RESTRICTIONS
LEGEND
PS Form 2976, Customs - CN 22 (Old
C 1) and Sender's Declaration (green label)
PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and
Dispatch Note
AAFES = Army and Air Force Exchange
Service
APO = Army/Air Force Post Office
Box R = Retired military personnel
FPO = Fleet Post Office
DMM = Domestic Mail Manual
MOM = Military Ordinary Mail
MPO = Military Post Office
PAL = Parcel Airlift
PSC = Postal Service Center
SAM = Space Available Mail
USDA = United States Department of Agriculture
Note: Mail order catalogs are prohibited as SAM or PAL mail.
A. Securities,
currency, or precious metals in their raw, unmanufactured state are
prohibited. Official shipments are exempt from this restriction.
A1.
Mail addressed to "Any Servicemember," or similar wording
such as "Any Soldier," "Sailor," "Airman,"
or "Marine"; "Military Mail"; etc., is prohibited.
Mail must be addressed to an individual or job title such as "Commander,"
"Commanding Officer," etc.
B. PS
Form 2976-A is required for all mail weighing 16 ounces or more, with
exceptions noted below. In addition, mailers must properly complete
required customs documentation when mailing any potentially dutiable
mail addressed to an APO or FPO regardless of weight. The following
are exceptions to the requirement for customs documentation on nondutiable
mail that weighs 16 ounces or more:
• Known mailers are exempt from providing
customs documentation on non-dutiable letters, and printed matter
weighing 16 ounces or more. (A known mailer is anyone who legally
applies a permit imprint to a mailpiece. Mail with meter postage is
not considered to be from a known mailer.)
• All federal, state, and local government
agencies are exempt from providing customs documentation on mail addressed
to an APO or FPO, except for those APOs/FPOs to which restriction
B2 applies.
• Prepaid mail from military contractors
is exempt, providing the mailpiece is endorsed "Contents for
Official Use - Exempt from Customs Requirements."
B1.
PS Form 2976 or 2976-A is required. Articles are liable for customs
duty and/or purchase tax unless they are bona fide gifts intended
for use by military personnel or their dependents. When the contents
of a parcel meet these requirements, the mailer must endorse the customs
form, "Certified to be a bona fide gift, personal effects, or
items for personal use of military personnel and dependents,"
under the heading, Description of Contents. Exceptions:
All other exceptions listed in restriction B above are applicable
to this restriction.
B2.
All federal, state, and local government agencies must complete customs
documentation when sending mail addressed to or from this APO or FPO
weighing 16 ounces or more.
C. Cigarettes
and other tobacco products are prohibited.
C1.
Obscene articles, prints, paintings, cards, films, videotapes, etc.,
and horror comics and matrices are prohibited.
D.
Coffee is prohibited.
E1.
Medicines or vaccines not conforming to French laws are prohibited.
E2.
Any matter depicting nude or seminude persons, pornographic or sexual
items, or nonauthorized political materials is prohibited. Although
religious materials contrary to the Islamic faith are prohibited in
bulk quantities, items for the personal use of the addressee are permissible.
E3.
Radio transceivers, cordless telephones, global positioning systems,
scanners, base stations, and handheld transmitters are prohibited.
F.
Firearms of any type are prohibited in all classes of mail. See definitions
of firearms in DMM 601.11.1.2c. This restriction does not apply to
firearms mailed to or by official U.S. government agencies. The restriction
for mail to this APO/FPO ZIP Code does not apply to firearms mailed
from this APO/FPO ZIP Code, provided ATF and USPS regulations are
met. Antique firearms are a separate category defined in DMM 601.11.2
and ATF regulations; they do not require an ATF form.
F1.
Privately owned weapons addressed to an individual are prohibited
in any class of mail.
F2.
Importation of firearms is restricted to one shotgun and one single
shot .22 caliber rifle per individual.
G.
Only First-Class Mail letters, Periodicals, and Standard Mail items
are authorized.
H.
Meats, including preserved meats, whether hermetically sealed or not,
are prohibited.
H1.
Pork or pork by-products are prohibited.
I.
Mail of all classes must fit in a mail sack. Mail may not exceed the
following dimensions:
Length
42" 72" length and girth
combined
over 42" to 44" 24"
girth
over 44" to 46" 20"
girth
over 46" to 48" 16"
girth
Maximum length 48"
This restriction does not apply to registered
mail and official government mail marked MOM.
I1.
This restriction does not apply to registered mail.
I2.
This restriction does not apply to official government mail marked
MOM.
J.
Parcels may not exceed 108 inches in length and girth combined.
K.
Mail that includes in the address the words, "Dependent Mail
Section," may consist only of letter mail, newspapers, magazines,
and books. No parcel of any class containing any other matter may
be mailed to the Dependent Mail section. This restriction does not
apply if the address does not include the words "Dependent Mail
Section."
L.
All official mail is prohibited.
M.
Fruits, animals, and living plants are prohibited.
N.
Registered mail is prohibited.
O.
Personal mail addressed to vessels using this number is limited to
unregistered First-Class Mail items and certified mail. Other classes
of mail are prohibited.
P.
APO is used for the receipt and dispatch of official mail only.
Q.
Mail may not exceed 66 pounds, and size is limited to 42 inches maximum
length and 72 inches maximum length and girth combined.
R.
All alcoholic beverages, including those mailable under DMM 601.8.0,
are prohibited.
R1.
Materials used in the production of alcoholic beverages (i.e., distilling
material, hops, malts, yeast, etc.) are prohibited.
T.
Mailings of case lots of food and supplemental household shipments
must be approved by the sender's parent agency prior to mailing.
U.
Parcels must weigh less than 16 ounces when addressed to Box R. This
restriction does not apply to mail endorsed "Free Matter for
the Blind or Handicapped."
U1.
Mail is limited to First-Class Mail weighing 13 ounces or less when
addressed to Box R. This restriction does not apply to mail endorsed
"Free Matter for the Blind or Handicapped." Videotapes are
prohibited when addressed to Box R, regardless of weight.
U2.
Mail is limited to First-Class Mail letters only when addressed to
Box R.
U3.
Mail is limited to First-Class Mail correspondence (including voice
and video cassettes), newspapers, magazines, photographs, not exceeding
16 ounces, when addressed to Box R.
V.
Express Mail Military Service (EMMS) not available from any origin.
W.
Meat products, such as dried beef, salami, and sausage, may be mailed,
provided they remain in their original, hermetically sealed packages
and bear USDA certification. Other meats, bones, skin, hair, feathers,
horns or hoofs of hoofed animals, wool samples, tobacco leaves, including
chewing and pipe tobacco, snuff, cigars, and cigarettes, or obscene
material, including obscene drawings, photographs, films, and carvings,
are prohibited. Exception: 200 grams of tobacco per parcel are permitted
duty free.
X.
Personal mail is limited to First-Class Mail items (to include audio
cassettes and voice tapes) weighing 13 ounces or less. This limitation
does not apply to official mail.
Y.
Mail is limited to First-Class and Priority Mail items only. All Periodicals,
Standard Mail items, and Package Services items (including SAM and
PAL) are not authorized. This restriction also applies to official
mail.
Z.
No outside pieces (OSPs).
Z1.
The following restriction is applicable only to International Service
Centers (ISC)/Exchange Offices. An Anti-Pilferage Seal (Item No O817E
or O818A) is required on all pouches and sacks.
— International Network
Operations,
Network Operations Management, 8-18-05
