IMM Revision: Proper Handling of Undeliverable Domestic Mail Bearing U.S. Postage and a Foreign Return Address

Effective January 22, 2012, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Ser­vice, International Mail Manual (IMM^®) section 762.2 to clarify the proper handling of an undeliverable domestic mailpiece that is addressed to a U.S. addressee and that bears the sender’s foreign return address. This revision identifies the proper disposition of all such mailpieces for all domestic mail classes and mail shapes.

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)

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7 Treatment of Inbound Mail

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760 Forwarding

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762 Mail of Domestic Origin

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762.2 Undeliverable Domestic Mail Bearing U.S. Postage and a Foreign Return Address

[Revise 762.2 to read as follows:]

Handle an undeliverable domestic mailpiece that is addressed to a U.S. addressee and that bears a foreign return address based on its class and size and shape, as noted below:

a. A domestic postcard: Return to the foreign address.

b. A domestic letter-size or flat-size mailpiece that does not appear to contain merchandise: Return to the for­eign address.

c. A domestic Registered Mail mailpiece that does not appear to contain merchandise: Return to the foreign address. In case of loss of a Registered Mail letter af­ter dispatch from the United States, the mailer agrees to the indemnity payment provisions of 934.2, re­gardless of the amount of registry fee paid.

d. A domestic Certified Mail letter-size or flat-size mail­piece that does not appear to contain merchandise: Return to the foreign address.

e. Regardless of mail class, a domestic parcel-size mailpiece or any domestic mailpiece that appears to contain merchandise: Hold at the Post Office of the addressee. While holding the piece, the Post Office submits a request for instructions to International Claims, St. Louis ASC, PO Box 80146, St. Louis, MO 63180-0146. The request must include the following information:

1. The names and addresses of the sender and the addressee.

2. The weight of the item and any extra services.

3. The nature and value of contents if known.

The International Claims Office will contact the sender for disposition instructions, completion of the required cus­toms forms, and payment of additional postage.

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We will incorporate these revisions into the next monthly update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer^® at http://pe.usps.com.

— Product Classification,
Pricing, 11-3-11