Effective January 4, 2010, the Postal Service™ revised various sections throughout Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) to describe the changes and procedures for how Move Update assessment charges are handled. (See 74 Fed. Reg. 68538–41, December 28, 2009).
In the October 27, 2009, Federal Register (74 FR 55140–42), the Postal Service provided notice of new Move Update assessment charges for First-Class Mail® and Standard Mail® mailpieces. On November 25, 2009, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) issued Order No. 348 on Move Update, which modified the Postal Service’s requested Mail Classification Schedule (MCS) language filed on October 15, 2009. The Commission’s modifications affect the Move Update standard published on October 27, 2009.
A change-of-address error tolerance of 30 percent for determining whether a mailing fails the Move Update portion of performance-based verification (PBV) testing was added to the MCS. Second, the Commission included language applying a $0.07 Move Update noncompliance charge to a Standard Mail mailing that does not comply with the Move Update standards.
PBV procedures introduced in Spring 2009 allow the Postal Service to sample mailings during the acceptance process to compare mailpiece addresses within the sample against the National Change of Address Link (NCOALink®) database. For the Move Update portion of PBV, addresses on the verification sample are compared to the NCOALink database, and the ratio of the number of failed COAs (addresses that should have been but were not updated per Postal Service records) to the number of actual COAs (all changed addresses for addresses in the mailing) is calculated. If this ratio for the sample is sufficiently high, as detailed below in the DMM language, the mailing is subject to additional charges. Mailers are offered the option of taking the mailing back and reworking it to avoid Move Update assessment charges.
The Move Update standard is not new. It is designed to reduce the number of mailpieces in a mailing that require forwarding, return, or disposal as waste, thus reducing Postal Service costs. The standard also helps to assure that mail reaches its intended recipients in a timely manner. All known mailings of commercial First-Class Mail pieces that did not follow address updating requirements have been subject to single-piece First-Class Mail prices for each piece in the mailing since 1997. In the absence of any action, the same consequence would have applied to Standard Mail commercial mailings where addresses were found not to have been updated. This would have meant a substantial increase in postage for Standard Mail mailings. To mitigate this effect, the Postal Service announced in 2008 that it would charge $0.07 per piece for all pieces in Standard Mail mailings which fail the Move Update PBV test. In addition, in its October 15, 2009, notice filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission, after extensive consultation with mailers, the Postal Service announced that in PBV testing, only mailings with a sample error rate (failed COAs/total COAs) greater than 30 percent would be subject to the charge, and that samples with five or fewer failed pieces would not be subject to the assessment, regardless of the error rate.
The Move Update assessment charge was originally intended for May 2009 implementation. However, in response to customer concerns, we deferred implementation until January 2010, as announced in the April 6, 2009, Federal Register final rule. The Postal Service also decided to apply a $0.07 per piece additional postage charge for First-Class Mail pieces found in mailings with a Move Update error rate of greater than 30 percent based on Postal Service PBV samplings at acceptance, with the five pieces or fewer exception discussed above.
Assessment charges are not designed to permit customers to substitute payment of the Move Update assessment charge for the implementation of appropriate processes that meet the requirements of the Move Update standard. They are designed to facilitate the acceptance of mail in the event that the PBV Move Update process determines that a sample of the mailing has failed above a given tolerance according to that process. Mailers who claim presorted or automation prices for First-Class Mail pieces, or any price category for Standard Mail pieces, must certify that they have used a Postal Service–approved Move Update process on their mailing list within 95 days before the mailing date. Such certification has been a longstanding requirement for First-Class Mail presort and automation prices, and was extended to be an eligibility standard for Standard Mail prices in November 2008. When a mailer does not certify that she or he used any Move Update method for a particular mailing, that mailing is then ineligible for any presorted First-Class Mail or Standard Mail price. Mailings for which the mailer has not certified on the postage statement that a Move Update method was used for meeting the Move Update standard for that mailing do not qualify for First-Class Mail presorted or automation prices or any Standard Mail prices. Only the single-piece First-Class Mail prices are available for such a mailing.
Mailers can find additional information about the general policies and procedures for meeting the Move Update standard in Publication 363, Updating Address Lists is a Smart Move, available the RIBBS website at http://ribbs.usps.gov/move_update/documents/tech_guides/PUB363.pdf. This publication also describes the four primary and two alternative Move Update methods available for updating mailing lists.
The following DMM changes vary from the DMM changes published on October 27, 2009. The application of the Move Update assessment charge is described directly, rather than by reference to a website.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
* * * * *
200 Commercial Mail Letters and Cards
* * * * *
230 First-Class Mail
233 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Basic Standards for First-Class Mail Letters
* * * * *
3.5 Move Update Standard
* * * * *
[Add new 3.5.4 to read as follows:]
3.5.4 Basis for Move Update Assessment Charge
Mailings are subject to a Move Update assessment charge if more than 30 percent of addresses with a change of address (COA) are not updated, based on the error rate found in USPS sampling at acceptance during Performance-Based Verification. Specifically, mailings for which the sample contains greater than 30 percent failed COAs out of the total COAs are subject to additional postage charges as follows:
a. The percentage of the mailing paying the charge is based on the percentage of failed pieces above 30 percent.
b. Each of the assessed pieces is subject to the $0.07 per piece charge.
c. As an example, if 40% of COAs in the sample are not updated, then the charge is applied to 10% (=40% - 30%) of the total mailing.
d. Mailings for which the sample has five or fewer pieces that were not updated for a COA are not subject to the assessment, regardless of the failure percentage.
