What is DMAchoice?

The short version

DMAchoice is a registry run by the ANA (Association of National Advertisers). You pay $8 online, it lasts 10 years, and about 1,100 member companies check it before mailing you. If your name and address are on the list, they're supposed to skip you.

What it stops

Catalogs, credit card offers, and marketing mail from ANA member organizations. These are mostly big national brands — the kind of junk mail everyone gets.

What it doesn't stop

Mail from companies that aren't ANA members. Local businesses, political mail, mail addressed to "Resident," and mail from companies you have an existing relationship with. DMAchoice is voluntary and self-regulatory — there's no law forcing anyone to honor it.

How to register

Go to dmachoice.org and create an account. It costs $8 and takes about 5 minutes. You can register up to 3 name variations at the same address.

There's also a mail-in option: send a $9 check to ANA with their registration form. We're building a service to handle this for you — stay tuned.

How long it takes

About 90 days for the suppression to take effect. Mail already in the pipeline will still arrive during that time.

Is it worth it?

For $8 and 5 minutes, yes. It won't stop everything, but it covers a lot of ground. Think of it as one layer in your junk mail defense — pair it with direct opt-outs to individual mailers for the best results.