Effective January 17, 2016, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 503.9.0 and the DMM Forms Glossary, to remove all references to PS Form 3816-AS, Collect on Delivery (COD) Card—Firm Mailings . PS Form 3816-AS is obsolete and use of this form will be discontinued.
The PS Form 3816-AS is a continuous-feed form that was developed for commercial “Firm” mailers who use pin-feed printers. However, PS Form 3816-AS does not provide mailers with a means to meet current COD shipping label requirements, i.e. when an Intelligent Mail® package barcode (IMpb®) is required. Additionally, mailers who affix a barcoded addressed shipping label (in lieu of Copy 5 of PS Form 3816, Collect on Delivery (COD) Mailing and Delivery Receipt) and a barcoded COD form on the same mailpiece must ensure that the barcodes on both labels match, which is not possible when using PS Form 3816-AS.
Over time, technical advancements were implemented for COD that resulted in mailer-generated, postage-paid, and barcoded addressed shipping labels, along with the availability of electronic privately printed versions of PS Form 3816, which has caused PS Form 3816-AS to become rarely used and obsolete. Therefore, the Postal Service will retire this form.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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500 Additional Mailing Services
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503 Extra and Additional Services
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9.0 Collect on Delivery (COD)
9.1 Basic Standards
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9.2 Forms
9.2.1 Form 3816
[Revise the text of 9.2.1 to read as follows:]
The mailer must securely affix a completed PS Form 3816 (see forms at http://pe.usps.gov) or USPS-approved privately printed version under 1.7 to each article. The form must be attached (or enclosed in an accessible clear envelope or pouch) either above the delivery address and to the right of the return address, or to the left of the delivery address on parcels. When a mailer uses a PS Form 3816 that does not provide detachable second and third copies, PS Form 3877 (firm sheets) or a USPS-approved privately printed version may be used as provided under 1.10. The mailer must submit firm sheets in duplicate and will receive one copy of the postmarked form as a mailing receipt (in lieu of Copy 3 of PS Form 3816) after the entries are verified by a postal employee. The acceptance Post Office retains the second copy.
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9.2.3 Nursery Stock
[Revise the introductory paragraph of 9.2.3 to read as follows:]
A firm that mails nursery stock may use PS Form 3816 and include instructions for disposing of shipments not delivered immediately by printing instructions on the back of the delivery office part of the COD form (item a) and on the remittance coupon (item b) as follows:
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Although these revisions are effective January 17, 2016, they will be incorporated into the online DMM at a later date. The online DMM is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 12-24-15