* * * * *
240 Standard Mail
243 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Basic Standards for Standard Mail Letters
* * * * *
3.9 Move Update Standard
3.9.1 Basic Standards
***Addresses subject to the Move Update standard must meet these requirements:
* * * * *
[Delete item 3.9.1d in its entirety.]
* * * * *
[Add new 3.9.4 to read as follows:]
3.9.4 Basis for Move Update Assessment Charges
Mailings are subject to a Move Update assessment charge if more than 30 percent of addresses with a change of address (COA) are not updated, based on the error rate found in USPS sampling at acceptance during Performance-Based Verification. Specifically, mailings for which the sample contains greater than 30 percent failed COAs out of the total COAs are subject to additional postage charges as follows:
a. The percentage of the mailing paying the charge is based on the percentage of failed pieces above 30 percent.
b. Each of the assessed pieces is subject to the $0.07 per piece charge.
c. As an example, if 40% of COAs in the sample are not updated, then the charge is applied to 10% (=40% - 30%) of the total mailing.
d. Mailings for which the sample has five or fewer pieces that were not updated for a COA are not subject to the assessment, regardless of the failure percentage.
* * * * *
300 Commercial Mail Flats
* * * * *
330 First-Class Mail
333 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Eligibility Standards for First-Class Mail Flats
* * * * *
3.5 Move Update Standard
* * * * *
[Add new 3.5.4 to read as follows:]
3.5.4 Basis for Move Update Assessment Charge
Mailings are subject to a Move Update assessment charge if more than 30 percent of addresses with a change of address (COA) are not updated, based on the error rate found in USPS sampling at acceptance during Performance-Based Verification. Specifically, mailings for which the sample contains greater than 30 percent failed COAs out of the total COAs are subject to additional postage charges as follows:
a. The percentage of the mailing paying the charge is based on the percentage of failed pieces above 30 percent.
b. Each of the assessed pieces is subject to the $0.07 per piece charge.
c. As an example, if 40% of COAs in the sample are not updated, then the charge is applied to 10% (=40% - 30%) of the total mailing.
d. Mailings for which the sample has five or fewer pieces that were not updated for a COA are not subject to the assessment, regardless of the failure percentage.
* * * * *
340 Standard Mail
343 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Basic Standards for Standard Mail Flats
* * * * *
3.9 Move Update Standard
3.9.1 Basic Standards
***Addresses subject to the Move Update standard must meet these requirements:
* * * * *
[Delete item 3.9.1d in its entirety.]
* * * * *
[Add new 3.9.4 to read as follows:]
3.9.4 Basis for Move Update Assessment Charge
Mailings are subject to a Move Update assessment charge if more than 30 percent of addresses with a change of address (COA) are not updated, based on the error rate found in USPS sampling at acceptance during Performance-Based Verification. Specifically, mailings for which the sample contains greater than 30 percent failed COAs out of the total COAs are subject to additional postage charges as follows:
a. The percentage of the mailing paying the charge is based on the percentage of failed pieces above 30 percent.
b. Each of the assessed pieces is subject to the $0.07 per piece charge.
c. As an example, if 40% of COAs in the sample are not updated, then the charge is applied to 10% (=40% - 30%) of the total mailing.
d. Mailings for which the sample has five or fewer pieces that were not updated for a COA are not subject to the assessment, regardless of the failure percentage.
* * * * *
400 Commercial Parcels
* * * * *
430 First-Class Mail
433 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Basic Standards for First-Class Mail Parcels
* * * * *
3.5 Move Update Standard
* * * * *
[Add new 3.5.4 to read as follows:]
3.5.4 Basis for Move Update Assessment Charge
Mailings are subject to a Move Update assessment charge if more than 30 percent of addresses with a change of address (COA) are not updated, based on the error rate found in USPS sampling at acceptance during Performance-Based Verification. Specifically, mailings for which the sample contains greater than 30 percent failed COAs out of the total COAs are subject to additional postage charges as follows:
a. The percentage of the mailing paying the charge is based on the percentage of failed pieces above 30 percent.
b. Each of the assessed pieces is subject to the $0.07 per piece charge.
c. As an example, if 40% of COAs in the sample are not updated, then the charge is applied to 10% (=40% - 30%) of the total mailing.
d. Mailings for which the sample has five or fewer pieces that were not updated for a COA are not subject to the assessment, regardless of the failure percentage.
* * * * *
440 Standard Mail
443 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Basic Standards for Standard Mail Parcels
* * * * *
3.9 Move Update Standard
3.9.1 Basic Standards
***Addresses subject to the Move Update standard must meet these requirements:
* * * * *
[Delete item 3.9.1d in its entirety.]
* * * * *
[Add new 3.9.4 to read as follows:]
3.9.4 Basis for Move Update Assessment Charge
Mailings are subject to a Move Update assessment charge if more than 30 percent of addresses with a change of address (COA) are not updated, based on the error rate found in USPS sampling at acceptance during Performance-Based Verification. Specifically, mailings for which the sample contains greater than 30 percent failed COAs out of the total COAs are subject to additional postage charges as follows:
a. The percentage of the mailing paying the charge is based on the percentage of failed pieces above 30 percent.
b. Each of the assessed pieces is subject to the $0.07 per piece charge.
c. As an example, if 40% of COAs in the sample are not updated, then the charge is applied to 10% (=40% - 30%) of the total mailing.
d. Mailings for which the sample has five or fewer pieces that were not updated for a COA are not subject to the assessment, regardless of the failure percentage.
* * * * *
We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of the DMM and into the next update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards, Pricing, 1-28-10
