Effective September 4, 2012, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 235.0, 245.0, 335.0, 345.0, 705.0, and 708.6 to provide new options for the preparation of pallets, trays, and sacks of First-Class Mail® or Standard Mail®.
The Postal Service has begun the process of aligning its mail processing and networks capacity to the workloads forecasted over the next several years and is reviewing the processes and requirements related to the preparation and entry of mail from commercial mailers. Working in conjunction with members of the commercial mailing industry, the Postal Service has identified a number of areas where the potential for greater efficiencies, for both mailers and the Postal Service, may result from changes to mail preparation standards.
Within the next several months, to allow for review and comment from the mailing industry, the Postal Service plans to present proposed standards changes that will require new or different mail preparation requirements in the context of a consolidated Federal Register notice. At the request of, and with collaborative agreement from, members of the mailing industry, the Postal Service will initially introduce some of these changes as optional preparation standards.
This revision provides some of these optional preparation standards by allowing mailers to place trays or sacks of residual single-piece First-Class Mail letters and flats on the origin sectional center facility (SCF) pallet and to place trays or sacks of residual Standard Mail letters and flats, paid at the single-piece First-Class Mail prices, on the mixed network distribution center (NDC) pallet. The Postal Service is also providing an additional human-readable text option to several existing content identifier number (CIN) codes to accommodate use with single-piece mailpieces and is providing an option for mailers, approved to combine First-Class Mail or Standard Mail with different payment methods in a single mailing, to place trays of single-piece mailpieces on a specified pallet after USPS verification is completed.
These new changes will be reflected in the September 4, 2012, online DMM update, but mailers are encouraged to begin preparing their mailings in accordance with these new standards immediately.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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200 Commercial Letters
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230 First-Class Mail
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235 Mail Preparation
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5.0 Preparing Nonautomation Letters
5.1 Basic Standards
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5.1.2 Single-Piece Price Pieces Presented With Presort Mailings
***The following standards apply:
[Revise the introductory paragraph of 5.1.2a as follows:]
a. The mailer must prepare the single-piece price pieces in separate trays from the automation and presort pieces. Mailers may label the trays under 708.6.0 using the CIN code 260 for use with trays of single-piece letters. Label trays as follows:
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[Revise 2.a2 as follows:]
2. Line 2: For barcoded labels use the human-readable content line corresponding to the content identifier number (see Exhibit 708.6.2.4); for nonbarcoded labels use “FCM SNGLP LTRS WKG.”
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240 Standard Mail
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245 Mail Preparation
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5.0 Preparing Nonautomation Letters
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[Add a new 5.5 as follows:]
5.5 Residual Pieces
Mailers may present residual pieces that do not qualify for Standard Mail prices, paying the First-Class Mail prices under 244.5.0, prepared as Standard Mail. Prepare residual pieces in separate trays from the automation and presort pieces. Mailers may label the trays under 708.6.0 using the CIN code 560 for use with residual trays. Label trays as follows:
a. Line 1: Use L011, Column B.
b. Line 2: For barcoded labels use the human-readable content line corresponding to the content identifier number 560 (see Exhibit 708.6.2.4); for nonbarcoded labels use “STD LTRS WKG.”
c. Line 3: Office of mailing or mailer information.
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300 Commercial Flats
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330 First-Class Mail
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335 Mail Preparation
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5.0 Preparation of Nonautomation Flats
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5.2 Single-Piece Price Pieces Presented With Presort Mailings
[Format the current text of 5.2 as the new introductory paragraph, add two new last sentences, and add new items 5.2a through 5.2c as follows:]
***Mailers may label the trays under 708.6.0 using the CIN code 282 for use with single-piece trays. Label trays as follows:
a. Line 1: Use L201; for mail originating in ZIP Code areas in Column A, use “MXD” followed by city, state, and 3-digit ZIP Code prefix in Column C (use “MXD” instead of “OMX” in the destination line and ignore Column B).
b. Line 2: For barcoded labels use the human-readable content line corresponding to content identifier number 282 (see Exhibit 708.6.2.4); for nonbarcoded labels use “FCM SNGLP FLTS WKG.”
c. Line 3: Office of mailing or mailer information.
