Metered reply mail, or MRM, is a type of mail in which a business sends pre-printed, self-addressed envelopes or postcards to customers, with postage prepaid on the envelopes or postcards with a postage meter

Postage meter

A postage meter is a mechanical device used to create and apply physical evidence of postage to mailed matter. Postage meters are regulated by a country's postal authority; for example, in the United States, the United States Postal Service specifies the rules for the creation, support, and use...

. It is thus similar to courtesy reply mail

Courtesy reply mail

Courtesy reply mail, or CRM, is a type of mail in which a business sends pre-printed, self-addressed envelopes or postcards to customers, who then affix postage stamps to the envelopes or postcards and mail them back to the business...

 with a postage stamp

Postage stamp

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...

 already affixed.

Metered reply mail differs from business reply mail

Freepost

Freepost is a postal service provided by various postal administrations, whereby a person sends mail without affixing postage, and the recipient pays the postage when collecting the mail...

 in the manner of payment of postage, namely, by the postage meter indicating when the mail is sent, rather than by the permit holder when the mail is received.

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the United States Postal Service

United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

 specifies that the envelopes or postcards for metered reply mail should be printed with a FIM

Facing Identification Mark

The Facing Identification Mark, or FIM, is a bar code designed by the United States Postal Service to assist in the automated processing of mail. The FIM is a set of vertical bars printed on the envelope or postcard near the upper edge, just to the left of the postage area...

A code. Metered mail is delivered 24 hrs faster than stamped mail.