PLANET Codes make it easy to track mail.

Developed by the United States Postal Service, Postal Alpha Numeric Encoding Technique (PLANET) Codes® are unique barcodes that are scanned by postal facilities as mail pieces pass through electronic sorting equipment.

Information including date and time of the scan, postal location and USPS Operation Code is captured and sent to MailTrak SBE’s database for you to access. MailTrak SBE processes and delivers usable data within hours of the scan.

PLANET Codes contain 12 digits and consist of a combination of three tall and two short bars. The first two digits indicate the type of PLANET Code and the size and class of the mail piece. The next 5 digits are the account number assigned to GrayHair Software by the USPS. The next four digits are the numbers used to identify a particular mailing. The last digit is a “correction” digit, which makes certain that the sum of all digits ends with “0.” Each PLANET Code contains frame bars at the beginning and the end of the digits. Without these, a mail piece will not be scanned by postal sorting equipment.