.

For Departments wishing to utilize the University Bulk Mailing Permit for large mailings, please visit the Procurement Department website for more information.