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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, 7-6-06
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