Effective September 8, 2009, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 507.9.3.1, 507.9.9, 507.10.3.6, and 708.4.3.1 to revise the timeline and mailing standards to postpone the Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb) requirement for qualified Business Reply Mail® (QBRM) and permit reply mail (PRM) pieces until May 2011.
In a Federal Register final rule (73 FR 49333–46348) published on August 21, 2008, the Postal Service™ included a requirement for IMbs for qualified QBRM letters and cards and PRM pieces to be effective in May 2010. Revising the timeline is consistent with the IMb requirement for automation letters, flats, and other BRM pieces.
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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9.3 Qualified Business Reply Mail (QBRM) Basic Standards
9.3.1 Description
Qualified Business Reply Mail (QBRM) is First-Class Mail that:
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[Revise item f to state that an IMb is not required until May 2011 as follows:]
f. Bears the correct Intelligent Mail barcode (required in May 2011) or POSTNET barcode (until May 2011) that corresponds to the unique ZIP+4 code in the address on each piece distributed. The barcode must be correctly prepared under 9.9 and 708.4.0.
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9.9 Additional Standards for Letter-Size and Flat-Size BRM
[Revise the introductory text of 9.9 to change the effective date of the IMb requirement to May 2011 as follows:]
In addition to the format standards in 9.8, letter-size BRM enclosed in automation mailings and all QBRM must be barcoded with a ZIP+4 POSTNET barcode (only until May 2011) or an Intelligent Mail barcode. Intelligent Mail barcodes on all BRM must contain the barcode ID, service type ID, and correct ZIP+4 routing code, as specified under 708.4.3. All BRM letters must bear Intelligent Mail barcodes (with a USPS-assigned Mailer ID, except when using origin OneCode Confirm under 503.13.3.2) effective May 2011.
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10.0 Permit Reply Mail
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10.3 Format Elements
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10.3.6 Delivery Address
[Revise text to change the required date for IMb to May 2011 as follows:]
The complete address (including the permit holder’s name, delivery address, city, state, and ZIP+4 code) must be printed on the piece. PRM pieces must bear a delivery point POSTNET barcode (until May 2011) or Intelligent Mail barcode (required in May 2011). Effective May 2011, PRM pieces must bear Intelligent Mail barcodes (under 708.4.3) with delivery point routing codes and USPS-assigned Mailer IDs.
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700 Special Standards
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708 Technical Specifications
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4.0 Standards for POSTNET and Intelligent Mail Barcodes
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4.3 Intelligent Mail Barcodes
4.3.1 Definition
***Mailers may use Intelligent Mail barcodes as follows:
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[Revise the first two sentences of item c as follows:]
c. Reply mail pieces using origin Confirm Service do not require a Mailer ID to be encoded into the Mailer Identifier field. All other mailpieces, including QBRM letters and PRM pieces as of May 2011, bearing Intelligent Mail barcodes must include the Mailer ID in the Mailer Identifier field.***
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We will incorporate these revisions into the September update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com and into the next printed version of the DMM.
— Mailing Standards,
Pricing, 8-27-09
