Policies, Procedures, and Forms Updates

Manuals

POM Revision: Letter Drops in Postal Lobbies for Local Postmarks

The following changes to the Postal Operations Manual (POM) will be effective July 31, 2008. Postal Service™ modernization efforts have made the lobby drop for local postmarks in POM 312.2 obsolete for approximately 15 years. The requirement for a lobby drop for the local postmark is therefore changed to an option, to be deter­mined by the postmaster.

POM section 312.1 states that the local postmark must be made available at every Post Office™. POM sec­tion 312.2 states that at Post Offices, stations, and branches, a lobby drop must be provided for the deposit of mail “for which the local postmark is desired.”

Cancellation and routine postmarking of mail at Post Offices, except for transactions at the retail window, were made obsolete with the mechanized cancellation systems installed at larger facilities in the 1970s. After the installa­tion of the Advanced Facer Canceller Systems (AFCSs) at processing plants more than 15 years ago, routine cancel­lation of mail at local Post Offices was virtually eliminated. The efficiencies of the AFCSs help keep postage rates as low as possible for all customers.

Note: POM section 312.1 remains unchanged, and the local postmark remains available at every Post Office.

Postal Operations Manual (POM)

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3 Collection Service — National Service Standards 31 Applicabiilty and General Requirements

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312 Local Postmark

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[Revise title and text of 312.2 to read as follows:]

312.2 Local Postmark Requests

Customers may request a local postmark at the retail counter at all Post Offices, stations, and branches. Customers with significant volumes of mail to be post­marked (50 or more pieces) should contact the postmaster or other managers in advance, to assure that adequate resources are available to provide the local postmark.

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4 Mail Processing Procedures

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44 Mail Preparation

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443 Endorsing, Canceling, and Postmarking

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443.3 Postmarking

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443.32 Local Postmarking

[Revise 443.32 to read as follows:]

Local postmarking will be available at each Post Office. The rules for local postmarking are the same as the procedures in 443.31.

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We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed edition and into the online update of the POM, available on the Postal Service™ PolicyNet Web site:

• Go to http://blue.usps.gov.
• Under “Essential Links,” in the left-hand column, click References.
• On PolicyNet, click Manuals.

(The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet Web site is http://blue.usps.gov/cpim.)

— Retail Operations,
Customer Service Operations, 7-31-08