Effective November 29, 2009, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 604 and 608 to update the information as a result of change to Title 18 USC 1725 and Private Express Statutes (PES) reporting responsibilities.
DMM 604 is updated to reflect the maximum fine liability for mailable matter without postage found in or on mail receptacles. DMM 608 is updated to reflect the manager of Mailing Standards as the primary point of contact for matters regarding PES.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
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604 Postage Payment Methods
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8.0 Insufficient or Omitted Postage
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8.3 Mailable Matter Without Postage in or on Mail Receptacles
8.3.1 Penalty
[Revise the text in 8.3.1 as follows:]
Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits any mailable matter (such as statements of account, circulars, sale bills, or other like matter) on which no postage is paid, in any letterbox established, approved, or accepted by the Postal Service for the receipt or delivery of mail matter on any route, with intent to avoid payment of lawful postage thereon, shall for each such offense be fined not more than $5,000.00 per individual or $10,000.00 per organization (18 USC 1725, 3571).
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608 Postal Information and Resources
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5.0 Private Express Statutes
5.1 Private Express Statutes
5.1.1 Legal Foundation
[Revise the text and reference number in the last sentence in 5.1.1 to reflect “Mailing Standards” as follows:]
***Copies of the regulations are available from the manager of Mailing Standards, USPS Headquarters (see 8.1 for address).
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5.1.4 Suspensions of Private Express Statutes
[Revise the text in the last sentence in 5.1.4 to reflect “Mailing Standards” as follows:]
***Carriers wanting to use the suspension for data-processing materials must file a notice of their intention on a form available from the manager of Mailing Standards.
5.1.5 Violations of Private Express Statutes
[Revise the text in the first sentence in 5.1.5 to reflect “Mailing Standards” as follows:]
Mailing Standards, USPS Headquarters, is responsible for reviewing initial reports of possible violations of the Private Express Statutes.***
5.1.6 Legal Advice for Private Express
[Revise the reference number in the parenthetical phrase to 8.1.]
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next printed version of the DMM and into the monthly update of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards, Pricing, 10-22-09
