The Facing Identification Mark, or FIM, is a bar code designed by 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...

 to assist in the automated processing of mail

Mail

Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...

. 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 (the area where the 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...

 or its equivalent is placed). The FIM is intended for use primarily on preprinted envelopes and postcards and is applied by the company printing the envelopes or postcards, not by the USPS.

The FIM is a nine-bit code consisting of ones (vertical bars) and zeroes (blank spaces). The following four codes are in use:

• FIM A: 110010011
• FIM B: 101101101
• FIM C: 110101011
• FIM D: 111010111

The FIM serves the following purposes. It allows the proper facing of mail for cancellation. It also identifies the manner in which postage is paid (e.g., 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...

 or Information Based Indicia

Information Based Indicia

Information Based Indicia refers to a system used by the United States Postal Service for labels or marks to be applied to the mail item to indicate electronic postage payment....

 (IBI) postage) and whether that business reply mail has a POSTNET

POSTNET

POSTNET is a barcode symbology that was used by the United States Postal Service to assist in directing mail. The ZIP Code or ZIP+4 code is encoded in half- and full-height bars...

 bar code. If the POSTNET bar code is present, the mail can be sent directly to a barcode sorter.

The four codes have the following uses:

• FIM A is used for 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...
  
   and metered reply mail
  Metered reply mail
  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...
  
   with a preprinted POSTNET bar code.
• FIM B is used for business reply mail without a preprinted ZIP+4 bar code.
• FIM C is used for business reply mail with a preprinted ZIP+4 bar code.
• FIM D is used only with IBI postage.

External links

• Courtesy Reply Mail from the USPS (Layout Guidelines)
• Reply and Return Mail (Mailpiece Quality Control Program, chapter 9), a USPS document showing the four FIM codes