Effective April 5, 2010, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 705.16, Express Mail Open and Distribute and Priority Mail Open and Distribute, to improve efficiencies in processing and to control costs.
The Open and Distribute feature of Express Mail® and Priority Mail® service allows customers to expedite the transportation of shipments of other classes of mail to destination facilities using Express Mail or Priority Mail service.
Currently, for customers using USPS®-provided letter trays for Priority Mail Open and Distribute, the Postal Service™ provides the option to use sacks, USPS-supplied tray boxes, or Label 23, an adhesive label which must be affixed to the letter tray. Tray boxes were introduced April 6, 2009, to address Open and Distribute customers’ concerns that a USPS-provided letter tray sleeve might not maintain the integrity of all mail inside a letter tray during processing. With the introduction of tray boxes, Label 23 is no longer needed and the Postal Service is discontinuing its use. Customers now have the option to place their trays in either sacks or Open and Distribute tray boxes, which are more secure. The Open and Distribute tray boxes are provided free of charge by the Postal Service to all Open and Distribute customers and are available for both half-size and full-size trays.
The Postal Service is also discontinuing the optional use of facsimile Tags 190 and 161. Customers must now use USPS-supplied Tags 190 and 161, which are easy to identify. This change will help ensure visibility of the product for accurate and efficient processing of Open and Distribute containers.
In addition, the Postal Service is updating the standards to reflect the following:
n Open and Distribute containers must remain unsealed until the business mail entry verification and acceptance of the contents have been completed, unless accepted under an alternate procedure authorized by Business Mailer Support.
n PS Form 3152, Confirmation Services Certification, must be submitted with each mailing.
n Containers must not exceed the 70-pound weight limit.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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700 Special Standards
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705 Advanced Preparation and Special Postage Payment Systems
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16.0 Express Mail Open and Distribute and Priority Mail Open and Distribute
16.1 Prices and Fees
16.1.1 Basis of Price
[Add new second sentence to 16.1.1 to clarify the maximum weight as follows:]
***The maximum weight for each container is 70 pounds.***
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16.1.5 Payment Method
[Revise the fourth sentence of 16.1.5 to eliminate Label 23 as follows:]
***Priority Mail postage must be affixed to or hand-stamped on green Tag 161, pink Tag 190, to the Open and Distribute tray box, or be part of the address label.
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16.5 Preparation
16.5.1 Containers for Expedited Transport
Acceptable containers for expedited transport are as follows:
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[Revise item b to remove the reference to Label 23 as follows:]
b. A Priority Mail Open and Distribute shipment must be contained in either a USPS-approved sack using Tag 161 or Tag 190 or a USPS-provided Priority Mail Open and Distribute tray box (Tag 161 and 190 are not required for tray boxes, only the 4x6 address label should be applied), except as provided in 16.5.1c and 16.5.1d.
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16.5.4 Tags 161 and 190—Priority Mail Open and Distribute
[Revise the first sentence of the introductory paragraph of 16.5.4 to remove the optional use of facsimiles as follows:]
Tag 161 and Tag 190 provide a place to affix Priority Mail postage and the address label for the destination facility.***
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[Revise the second sentence in item b to remove the option of a facsimile to read as follows:]
b. ***This tag also must be affixed to containers used for Priority Mail Open and Distribute shipments prepared under 16.5.1c or 16.5.1d.
[Revise heading of 16.5.5 to read as follows:]
16.5.5 Tray Boxes—Express Mail Open and Distribute and Priority Mail Open and Distribute
[Revise 16.5.5 to read as follows:]
As an alternative to sacks for Express Mail Open and Distribute and Priority Mail Open and Distribute shipments, unless prepared under 16.5.1c or 16.5.1d, mailers may use USPS-supplied tray boxes for this service. Mailers must place a 1-foot or 2-foot letter tray into the appropriate size tray box.
16.5.6 Address Labels
[Revise the first sentence of 16.5.6 by removing Label 23 as follows:]
In addition to Tag 157, Tag 161, or Tag 190, USPS-supplied containers and envelopes and mailer-supplied containers used for Express Mail Open and Distribute or Priority Mail Open and Distribute must bear an address label that states “OPEN AND DISTRIBUTE AT:” followed by the facility name.***
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16.6 Enter and Deposit
[Revise the heading of 16.6.1 to read as follows:]
16.6.1 Verification
[Delete the second sentence in 16.6.1 and add new second sentence as follows:]
***Open and Distribute containers must not be sealed until the BMEU verification and acceptance of the contents has been completed, unless accepted under an alternate procedure authorized by Business Mailer Support.
[Add new 16.6.2, Entry, as follows:]
16.6.2 Entry
A PS Form 3152, Confirmation Services Certification, must accompany each shipment. Mailers must present shipments to the BMEU with enough time for acceptance, processing, and dispatch before the facility’s critical entry time for Express Mail or Priority Mail.
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We will include these revisions in the next printed edition of the DMM and in the next update of the online DMM on Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards, Pricing, 3-25-10
