Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service
Prepare incoming and outgoing mail for distribution. Time-stamp, open, read, sort, and route incoming mail; and address, seal, stamp, fold, stuff, and affix postage to outgoing mail or packages. Duties may also include keeping necessary records and completed forms.
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Time Management
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Coordination
Key knowledge
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Law and Government
- Education and Training
- Administrative
- Administration and Management
- Public Safety and Security
What the work involves
- Seal or open envelopes, by hand or by using machines.
- Affix postage to packages or letters by hand, or stamp materials, using postage meters.
- Verify that items are addressed correctly, marked with the proper postage, and in suitable condition for processing.
- Place incoming or outgoing letters or packages into sacks or bins based on destination or type, and place identifying tags on sacks or bins.
- Clear jams in sortation equipment.
- Sort and route incoming mail, and collect outgoing mail, using carts as necessary.
- Weigh packages or letters to determine postage needed, using weighing scales and rate charts.
- Determine manner in which mail is to be sent, and prepare it for delivery to mailing facilities.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Realistic, Enterprising.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (48.4% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (93%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (52.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 71% of occupations compared | 79% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 59% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Higher on teamwork than 54% of occupations compared | 67% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 59% of occupations compared | — |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 70% of occupations compared | 73% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 52% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 79% of occupations compared | 73% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 71% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 8.45%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 12.13%
- Constant contact with others: 79.42%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 9.83%
- Fairly important: 0.55%
- Important: 20.95%
- Very important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Extremely important: 15.84%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2016
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0.48%
- Fairly important: 3.16%
- Important: 24.94%
- Very important: 4.28%
- Extremely important: 67.14%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2016
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 3.83%
- Very little freedom: 3.23%
- Limited freedom: 7.36%
- Some freedom: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- A lot of freedom: 29.07%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2016
Time pressure
- Never: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 1.35%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.91%
- Every day: 72.68%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2016
Conflict situations
- Never: 29.03%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 12.39%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 26.73%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 12.12%
- Every day: 19.73%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2016
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 12.28%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 7.8%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 6.67%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 73.25%
- Every day: 0%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2016
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 13.5%
- Fairly serious: 11.87%
- Serious: 12.81%
- Very serious: 38.66%
- Extremely serious: 23.15%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2016
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O*NET-SOC 43-9051.00 · SOC 43-9051 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8