First-Class Stamp Will Cost 25 Cents April 3

Higher postage rates, including a 25-cent charge for first-class mail, will begin April 3, the Postal Service announced Tuesday.

The new rates reflect the higher cost of delivering the mail, John L. Griesemer, chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors, said. “To all our customers, we can only repeat our pledge of better service,” he said.

An undenominated “E” stamp available for interim use will represent 25 cents postage when the new rates take effect.

The board set the date for the sweeping revision of rates, recommended by the independent Postal Rate Commission on March 4, following 10 months of study and hearings. Postage rates were last changed in February, 1985, when the price of a first-class stamp rose to 22 cents from 20 cents.

The 25-cent rate is for the first ounce of a first-class item. For each additional ounce, the rate will rise to 20 cents from 17 cents.

The postcard rate will increase to 15 cents from 14 cents.

First-class mail will cost 14.7% more under the new rates, compared with increases of 18.1% for newspapers and magazines and 24.9% for advertising materials.

The Postal Service considered a proposal that a lower rate be established for people who use special pre-printed envelopes to pay bills, but Postmaster General Anthony Frank said the agency will have to study the costs involved to determine what discount should be allowed.

The new rates represent a cut in the charges for the business reply envelopes with prepaid postage used in advertising. The lowest rate will drop to 5 cents from 7 cents, a move to encourage more businesses to offer the envelopes.

Rates for mail going overseas will rise to 45 cents for the first half-ounce. Mail to Mexico will cost the same as within the United States; mailing a letter to Canada will cost 30 cents.

The minimum rate for third-class mail will increase to 16.7 cents from 12.5 cents, and the rate per pound will rise to 48 cents from 38 cents.

For nonprofit advertising mail, the minimum rate will increase to 8.7 cents from 8.5 cents.

For Express overnight mail service, a new rate of $8.75 was set for smaller packages weighing eight ounces or less.