Effective March 15, 2007, we are revising 608.4.2 of the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®). Our changes reflect the use of ink jet technology rather than die hubs to apply the special cancellations. Requests for special cancellations must be submitted to Mailing Standards at Postal Service™ Headquarters.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
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608 Postal Information and Resources
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4.0 Philatelic (Stamp Collecting) Services
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4.2 Special Cancellations
4.2.1 Description of Special Cancellations
[Revise 4.2.1 to update “die hub” cancellation with “inkjet” cancellation and to clarify the type of qualifying organization and event, as follows:]
Special cancellations are inkjet cancellations in which a caption publicizing an event is used to cancel mail. Special cancellations may be used only in post offices with 190 revenue units for canceling large volumes of mail. Special cancellations are authorized only if the scheduled observance is for a national purpose for which Congress has made an appropriation, or is of general public interest and importance. Special cancellations are approved for a definite period not to exceed 6 months, and must not be conducted for private gain or profit.
4.2.2 Prohibitions for Special Cancellations
[Revise 4.2.2 to delete “die hub” as follows:]
Special cancellations are not authorized for events of interest primarily to a particular local group; for fraternal, political, religious, service, commercial, or trade organizations; for campaigns or events promoting the sale or use of private products or services; for idea or slogan promotions not directly connected with the event of general public interest and importance; for post office anniversaries; for recruitment programs; or for events that occur when all canceling machines in the post office are scheduled for other special cancellations.
4.2.3 Applying to Use Special Cancellations
[Revise 4.2.3 to clarify the request procedure as follows:]
Submit written requests for special cancellations, on the requesting organization’s letterhead, to the manager of Mailing Standards (see 8.1 for address) at least 4 months before the special cancellation will be used. Provide the following information:
a. The name, address, and telephone number of the sponsor.
b. A complete description and schedule of the event, including evidence that the event is not conducted for private gain or profit.
c. The wording of the special cancellation, which must be standardized and approved by the sponsor\'s national headquarters. Space available for the wording is limited to three lines of not more than 20 letters, numbers, or spaces each. Illustrations or designs cannot be used. The wording must directly reflect the event to be commemorated.
d. The post office name(s) where the cancellation is to be used.
e. The requested time period of use.
4.2.4 Sponsor Payment for Special Cancellations
[Revise 4.2.4 to clarify the payment procedure as follows:]
The sponsor must pay the costs incurred for installing and maintaining the special cancellation.
4.2.5 Time Limit on Use of Special Cancellations
[Revise 4.2.5 to specify the time limit for special cancellations as follows:]
Use of a special cancellation may not exceed 6 months. A special cancellation approved on an annual basis is limited to one 60-day period for each year. A request for reuse of recurring annual cancellations must be submitted 4 months before the date the cancellation will be used again. For national cancellations, the national sponsor may submit a single request.
4.2.6 Revocation of Special Cancellations
[Revise 4.2.6 as follows:]
The USPS may curtail or revoke the use of any special cancellation when it is necessary to use special postmarking for USPS purposes.
[Delete 4.2.7. Renumber 4.2.8 and 4.2.9 as new 4.2.7 and 4.2.8.]
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We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of the DMM and into the monthly update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards,
Pricing and Classification, 3-15-07
