The Postal Service™ is clarifying standards for determining flexibility and uniform thickness of flat-size mailpieces and deleting standards for using the marking “Do Not Bend.” We are revising the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 101, 301, and 601 accordingly.
We recognize that some flat-size mailpieces have contents that are stiff but not completely rigid. Some employees may be reluctant to administer the flexibility test on these pieces. As stated in the Federal Register notice of March 30, 2007, customers may administer the flexibility test on their own mailpieces with an employee observing. When the customer demonstrates that a flat-size piece is flexible according to standards, the employee does not need to perform the test. We are adding this clarification to DMM 101 and 301.
The requirement that nonpaper contents in flat-size mailpieces not shift more than 2 inches is within the context of the overall standard concerning uniform thickness. In DMM 101 and 301, we are adding the phrase “if shifting would cause the piece to be nonuniform in thickness,” to clarify that intent. We are adding a reminder to the same section that some objects placed in ordinary paper envelopes may need to be fixed in place or wrapped within the other contents of the mailpiece to prevent them from bursting out of the envelope. We are also clarifying when to exclude the external edges of a flat-size mailpiece when determining uniform thickness.
There has been a longstanding mailing standard that mailers marking their mailpieces with “Do Not Bend” must add a stiffener within the mailpiece. That requirement was included to provide a sensory reminder in case our employees did not see the marking. However, we do not guarantee that these pieces will not be bent during processing or bent or folded when delivered. Therefore, we are removing references to this marking. We recommend that mailers prepare these items (that could be damaged by bending or folding) in boxes or similar protective containers mailed at the applicable parcel rates, instead of adding handling endorsements on the outside of the mailpiece.
These revised standards are effective immediately.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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100 Retail Mail
101 Physical Standards
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2.0 Physical Standards for Flats
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2.3 Minimum Flexibility Criteria for Flat-Size Pieces
[Revise 2.3 to clarify that customers may perform this test when an employee is present, as follows:]
Flat-size pieces must be flexible. Boxes — with or without hinges, gaps, or breaks that allow the piece to bend — are not flats. Tight envelopes or wrappers that are filled with one or more boxes are not flats. At the customer’s option, a customer may perform the following test on their own mailpieces. When a postal employee observes a customer demonstrating that a flat-size piece is flexible according to these standards, the employee does not need to perform the test. Test flats as follows:
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2.4 Uniform Thickness
[Revise 2.4 to clarify when the outside edges are excluded for determining variation in thickness and when contents must be secured to prevent shifting, as follows:]
Flat-size mailpieces must be uniformly thick so that any bumps, protrusions, or other irregularities do not cause more than 1/4-inch variance in thickness. When determining variance in thickness, exclude the outside edges of a mailpiece (1 inch from each edge) when the contents do not extend into those edges. Also, exclude the selvage of any polywrap covering (see 301.3.3) from this determination. Mailers must secure nonpaper contents to prevent shifting of more than 2 inches within the mailpiece if shifting would cause the piece to be nonuniform in thickness or would result in the contents bursting out of the mailpiece (see 601.11.18).
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300 Discount Flats
301 Physical Standards
1.0 Physical Standards for Flats
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1.3 Minimum Flexibility for Flat-Size Pieces
[Revise 1.3 to clarify that customers may perform this test when an employee is present, as follows:]
Flat-size pieces must be flexible. Boxes — with or without hinges, gaps, or breaks that allow the piece to bend — are not flats. Tight envelopes or wrappers that are filled with one or more boxes are not flats. At the customer’s option, a customer may perform the following test on their own mailpieces. When a postal employee observes a customer demonstrating that a flat-size piece is flexible according to these standards, the employee does not need to perform the test. Test flats as follows:
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1.4 Uniform Thickness
[Revise 1.4 to clarify that the outside edges are excluded when determining variation in thickness and that contents must be secured to prevent shifting, as follows:]
Flat-size mailpieces must be uniformly thick so that any bumps, protrusions, or other irregularities do not cause more than 1/4-inch variance in thickness. When determining variance in thickness, exclude the outside edges of a mailpiece (1 inch from each edge) when the contents do not extend into those edges. Also, exclude the selvage of any polywrap covering (see 301.3.3) from this determination. Mailers must secure nonpaper contents to prevent shifting of more than 2 inches within the mailpiece if shifting would cause the piece to be nonuniform in thickness or would result in the contents bursting out of the mailpiece (see 601.11.18).
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600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
601 Mailability
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5.0 Handling, Content, and Extra Service Markings
5.1 Handling, Content, and Extra Service
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[Revise item a to remove the standards for applying markings such as “Do Not Bend”, as follows:]
a. Handling markings such as “Fragile” must be applied only to packages containing delicate items such as glass and electrical appliances.
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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, 8-16-07
