Effective August 30, 2007, we are revising subchapter 707 of Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) to incorporate the provisions of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (Public Law No. 109–435) that permit Periodicals mailers to claim In-County and Preferred rates for requester publications. In addition, to further comply with the act, we are revising the criteria for In-County rates to include copies entered within the county of publication but delivered outside that county on a postal carrier route that crosses over county lines.
Mailers may make related changes to their mailings as soon as possible.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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700 Special Standards
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707 Periodicals
1.0 Rates and Fees
1.1 Outside-County — Including Science-of-Agriculture
1.1.1 Pound Rates
[Revise introductory text to include “nonrequester copies” as follows:]
Authorized nonprofit and classroom mailers receive a discount of 5% off the total Outside-County postage for advertising pounds. The 5% discount does not apply to commingled nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies in excess of the 10% allowance in DMM 707.7.
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1.1.6 Nonprofit Publications
[Revise the second sentence in 1.1.6 and 1.1.7 to include “nonrequester copies” as follows:]
Authorized nonprofit publications receive a discount of 5% off the total Outside-County postage excluding the postage for advertising pounds. The 5% discount does not apply to commingled nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies in excess of the 10% allowance provided under 7.0.
1.1.7 Classroom Publications
Authorized Classroom publications receive a discount of 5% off the total Outside-County postage excluding the postage for advertising pounds. The 5% discount does not apply to commingled nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies in excess of the 10% allowance provided under 7.0.
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6.0 Qualification Categories
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6.4 Requester Publications
6.4.1 Basic Standards
[Revise the introductory text to eliminate “Outside-County” as follows:]
A publication, whether circulated free or to subscribers, may be authorized Periodicals rates if it meets the basic standards in 4.0 and:
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7.0 Mailing to Nonsubscribers or Nonrequesters
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7.9 Nonrequester and Nonsubscriber Copies
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7.9.3 Preferred Rates
[Revise 7.9.3 as follows:]
For In-County rates and Nonprofit, Classroom, and Science-of-Agriculture publications, nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies up to 10% of the total number of copies mailed to subscribers or requesters during the calendar year may be mailed at the applicable Preferred rates or Preferred rate discount, provided that the nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies would qualify as Preferred rate or Preferred rate discount publications if mailed to subscribers or requesters and if the copies are presorted under applicable standards. Nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies mailed over the 10% limit are not eligible for Preferred rates or the Preferred rate discount. To qualify for Outside-County rates, the nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies over the 10% limit must be part of a presorted, commingled mailing (one that includes subscriber or requester copies). Subject to 11.3, nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies may be mailed at In-County rates up to a 10% limit of the total number of subscriber or requester copies of the publication mailed at In-County rates during the calendar year. Once the 10% calendar year limit is exceeded for the number of nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies that may be mailed at Preferred rates or the Preferred rate discount, the nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies may not then be mailed at In-County rates even if the 10% limit separately applied to those rates is not exceeded.
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10.0 Preferred Periodicals
10.1 Nonprofit Eligibility — Basic Standards
10.1.1 Authorization
[Revise 10.1.1 to eliminate “in other than the requester category” as follows:]
To be mailed at Nonprofit Periodicals rates, a publication must be granted Periodicals entry and a Nonprofit authorization for which eligibility was established under 10.2 or 10.3.
10.1.2 Other Rates and Discounts Claimed
[Revise 10.1.2 to include “nonrequester copies” as follows:]
Each piece must also meet the standards for the rates or discounts claimed. Nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies are subject to 7.0.
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10.3 Nonprofit Eligibility — Other Qualified Organizations
10.3.1 Basic Standards
[Revise the introductory text to eliminate “(other than a requester publication)” as follows:]
Subject to 10.3.2, a publication may qualify for Nonprofit rates regardless of the nonprofit status of the publishing organization if it is a:
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10.3.2 Limits
[Revise 10.3.2 to eliminate “(other than a requester publication)” as follows:]
Only one publication per qualifying organization may qualify for the Nonprofit rates under 10.3.1c or 10.3.1d.
10.4 Classroom Eligibility
10.4.1 Authorization
[Revise the first sentence to eliminate “in other than the requester category” as follows:]
To be mailed at the Classroom Periodicals rates, a publication must be granted Periodicals entry and a Classroom rate authorization.
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11.0 Basic Rate Eligibility
11.1 Outside-County Rates
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11.1.3 Preferred Rate Discount
[Revise the final sentence to include “nonrequester copies” and eliminate the second sentence, as follows:]
Publications qualifying as Nonprofit or Classroom Periodicals receive a 5% discount off the total Outside-County postage, excluding the postage for advertising pounds. Nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies claiming the Preferred rate discount are subject to the standards in 7.0.
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11.3 In-County Rates
[Revise the heading and text in 11.3.1 as follows:]
11.3.1 Subscriber or Requester Copies
In-County rates apply to subscriber or requester copies of any issue of a Periodicals publication entered within the county in which the post office of original entry is located for delivery to addressees within that county, if one of the following standards is met:
a. The total paid or requested circulation of such issue is less than 10,000 copies.
b. The number of paid or requested copies of such issue distributed within the county of publication is more than 50% of the total paid or requested circulation of such issue.
11.3.2 Exceptional Conditions
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[Add new item d as follows:]
d. A publication entered within the county in which it is published, but distributed outside that county on a postal carrier route originating in the county of publication, is treated as if distributed within the county of publication.
[Revise the heading and text in 11.3.3 as follows:]
11.3.3 Nonsubscriber or Nonrequester Copies
During a calendar year, the total number of nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies mailed at In-County rates may not exceed 10% of the number of subscriber or requester copies mailed at In-County rates. Mailers must include the number of nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies mailed at In-County rates when determining the overall 10% allowance under 7.0. Effectively, the allowance for nonsubscriber or nonrequester copies mailable at the In-County rates is the 10% allowed under this standard or the overall 10% limit under 7.0, whichever occurs first.
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of the DMM and into the September update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards,
Pricing and Classification, 8-30-07
