Effective September 25, 2008, Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail, is revised to offer a new option for mailing cremated human remains to domestic addresses and to eliminate the current requirement for requesting a return receipt when the remains are sent via Registered Mail™ service.
Currently, the only option for mailing cremated human remains is Registered Mail service with return receipt requested. We now also offer the option to use Express Mail® service as a faster alternative for mailing cremated remains domestically. Since verification of the date and time of delivery for both Registered Mail and Express Mail service is now available online or by telephone, there is no longer a need to require return receipt service and this requirement is now removed.
Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail
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4 Restricted Matter
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45 Liquids, Powders, and Odor-Producing Materials
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452 Mailability
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452.2 Cremated Remains
[Revise the 3rd and 4th sentence of 452.2 as follows:]
***Mailpieces sent to domestic addresses may be sent via Express Mail or Registered Mail service. Mailpieces sent to an international address must be sent via Registered Mail service, and the country listing in the IMM must show that cremated remains are permitted and Registered Mail service must be available for that country.
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next update of the online Publication 52 available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards,
Pricing, 9-25-08
