International Mail

IMM AND PUBLICATION 51 REVISIONS

Redeeming International Reply Coupons

Effective November 9, 2006, we are revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) part 372 and Publication 51, International Postal Rates and Fees, to reflect current procedures in our redemption policy for international reply coupons (IRCs) issued before 2002.

As of January 1, 2007, customers will no longer be able to redeem IRCs issued before 2002 at U.S. Post OfficesTM. Starting January 1, 2007, retail associates should advise customers to return pre-2002 IRCs to their correspondents in the country of issue for redemption through the postal administration that issued the coupon. This policy change is only for IRCs issued by foreign postal administrations - U.S.-origin coupons are not affected.

This new date of January 1, 2007, revises the date of July 1, 2006, published in the article titled "New IRC Procedures: Redemption of International Reply Coupons at Retail Counters," in Postal Bulletin 22184 (7-6-06, page 28). As noted in that article, the pre-2002 IRCs are approximately 2.5 inches by 4 inches and do not have a barcode on the back, whereas the current versions of the IRCs printed by the Universal Postal Union are approximately 3.75 inches by 6 inches and can be distinguished by the barcode on the back. Images of the front and back of both the old and current IRCs are shown on pages 20-21 of this issue of the Postal Bulletin.

Note: The images of the IRCs are shown in the same size even though, as mentioned above, the pre-2002 IRCs are smaller than the current IRCs.

Pre-2002 IRC

Current IRC

International Mail Manual (IMM)

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3 Special Services

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370 Supplemental Services

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372 International Reply Coupons

372.1 Description

[Delete the last sentence in item a so that item a reads in its entirety as follows:]

a. The sender of a letter may prepay a reply by purchasing reply coupons that are sold and exchangeable for postage stamps by postal administrations in member countries of the Universal Postal Union.

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372.4 Processing Requests

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[Revise item d to read as follows:]

d. Reply coupons issued by foreign countries before 2002 will not be redeemable at U.S. Post Offices as of January 1, 2007. The pre-2002 international reply coupons are approximately 2.5 inches by 4 inches and do not have a barcode on the back. The latest versions of the international reply coupons printed by the Universal Postal Union are approximately 3.75 inches by 6 inches and can be distinguished by the barcode on the back. Starting January 1, 2007, customers should return pre-2002 coupons of foreign origin to their correspondents in the country of issue for replacement or redemption through the issuing postal administration. This policy change is only for international reply coupons issued by foreign postal administrations - U.S.-origin coupons are not affected.

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Publication 51, International Postal Rates and Fees

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Miscellaneous Services

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International Reply Coupons

[Revise the section about "International Reply Coupons" in its entirety to read as follows:]

International reply coupons (IRCs) provide foreign addressees with a prepaid means of responding to inquiries, solicitations, or other types of communications that are initiated by U.S. senders. IRCs are exchangeable for postage stamps by postal administrations in member countries of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Each IRC is equivalent in value to the destination country's minimum postage rate for an unregistered airmail letter. The purchase price is $1.85 per coupon.

As of January 1, 2007, IRCs issued by foreign countries before 2002 will not be redeemable at U.S. Post Offices. Starting January 1, 2007, customers should return pre-2002 coupons of foreign origin to their correspondents in the country of issue for replacement or redemption through the issuing postal administration. This policy change is only for IRCs issued by foreign postal administrations - U.S.-origin coupons are not affected.

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We will incorporate these revisions into the printed version of IMM 34, the next printed version of Publication 51, and the online versions of the IMM and Publication 51, which can be accessed via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.

— Mailing Standards,
Pricing and Classification, 11-9-06