Effective June 7, 2007, we are revising our mailing standards to allow advertising on the front of detached address labels (DALs) that are barcoded and meet automation letter standards. This change will allow mailers to place advertising on the front of barcoded automation-compatible DALs in addition to advertising that is already allowed on the reverse side. Note that DALs with a height of more than 4-1/4 inches or a length of more than 6 inches would have to be at least 0.009 inch thick to be automation-compatible.
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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602 Addressing
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4.0 Detached Address Labels (DALs)
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4.2 Label Preparation
4.2.1 Label Construction
[Revise item 4.2.1c to reference to 4.2.5b for automation-compatible DALs, as follows:]
Each DAL must be made of paper or cardboard stock that is not folded, perforated, or creased, and that meets these measurements:
a. Between 3-1/2 and 5 inches high (perpendicular to the address).
b. Between 5 and 9 inches long (parallel to the address).
c. At least 0.007 inch thick, except under 4.2.5.b.
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4.2.5 Other Information
[Revise 4.2.5 to add standards for allowable advertising on the front, and to restructure, as follows:]
In addition to the information described in 4.2.2 and 4.2.4 and an indicium of postage payment, only the following may appear on the front of a DAL:
a. Official pictures and data circulated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
b. Advertising, under the following conditions:
1. The DALs must be automation-compatible under 201.3.0 and have a correct delivery point barcode or an Intelligent Mail barcode with an 11-digit routing code (see 708.4.0).
2. The advertising must not obstruct or overlap any of the required elements that are placed on the front of a DAL.
3. The advertising must be to the left of the delivery address and must be placed to maintain required clear spaces around the address and postage payment (see 202 and 602.1.0).
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4.4 Disposition of Excess or Undeliverable Material
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4.4.2 Undeliverable DAL
[Revise 4.4.2 by including previous text from 4.2.5 that disallows ancillary service endorsements, as follows:]
Ancillary service endorsements are not permitted. A DAL that is undeliverable as addressed is handled under 507.1.1 through 507.1.9 for the applicable class of mail. The accompanying item is treated as specified by the mailer under 4.4.1.
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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\u201A at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards,
Pricing and Classification, 6-7-07
