DMM Revision: Clarification of the Post Office Box Lock Replacement Fee
Effective January 2, 2011, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 508.4.8.4 to clarify the applicability of the lock replacement fee for PO Boxes to reflect current practice.
Current standards require payment of the lock replacement fee when a customer requests that the lock be changed. The Postal Service also applies this fee when customers renew PO Box™ service more than 10 days after the renewal due date. This provides an incentive for customers to pay their PO Box rental fee on time. For those customers who do not renew until after the 10-day grace period, the Postal Service often changes the lock or incurs other related costs, such as plugging the lock and bundling and holding mail separately for the PO Box. The lock replacement fee therefore is treated as a late payment fee, even in those cases in which the Postal Service does not actually change the lock.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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500 Additional Mailing Services
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508 Recipient Services
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4.0 Post Office Box Service
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4.8 Keys and Locks
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4.8.4 Lock Replacement
[Revise text of 4.8.4 by adding a new last sentence as follows:]
***The lock replacement fee also applies as a late payment charge when the customer renews a box more than 10 days after the renewal due date, whether or not the lock is actually changed.
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We will incorporate this revision into the next printed version of the DMM and into the monthly update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Mailing Standards,
Pricing, 12-16-10
