Effective February 2, 2009, we are revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 507.9.8.3 and 601.6.5 to allow the use of two-way indicia on reusable envelopes.
The use of reusable envelopes benefits mailers by eliminating the cost of providing separate reply envelopes and by freeing space within the outgoing mailpieces. This extra space can be used to include high-value material while controlling the weight of the outgoing mailpieces. Use of reusable envelopes benefits the environment by halving the number of envelopes needed to accommodate a direct mail campaign.
We broaden our support of reusable envelopes by allowing customers to print two-way indicia. Two-way indicia consist of a permit imprint representing the outgoing class of mail; with the Business Reply Mail® “No Postage Necessary If Mailed In The United States” imprint and horizontal bars immediately beneath it for the Business Reply Mail portion.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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500 Additional Mailing Services
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507 Mailer Services
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9.0 Business Reply Mail (BRM)
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9.8 Format Elements
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9.8.3 “No Postage Necessary” Imprint
[Revise text of 9.8.3 as follows:]
The imprint “NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES” must be printed in the upper right corner of the address side of the piece, except as allowed under 601.6.5 for reusable mailpieces with outgoing permit imprint indicia. The “NO POSTAGE NECESSARY” imprint must not extend more than 1-3/4 inches from the right edge of the piece.
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600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
601 Mailability
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6.0 Mailing Containers—Special Types of Envelopes and Packaging
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[Revise the title of 6.5 and delete the introductory paragraph in its entirety. Renumber current 6.5a through 6.5c as new 6.5.1 through 6.5.3 (using the first sentence as their titles) as follows:]
6.5 Alternative Reusable Mailpieces That Originate as Permit Imprint Mailings
6.5.1 Basic Design
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6.5.2 Distribution
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6.5.3 Return
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[Add new 6.5.4 as follows:]
6.5.4 Two-Way Indicia
When the permit imprint indicia for Standard Mail or First-Class Mail is printed on a reusable window envelope intended to be returned as Business Reply Mail (BRM), the imprint “NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES” must be printed on the envelope directly below the permit imprint indicia. See exhibit 6.5.4 below. These additional conditions apply:
a. The permit imprint indicia must be located in the upper right corner of the address side of the mailpiece.
b. The horizontal bars must be printed directly below the “NO POSTAGE NECESSARY” imprint and must not extend below the delivery line of the address.
c. The other BRM elements as described in 507.9.8, with the exception of the facing identification mark (FIM), must appear on the insert in the envelope window. The FIM C must be printed on the envelope under 708.9.0.
d. The outgoing First-Class Mail portion with two-way indicia must be endorsed “Return Service Requested,” except for mailpieces participating in Address Change Service (ACS). First-Class Mail letters participating in ACS must be endorsed “Change Service Requested” for traditional ACS. Mailpieces with Intelligent Mail barcodes and requesting OneCode ACS must have the printed endorsement “Electronic Service Requested,” but the embedded request must be for “Change Service Requested” (option 1) only. Endorsements must not appear directly below or to the left of the postage area and must not be visible when the mailpiece is configured for reply purposes (see 507.4.2).
e. Standard Mail with two-way indicia should not be forwarded and must not be endorsed “Address Service Requested” or “Forwarding Service Requested.”
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of DMM and the next online update available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards,
Pricing, 1-29-09
