Effective May 3, 2010, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 703.2.3 to clarify the correct customs declaration form (PS Form 2976 or PS Form 2976-A) for items addressed to APO, FPO, and DPO locations.
These revisions are closely aligned to the recent change in Postal Bulletin 22281 (3-25-10, page 46) for “Overseas Military/Diplomatic Mail” that revised Restrictions “B”, “B1” and “B2”. In addition, these revised standards provide clarity as to when (and what type) of customs declaration is required when sending items to APO, FPO, and DPO destinations, regardless of mailpiece shape, contents, value, weight, or mail class.
Finally, we clarify that when a customs declaration is required, the surface area of the address side of the item to be mailed must be large enough to contain completely the applicable customs form, postage, and any applicable markings, endorsements, and extra service labels.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual, (DMM)
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700 Special Standards
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703 Nonprofit Standard Mail and Other Unique Eligibility
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2.0 Overseas Military Mail
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2.3 General Restrictions
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[Revise title and text of 703.2.3.6 as follows:]
2.3.6 Customs Declarations
Customs declaration PS Form 2976 or PS Form 2976-A must be applied to mailpieces sent to APO, FPO, and DPO addresses as required in the “Overseas Military/Diplomatic Mail” section of the Postal Bulletin. When a customs declaration is required, the surface area of the address side of the item to be mailed must be large enough to contain completely the applicable customs declaration, postage, and any applicable markings, endorsements, and extra service labels.
[Redesignate current 2.3.7 through 2.3.9 as 2.3.8 through 2.3.10, and insert new 2.3.7 as follows:]
2.3.7 Customs Declarations—Required Usage
Except as provided in 2.3.8, the following mailpieces addressed to an APO, FPO, or DPO ZIP Code must bear a customs declaration PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note — CP 72, or PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22 — Sender’s Declaration, as follows:
a. A properly completed PS Form 2976-A is required for any mailpiece weighing 16 ounces or more regardless of contents, value, shape, or mail class. When the surface area of the address side of the mailpiece is not large enough to contain PS Form 2976-A, the smaller PS Form 2976 may be substituted (e.g., the Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box).
b. A properly completed PS Form 2976 is required for any mailpiece containing potentially dutiable contents weighing less than 16 ounces.
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We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of the DMM and into the monthly update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards, Pricing, 4-8-10
