Micro Mailing Canada
Canada Post Service Updates: What the Name Changes Mean for Your Mailings
Canada Post has renamed several of its direct mail products, and the new terms now appear on quotes, contracts and postage documentation. The services themselves have not changed in substance, only the labels used to describe them, but knowing the new names matters when you are ordering, budgeting or comparing old proposals to new ones.
What Canada Post Actually Renamed
The renaming affects the two products most Canadian mailers use every day. Personalized Mail (formerly Addressed Admail) is the same individually addressed mail piece it always was, sent to a named recipient using a mailing list, invoice file or customer database. Neighbourhood Mail (formerly Unaddressed Admail) is still the unaddressed, walk-by-postal-code product used for flyer-style distribution to every household on a route, regardless of who lives there. If you have ordered either service before under its old name, nothing about how the piece is built, addressed or delivered has moved. The only difference you will notice is the label on your quote, your postage statement and any permit paperwork tied to the mailing, which now reads Personalized Mail or Neighbourhood Mail instead of Admail.
A third product, Dimensional Personalized Mail (formerly Dimensional Admail), covers addressed pieces with bulk, such as sample packages, small boxed items or anything thicker than a standard flat mail piece, and follows the same naming pattern as the other two services. If an old proposal, rate card or contract you have on file references any of the earlier names, it is describing the same postal category under its current name, and no new service, restriction or requirement was introduced alongside the rename. This matters most for mailers who keep templates, budget spreadsheets or vendor agreements on hand from previous campaigns, since those documents will still be accurate for planning purposes even though the terminology inside them is now out of date.
Why Canada Post Renamed These Services
Canada Post updated its product naming to make the difference between addressed and unaddressed mail clearer to buyers who were not already familiar with postal terminology. The word Admail on its own did not tell a new client whether a piece needed a mailing list, a data file or nothing more than a postal walk number, and that ambiguity caused confusion at the quoting stage. Personalized Mail and Neighbourhood Mail describe the delivery method in plain language instead, so a marketing manager who has never ordered direct mail before can tell at a glance which service applies to a list-based campaign and which applies to a saturation drop, without needing a postal glossary to work it out.
For mailers who have run campaigns for years, the change is mostly administrative rather than operational. You will see the new terminology on postage statements, permit paperwork and any reference guides you consult, so it is worth updating internal documents, budget templates and past quotes to match rather than mixing old and new names on the same file. Vendors, printers and mailing houses you work with should already be using the current names, and if a supplier is still quoting under Admail terminology without clarifying which current product it refers to, it is worth asking them to confirm so there is no mismatch between what you ordered and what shows up on your invoice.
Personalized Mail
Sent to a named recipient using a mailing list, addressed and formatted the same way it always was.
Neighbourhood Mail
Delivered by postal walk to every household on a route, no mailing list required.
Dimensional Personalized Mail
Addressed mail with bulk, such as samples or boxed items, sent to a named recipient.
What This Means for Your Next Campaign
If you are planning a mailing built from a customer list, invoice file or CRM export, you are ordering Personalized Mail, and the formatting and content rules that applied under the old name still apply. Piece dimensions, indicia placement and addressing conventions have not moved, so campaigns already in production, already approved by your printer, or already budgeted under the old product name do not need to be redesigned or re-quoted because of the naming change alone. This is the service most retailers, financial services firms and professional practices use when they are mailing to existing customers, prospects pulled from a purchased list, or households identified through demographic targeting, and the process for ordering it is unchanged from what you may have used in past campaigns.
If your plan is a saturation or walk-route mailing with no list attached, that is Neighbourhood Mail, priced and delivered by postal walk rather than by named recipient, and typically used by local businesses covering a defined geographic area. Buyers who mail dimensional pieces, such as product samples, small retail items or promotional kits, should ask specifically about Dimensional Personalized Mail rules, since bulk and packaging affect what is acceptable in the mail stream and how a piece needs to be built before it can be accepted for delivery. Confirming the right category before you commit to packaging or print specs avoids a piece being rejected or requoted later in the process.
Making Sense of the New Terminology
Reading the raw Canada Post documentation to map old terms to new ones is tedious, and the reference material was not written for a quick lookup between meetings. Rather than working through it line by line every time a naming question comes up, it is faster to have someone confirm the correct product name for the mailing you already have planned before you print anything or lock in a budget. This is especially useful if you inherited a mailing program from a previous employee, a former agency, or an old vendor relationship, where the paperwork on file still uses Admail terminology and it is not obvious which current service each old document actually refers to.
If you would rather skip the reading altogether, request a quote and describe the mailing you are planning in plain terms, whether it is addressed to a list, unaddressed and delivered by route, or a dimensional piece with some bulk to it. Our mailing services team can confirm the current product name that applies to your project and provide pricing at the same time, so you are not left cross-referencing old and new terminology on your own, guessing which service a past quote or contract was actually describing, or delaying a campaign while you sort out naming on your own.
What makes a mailing work
- Match any old proposal or contract naming to the current product name before reordering
- Confirm whether your campaign needs a mailing list (Personalized Mail) or not (Neighbourhood Mail)
- Update internal documents and past quotes to the current terminology
- Ask about Dimensional Personalized Mail rules if your piece has bulk or packaging
- Check current formatting requirements rather than assuming nothing changed
Frequently asked questions
Did Canada Post change the actual mail services or just the names?
Just the names. Personalized Mail is the same service it was under its previous name, and Neighbourhood Mail is the same service it was under its previous name. Formatting, addressing and content rules for each service have not changed because of the renaming, so existing campaigns do not need to be redesigned or requoted.
Is Addressed Admail still a valid term to use with Canada Post?
The current name is Personalized Mail. Addressed Admail is the older term for the same service, so you may still see it on older documents, but new quotes, contracts and postage paperwork now use Personalized Mail consistently, and it is worth updating any templates you reuse for future campaigns.
What is Neighbourhood Mail used for?
Neighbourhood Mail is unaddressed mail delivered to every household along a specific postal walk, used for flyer-style distribution where you do not need a named recipient or a mailing list. It is priced and delivered differently than Personalized Mail, which requires an address for every piece.
What is Dimensional Personalized Mail?
Dimensional Personalized Mail is addressed mail that has bulk or thickness beyond a standard flat piece, such as a sample or a small boxed item, sent to a named recipient rather than distributed unaddressed like Neighbourhood Mail. Ask us to confirm the current rules before you finalize packaging for a dimensional piece.
Do I need to redesign my mail piece because of the name change?
No. The renaming is a labelling change, not a rules change, so a piece designed and approved under the old product name does not need to be redesigned. Confirm the current formatting rules for your specific service before your next print run, since those rules are unrelated to the naming update.
How do I know which current product name applies to my mailing?
If you are mailing to a specific list of names and addresses, that is Personalized Mail. If you are mailing to every household on a route without a list, that is Neighbourhood Mail. If your piece has bulk or packaging, ask about Dimensional Personalized Mail rules specifically.
Where can I find the updated Canada Post specifications?
Our reference guides are kept current with the new product names and specifications, covering formatting, addressing and content rules for each service. Rather than working through the full documentation yourself, you can also ask our team directly and get a straight answer for your specific mailing.
Quick quote
Price your campaign
Send the neighbourhood, the quantity and the date you want it in homes. You get a single price covering data, printing, mail preparation and postage.
- Printing and postage quoted together
- Canada Post booking handled for you
- No account or minimum contract
