Domestic Mail

DMM REVISION

Customer Options for Change-of-Address Orders

Effective November 10, 2005, we are revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 507.2.1 to reflect the current options available to customers filing change-of-address orders. We are also clarifying those circumstances when change-of- address orders are not accepted.

Under our current DMM standards, customers can request a change of address by filing PS Form 3575, Change-of-Address Order, or other written notice with the postmaster for the old address. However, we have adopted two additional methods for submitting change-of-address orders:

• Internet Change of Address (ICOA) method at https://moversguide.usps.com/. Customers may use a personal computer to submit their request online or to print forms for filing a manual change-of-address order.

• Telephone Change of Address (TCOA) method. Customers may submit the request by calling 800-ASK-USPS.

To provide a secure transaction, ICOA and TCOA require customers to provide a valid credit card to verify their identity. We charge the customer's credit card $1.00 for the verification.

We have revised DMM 507.2.1.4 and 507.2.1.5 a to clarify circumstances when change-of-address orders are not accepted. The changes reflect current policy that change- of-address orders are not accepted for addressees at a business address that receives mail as part of a delivery to other internal addressees at that location. The new provision clarifies that the standards apply to all customers, whether individual persons or businesses or other entities or organizations.

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)

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500 Additional Services

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507 Mailer Services

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2.0 Forwarding

2.1 Change-of-Address Order

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[Revise title and text of 2.1.4 to read as follows:]

2.1.4 Methods of Filing

Customers may use one of the following methods to file a change of address with the Post Office:

a. Submit Form 3575 or other written notice to the postmaster at the Post Office serving the old address.

b. Use Internet Change of Address (ICOA) method at https://moversguide.usps.com/. Customers using the ICOA method must provide a valid credit card number for identity verification. The customer's credit card is charged $1.00 for the verification.

c. Use Telephone Change of Address (TCOA) method at 800-ASK-USPS. Customers using the TCOA method must provide a valid credit card number for identity verification. The customer's credit card is charged $1.00 for the verification.

2.1.5 Prohibited Use

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[Revise 2.1.5 a. to read as follows:]

a. An addressee (e.g., an individual or a business entity or other organization) may not file a change-of-address order for mail originally addressed to the addressee at an organization, business, place of employment, or other affiliation. The organization or business may change the address (but not the addressee's name) on a mailpiece to redirect it to the addressee. Barcodes on redirected mailpieces should be obliterated to facilitate automation processing.

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We will include these revisions in the next printed version of the DMM and in the monthly update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.

— Mailing Standards,
Pricing and Classification, 11-10-05

DMM NOTICE

Bundle Integrity for Flat-Size and Irregular Parcel Mail

"Bundle integrity" - the ability of bundles to remain intact during transit and processing - is crucial for the Postal Service's new, high-speed mail processing equipment, the Automated Package Processing System (APPS). APPS uses barcode reader and optical character reader technology to sort parcels and bundles with little or no manual intervention.

Previously, we processed bundles using small parcel and bundle sorters. This equipment allowed Postal ServiceTM employees to intervene and secure loose bundles or redirect damaged bundles before they entered the sorting equipment. However, with APPS, Postal Service employees have little opportunity to identify or correct bundling problems as bundles are inducted.

Better Ways to Bundle

Shrinkwrapping is one of the best ways to secure bundles of flat-size mailpieces and irregular parcels. Shrinkwrap must be of sufficient strength for the size and weight of the bundle. Improperly applied shrinkwrap can result in bundles with large openings that may allow mailpieces to escape. To help ensure bundle integrity of shrinkwrapped bundles, mailers should make sure their shrinkwrap operations apply the shrinkwrap tightly and limit the size of any openings. If shrinkwrapped bundles have openings, we strongly encourage mailers to use banding to encircle bundles on the open sides.

Banding with clear, smooth plastic strapping is another good way to ensure bundle integrity. Banding must be tight enough to depress the edges of the bundle and prevent mailpieces from slipping out during transit and processing. Loose bundles often result when mailers use rubber bands, string, or twine to secure bundles. When mailers apply banding materials with insufficient tension, the materials tend to slip off, and we have to handle and sort individual pieces manually. Mailers should maintain their banding equipment so that it properly applies the banding material tightly enough to depress the bundle edges to minimize broken bundles.

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) includes standards for proper preparation of presort bundles. Current bundling standards are provided in the mail preparation sections of the DMM by shape and class of mail. To further improve bundle integrity, we proposed revisions to the DMM in a Federal Register notice published on November 2, 2005. Our proposal would require two bands to secure bundles of flats and irregular parcels that are not shrinkwrapped. This Federal Register notice is available on our Rapid Information Bulletin Board System (RIBBS) at ribbs.usps.gov; click on Federal Register Notices in the left-hand column. The DMM is available on Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.

New Mailer Test for Bundles

The following test simulates the stress of normal transit and processing on bundles. To increase mailers' confidence that their presort bundles comply with our acceptance criteria, we recommend that mailers use this test to help determine if their bundles will remain intact during mail processing and transit.

1. Choose several bundles for testing, selecting bundles of different weights when possible. Include heavier or larger bundles for testing to ensure that the strength of shrinkwrap or banding is adequate for the weight and size of the heaviest and largest bundles in the mailing.

2. Place the bundles on a raised surface about 4 feet above the floor.

3. Push each bundle, corner-first, off the edge of the raised surface with enough force so the bundle will land on the floor on one of its corners at a horizontal distance of 1 to 3 feet from the edge of the raised surface.

4. Lift each bundle from the floor by grasping a corner of the shrinkwrap or the corners of several mailpieces.

5. Evaluate the condition of each bundle as it is lifted. If none of the bundling material detaches from the rest of the bundle and if no pieces fall out of the bundle, the bundle is likely to withstand normal transit and processing.

Large or heavy bundles are unlikely to pass this test if they are secured with rubber bands, string, thin shrinkwrap, or banding materials (such as polyethylene tape) that stretch and do not return to their previous tension. When bundles fail the drop test, mailers should rebundle mailpieces using stronger materials or adjust their equipment to more tightly secure their bundles.

Working Together to Improve Bundle Integrity

Manual handling of mailpieces from broken or loose bundles results in delayed delivery and increases our processing costs. To help identify recurring problems, we are using the new Electronic Mail Improvement Report (eMIR) to alert mailers and Postal Service employees to mail preparation issues, including broken bundles. The PostalOne! Mail Owner view offers both mail owners and preparers electronic access to their eMIR report information. Customers can apply for Mail Owner access online at http://www.usps.com/postalone.

Working together, we can improve bundle integrity.

— Mailing Standards,
Pricing and Classification, 11-10-05

DMM REVISION

Labeling List Changes

Effective November 10, 2005, we are revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) Labeling List L201 to correct 11 schemes published on October 27 in the online DMM. The corrected information follows.

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)

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L Labeling Lists

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L200 Periodicals

L201 Periodicals Origin Split

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We will incorporate these revisions into the monthly update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.gov.

— Logistics, Network Operations Management, 11-10-05