Scanning Reminder for Postal Service Employees

In preparation for the holiday mailing season, please ensure that scanning procedures for all extra service items (which include Delivery Confirmation, Signature Confirma­tion, Certified Mail, Registered Mail, Express Mail, Insured Mail, COD, and inbound international mail parcels) are followed. Items with Delivery Confirmation and parcels insured for $200 or less require only a delivery scan.

As of January 1, 2006, the Postal Service became liable for loss, damage, or rifling of all parcel items sent to the United States from a foreign destination. For inbound international mail parcels, items requiring a scan and/or signature capture can be identified either by the presence of a barcode or a manual endorsement that begins with a specific alpha character: C, V, E, R, A (CRAVE):

• Inbound International Parcels “C” prefix — e.g., CP123456789BK.
• International Insured Parcels “V” prefix, V123 or VV123 (many insured parcels also have a “C” barcode).
• International Express Mail “E” barcode or number that starts with an “E.”
• Inbound Registered Items “R” — e.g., R9742 or RR123.
• Inbound Recorded Delivery “A” — e.g., A123 or AA123.

There is a course available for employee viewing on USPS-TV On Demand; go to http://blue.usps.gov/pac/uspstv/welcome.htm, and under the heading “Top Picks,” click on International Mail Scanning, course #15201-87.

Ensure that appropriate scanning is completed in a timely manner for plant-verified drop shipment (PVDS) forms (PS Forms 8125 and 3152-A).

Express Mail items, Signature Confirmation items, and firm sheets require the delivery employee to manually enter the first initial and last name of the person who actually signs for the parcel(s).

When scanners are not readily accessible, employees should record human-readable identification numbers and all relevant information on a PS Form 3849, Delivery Notice/Reminder/Receipt, so that the item numbers can be manu­ally keyed and the data captured.

All offices need to ensure that their Intelligent Mail Device (IMD) scanners are properly cradled so that data transmission can take place. Scanning performance should be monitored, and plans for corrective actions should be coordinated by the appropriate managers as needed.

A retail service talk on procedures for handling PS Form 3849 is available at the Retail Operations Web page at http://blue.usps.gov/delret/L3RetOper.htm; in the left nav­igation bar, click on SOPs, and then, under the heading “References — Domestic,” click on SERVICE TALK PS Form 3849 at the Window & Post Office Box Section.