WASHINGTON, DC —Attorneys, financial professionals, real estate agents and other mailers who depend on shipping legal-sized documents for their businesses have new U.S. Postal Service (USPS) overnight and two-day delivery options. USPS has launched new legal-sized Express Mail and Priority Mail envelopes, available to customers free of charge.

The new Express Mail envelope allows legal-sized papers to be sent without folding anywhere in the U.S. for the lowest price of any guaranteed overnight service. The new Priority Mail legal-sized envelope provides two-day delivery to most U.S. locations at an even lower price. And both can also be used to ship internationally.

Unlike envelopes from other carriers, Express Mail and Priority Mail may be delivered to mailboxes, mail slots and P.O. Boxes, making it the most secure option for legal-sized documents in the U.S.  

"These new envelopes deliver an extraordinary value — they give our customers world-class speed and service and the security of the U.S. Mail, all at very competitive prices," said Gary Reblin, vice president of Expedited Mail for the Postal Service. "Our shipping services have a lot to offer. This latest addition is one more way we deliver for our customers, whether they’re shipping in the U.S. or around the globe." 

The new envelope sizes are part of the Postal Service's ongoing focus to enhance shipping services for customers, which include several flat-rate package options as well as new, competitive zone-based prices, online discounts and volume rebates launched May 12. And, later this year, there will be a new letter-sized Express Mail envelope. The envelope, designed for use by commercial mailers with automated mailing equipment provides easy access to any size mailbox for time-sensitive documents.   

Both of the new legal-sized envelopes have been Cradle-to-Cradle certified, meaning they meet the highest independent standards for recyclability and environmental soundness.

Express Mail and Priority Mail are also free of fuel surcharges, including to international destinations. As with all USPS products and services, Saturday delivery is free of charge for both Express Mail and Priority Mail, giving mailers an additional 52 days a year of surcharge-free delivery.

All Express Mail and Priority Mail envelopes are free of charge. They can be ordered for free online at usps.com, and will be available at select Post Offices later this year. Tracking and signature proof of delivery are also included with Express Mail at no additional cost. For an additional fee, Express Mail will also deliver on Sundays and all federal holidays, the only overnight delivery service in the country to do so.

Both Express Mail and Priority Mail items can be insured against loss or damage for up to $5,000 for a nominal fee. For Express Mail, the first $100 insurance is available at no additional cost. Insurance also is available for international shipments; costs and amount of coverage vary by destination country.

Prices for the new legal-sized envelopes are based on weight and delivery zone or destination country. A shipping calculator to calculate prices from ZIP Code to ZIP Code is available at http://postcalc.usps.gov/.

Express Mail

Priority Mail

Express Mail International

Priority Mail International

More information, including full price and fee information for all Express Mail and Priority Mail services, is available online at usps.com/express, usps.com/priority and usps.com/pricing. International shipping resources can be found at http://www.usps.com/international/deliveryoptions.htm.

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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.

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