What Does a Mail Clerk Do?
As long as offices trade contracts, checks and parcels, mail clerks will be needed to get each one to the right desk. They work in college mailrooms, hospitals and corporate mail centers, sorting, metering and delivering everything from interoffice envelopes to signed-for packages.
Also known as: Postal Services Assistant, Lead Mail Clerk
Mail Clerk Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a mail clerk include:
- Sort incoming mail and packages by building, department and person, including misaddressed items.
- Deliver and collect mail on a set route by cart, van or on foot.
- Weigh outgoing letters and parcels and apply postage with a mailing machine.
- Scan tracked packages on arrival and get a signature or photo at delivery.
- Fill student or tenant mailboxes and send notices when parcels are waiting.
- Prepare bulk and presorted mailings to USPS requirements for postage discounts.
- Forward mail for people who have moved, left or changed departments.
- Load and unload delivery trucks, moving heavy boxes with carts and safe lifting technique.
- Screen suspicious letters and packages under the mailroom's safety procedure and report concerns.
- Keep postage, delivery and accountable-mail logs accurate for each shift.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a mail clerk, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Mailing machines such as Pitney Bowes or Quadient
- Package-tracking scanners and delivery apps
- USPS mail classes and addressing rules
- Driver's license, for routes that use a van
- Stamina for walking, lifting and standing most of the day
- Reliability on a fixed daily schedule
- Care with confidential and accountable mail
- Friendly manner with staff and students
Education and Training
Experience in a warehouse, a store stockroom or any delivery job could lead to a mailroom post. Any applicant can say they are careful, so a reference from a job where accuracy and punctuality were checked counts for more. A high school diploma and a short spell of on-the-job training are typical, according to BLS. Lead clerk and mail services supervisor are the usual next steps.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $35,470 - $46,450 per year, with a median of $39,280.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service.
According to BLS, employment of mail clerks and mail machine operators outside the Postal Service is projected to fall about 7 percent for the decade ending in 2035. Package volume keeps mailrooms busy even as letter mail shrinks. BLS expects roughly 4,700 openings a year.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service.