Effective November 8, 2014, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) section 508.7.0 to expand Hold For Pickup service to include Parcel Select Lightweight and Bound Printed Matter parcels.
In order to provide mailers with additional options to have their shipments held at a designated Post Office™ location for pickup by a specified addressee or designee, the Postal Service is expanding Hold For Pickup to include shipments of Parcel Select Lightweight and Bound Printed Matter parcels. Additionally, the DMM language for Hold For Pickup service is being consolidated to eliminate unnecessary wording, without changing the actual standards.
Although these standards will not be updated in the online DMM until December 8, 2014, these standards are effective November 8, 2014.
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Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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200 Commercial Letters and Cards
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220 Commercial Mail Priority Mail
223 Prices and Eligibility
1.0 Prices and Fees
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[Revise the text of 1.10 to read as follows:]
1.10 Hold For Pickup
Priority Mail (except Critical Mail) is eligible for Hold For Pickup service under 508.7.0
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250 Commercial Mail Parcel Select
253 Prices and Eligibility
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4.0 Price Eligibility for Parcel Select and Parcel Select Lightweight
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4.8 Hold For Pickup
[Revise the text of 4.8 to read as follows:]
Parcel Select Nonpresort and Parcel Select Lightweight parcels are eligible for Hold For Pickup service under 508.7.0.
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280 Commercial Mail First-Class Package Service
283 Prices and Eligibility
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3.0 Basic Eligibility Standards for First-Class Package Service Parcels
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3.2.3 Additional and Extra Services
[Revise the text of 3.2.3 to read as follows:]
Extra services are available for First-Class Package Service parcels under 503.0 and Hold For Pickup under 508.7.0.
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500 Additional Mailing Services
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508 Recipient Services
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7.0 Hold For Pickup
7.1 Fees and Postage
7.1.1 Postage Payment Methods
[Revise the entire text of 7.1.1 to read as follows:]
Hold For Pickup service is available when presented at retail Post Office locations (Priority Mail Express only) or, for the mail classes listed under 7.2.2, when postage is paid by:
a. Click-N-Ship.
b. Registered end-users of USPS-approved PC Postage products.
c. Permit imprint.
d. USPS-approved Information-Based Indicia (IBI) postage meters.
e. A mailer’s Centralized Account Processing System (CAPS) account when used with a Package Intercept request.
7.1.2 Electronic Labels
[Revise the text of 7.1.2 to read as follows:]
When customers privately print an electronic “Hold For Pickup” label and exchange electronic files with USPS through an approved file transfer protocol (FTP), they qualify for the electronic USPS Tracking price.
7.2 Basic Information
7.2.1 Description
[Revise the text of 7.2.1 to read as follows:]
Hold For Pickup service is available at the time of mailing for mailers meeting the standards in 7.0, and allows mailpieces to be held at a designated Post Office location for pickup by a specified addressee or designee. When the destination Post Office has the addressee’s contact information, an email or text notice is sent that a package is available for pickup. This service provides the shipper with tracking information, including the date and time that the addressee took possession of the item. If the item has not been picked up within 5 days (3 days for Priority Mail Express), the Post Office makes a second notification attempt, and returns the item to the sender, if not picked up within 15 days (5 days for Priority Mail Express).
7.2.2 Basic Eligibility
[Revise the complete text of 7.2.2 to read as follows:]
Hold For Pickup service is available at retail Post Office locations for Priority Mail Express presented under 113.4.2 or 113.4.3. It is also available with commercial mailings of Priority Mail Express presented under 213.4.2 or 213.4.3, Priority Mail (except Critical Mail), First-Class Package Service, Parcel Select Nonpresort, Parcel Select Lightweight, and Bound Printed Matter parcels, when:
a. Mailpieces bear an applicable Priority Mail Express label (under 115.2.1 or 215.2.1) or Hold For Pickup label with an Intelligent Mail package barcode (meeting the technical standards under 708.5.0 and in Publication 199), as applicable.
b. For electronic option (for commercial mailings), mailers establish an electronic link with USPS to exchange acceptance and delivery data. If the electronic option is requested for Hold For Pickup service for all of the pieces in the mailing and the mailing consists of pieces of identical weight, then postage may be paid by any method in 7.1.1. If the pieces are not of identical weight, then either the exact postage must be affixed to each piece or postage must be paid with permit imprint using eVS (705.2.9).
c. At least one of the authorized extra services must be combined with Hold For Pickup service to be available for Bound Printed Matter parcels.
7.2.3 Additional Eligibility Standards
Parcels must meet these additional physical requirements:
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[Revise item 7.2.3b. to read as follows:]
b. Except as provided in 7.2.3c., Parcel Select Nonpresort and Parcel Select Lightweight parcels must be greater than 3/4 inch thick at the thickest point.
[Revise item 7.2.3c. to read as follows:]
c. If the mailpiece is a machinable parcel under 201.7.0 and is no greater than 3/4 inch thick, the contents must be prepared in a container that is constructed of strong, rigid fiberboard or similar material or in a container that becomes rigid after the contents are enclosed and the container is secured. The parcel must be able to maintain its shape, integrity, and rigidity throughout processing and handling without collapsing into a letter-size or flat-size piece.
[Delete 7.2.4, Service Options, in its entirety (content relocated within 7.2.2), and renumber current 7.2.5 and 7.2.6 as new 7.2.4 and 7.2.5.]
7.2.4 Ineligible Matter
[Revise the text of renumbered 7.2.4 to read as follows:]
Hold For Pickup service is not available for the following:
a. First-Class Mail letter-size and flat-size pieces.
b. Mail addressed to APO/FPO and DPO destinations
7.2.5 Extra Services
[Revise the text of renumbered 7.2.5 to read as follows:]
Hold For Pickup service may be combined with Package Intercept (under 507.5.0) or any of the following extra services (meeting the applicable standards under 503.0):
a. USPS Tracking.
b. Insured mail.
c. Signature Confirmation.
d. Adult Signature Required and Adult Signature Restricted Delivery.
e. COD.
7.3 Preparation Definitions and Instructions
Except for Priority Mail Express Hold For Pickup presented at retail Post Office locations, mailers must prepare mailpieces bearing the “Hold For Pickup” label as follows:
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[Revise item 7.3b to read as follows:]
b. Affix an address label that has been approved by the National Customer Support Center (NCSC) (see 608.8.1 for address).
c. In addition to the markings defined in 7.0, address labels on a Hold For Pickup mailpiece must meet the technical standards in the Parcel Labeling Guide available on RIBBS.
[Delete items 7.3c1 through 7.3c7 as these technical standards are in the Parcel Labeling Guide.]
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next update of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 10-16-14