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340 Standard Mail
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345 Mail Preparation
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5.0 Preparing Nonautomation Flats
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[Add a new 5.10 as follows:]
5.10 Residual Pieces
Mailers may present residual pieces that do not qualify for Standard Mail prices, paying the First-Class Mail prices under 344.5.0, prepared as Standard Mail. Bundle and sack residual pieces separate from the automation and presort pieces. Mailers may label sacks under 708.6.0 using the CIN code 582 for use with residual sacks. Label sacks as follows:
a. Line 1: Use L009, Column B.
b. Line 2: For barcoded labels use the human-readable content line corresponding to the content identifier number 582 (see Exhibit 708.6.2.4); for nonbarcoded labels use “STD FLTS WKG.”
c. Line 3: Office of mailing or mailer information.
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700 Special Standards
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705 Advanced Preparation and Special Postage Payment Systems
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5.0 First-Class Mail or Standard Mail Mailings With Different Payment Methods
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5.2 Postage
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[Add a new 5.2.6 as follows:]
5.2.6 Single-Piece Price Mail
With USPS approval, trays of single-piece price mail may be placed on the origin SCF pallet (First-Class Mail), or the mixed NDC pallet (Standard Mail), after USPS verification is completed.
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8.0 Preparing Pallets
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8.10 Pallet Presort and Labeling
8.10.1 First-Class Mail—Letter or Flat Trays
***Preparation, sequence, and labeling:
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[Revise the second sentence of the introductory paragraph of 10.1b as follows:]
b. ***Mailers may place AADC or ADC trays on origin SCF pallets when the tray’s “label to” 3-digit ZIP Code (from L801 for AADC trays and L004 for ADC trays) is within the origin SCF’s service area; and may place trays containing pieces paid at the single-piece price on origin SCF pallets (unless required to be presented separately by special postage payment authorization or CSA).***
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[Revise 10.1b2 as follows:]
2. Line 2: “FCM LTRS” or “FCM FLTS,” followed by “WKG” (recommended), or “SCF.”
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8.10.3 Standard Mail or Parcel Select Lightweight—Bundles, Sacks, or Trays
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[Revise the introductory paragraph of 10.3h as follows:]
h. Mixed NDC, optional, permitted for sacks and trays only. Pallet may contain carrier route, automation, and/or Presorted mail. Mailers may place trays containing pieces paid at the single-piece price on the mixed NDC pallet (unless required to be presented separately by special postage payment authorization). Labeling:
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708 Technical Specifications
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6.0 Standards for Barcoded Tray Labels, Sack Labels, and Container Placards
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6.2 Specifications for Barcoded Tray and Sack Labels
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6.2.4 3-Digit Content Identifier Numbers
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Exhibit 6.2.4 3-Digit Content Identifier Numbers
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[Add a new FCM Letters subcategory following the items under the FCM Letters — Presorted Nonmachinable subcategory and before the FCM Flats — Automation subcategory as follows:]
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[Add a new FCM Flats subcategory following the items under the FCM Flats — Cotrayed Automation and Presorted subcategory and before the FC Parcels — Presorted as follows:]
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[Add a new STD Letters subcategory following the items under the STD Letters — Presorted Nonmachinable and before the Enhanced Carrier Route Flats — Nonautomation subcategory as follows:]
STD Letters — Residual Pieces Subject to FCM Single-Piece Prices
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[Add a new STD Flats subcategory following the items under the STD Flats — Nonautomation and before the Customized MarketMail (CMM) subcategory as follows:]
STD Flats — Residual Pieces Subject to FCM Single-Piece Prices
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next monthly update of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 8-23-12
