Effective April 5, 2010, the Postal Service™ will revise the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 301.3.3 to extend automation flats eligibility of pieces approved via the Pricing and Classification Service Center (PCSC) beyond May 2010. We also extend the timeframe for the Not Flat-Machinable (NFM) category of Standard Mail® items.
Automation Flats — In May 2009, we revised the DMM to allow certain flats (that did not meet the flexibility standards) access to automation flats prices if they demonstrated machine-compatibility via PCSC-coordinated analysis and testing. This exception was set to expire in May 2010. Mailers who currently have exceptions for automation flats eligibility are encouraged to resubmit their pieces to the PCSC before May to ensure that they still retain the characteristics that were originally tested.
Not Flat-Machinables — In 2007, USPS® created the NFM classification for mailpieces with specific physical characteristics that make NFMs nonmachinable on all but a small segment of USPS automated sorting equipment. At that time, we announced that this classification would be an interim step and that these pieces would be mailable as parcels in the future. In February 2009, we announced the expiration date for NFM Standard Mail prices to be May 2010.
Both of these types of pieces, rigid flats and NFMs, pose difficulties to process and deliver efficiently. These pieces also pose significant challenges for delivery operations when the pieces are not able to fit inside carrier casing equipment in preparation for delivery. They also do not fit in many customer mailboxes and often must be picked up at the Post Office™ facility by the addressee.
Due to the USPS decision to not change prices for these categories of mail in 2010, we are extending the expiration dates for both options to the day before the next applicable price change implementation date in 2011. We remind mailers that the physical characteristics of these mailpieces will enable them to be eligible only for parcel prices as of that date.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
* * * * *
300 Commercial Flats
301 Physical Standards
* * * * *
3.0 Physical Standards for Automation Flats
* * * * *
3.3 Flats-Machine Compatibility
***Rigid flat-size mailpieces in paper, polywrap or similar packaging that allows for the pieces to be grasped and inducted into USPS flat-sorting equipment may qualify for automation prices when meeting the following standards:
* * * * *
[Revise item b by changing the expiration date to read as follows:]
b. Mailpieces under 3.3 must be approved for automation flats prices by the USPS. Mailers seeking approval for mailpieces under this standard must contact their district manager, Business Mail Entry for instructions on submitting sample mailpieces to the Pricing and Classification Service Center (PCSC) (see 608.8.0 for address) for analysis and possible testing. Mailpieces previously approved by the PCSC for automation flats prices after May 2007 are not required to be resubmitted for a new approval. All approvals granted under 3.3 expire on the day before the next applicable price change implementation in 2011.
* * * * *
— Mailing Standards, Pricing, 3-25-10
