Effective March 7, 2016, the Postal Service™ will revise the restriction codes for military and diplomatic mail. Mail addressed to military and diplomatic Post Offices™ overseas is subject to certain conditions or restrictions of mailing regarding content, preparation, and handling. Over the years, new codes have been added to the deal with changing restrictions instead of redefining or deleting obsolete restrictions. For example, there are currently seven codes restricting the allowable size of mail but only one is actually used. The codes have been redesigned and renumbered in consultation with the Department of State and the Department of Defense to better reflect the restrictions actually in use. As a result, the redesign reduces the number of restriction codes from 46 to 34. The table of APO/FPO/DPO ZIP Codes™ and the restriction definitions will be published in the Other Information portion of the Pull-Out section of the March 17, 2016, Postal Bulletin.
Effective March 7, 2016, the Postal Service will also revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), subchapter 703.2, to include two restrictions pertaining to the overseas addressing requirements for military mail that were previously Restrictions A1 and A2 in the APO/FPO/DPO table.
These updated mailing standards will be included in the March 7, 2016, DMM revision.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
* * * * *
700 Special Standards
* * * * *
703 Nonprofit Standard Mail and Other Unique Eligibility
* * * * *
703.2 Overseas Military and Diplomatic Post Office Mail
* * * * *
703.2.2 Addressing Military Mail
* * * * *
703.2.2.1 Overseas Address
[Revise the text of 703.2.2.1 to read as follows:]
Overseas military addresses must conform to domestic addressing standards format, while including the correct APO or FPO and AA, AE, or AP designation. AA, AE, and AP are used for addresses with the 3-digit ZIP Code prefixes 340, 090-098, and 962-966, respectively. APO/FPO/DPO addresses must not include a foreign city and/or country name. Mail must be addressed to an individual or job title such as “Commander,” “Commanding Officer,” etc. Mail addressed to “Any Service Member,” or similar wording such as “Any Soldier,” “Sailor,” “Airman,” or “Marine”, “Military Mail”; etc., is prohibited. The correct format and correlating examples are as follows:
a. Line 1: Full name and/or job title.
b. Line 2: The delivery line (the second line from the bottom in the address) must show the word “UNIT,” “CMR,” or “PSC” and number; and box number assigned, when applicable.
c. Line 3: The bottom line must contain the APO or FPO (“city”) designation and the appropriate two-letter AA, AE, or AP (“state”) abbreviation followed by the ZIP Code or ZIP+4 Code.
* * * * *
We will incorporate these revisions into the March 17, 2016, Postal Bulletin, which is available via Postal Explorer® at https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/welcome.htm. We will also incorporate these revisions into the March 7, 2016, online update of the DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 1-7-16
RESTRICTIONS
LEGEND
PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration CN 22 — Sender’s Declaration
PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note — CP72
PS Form 2976-B, Priority Mail Express International Shipping Label and Customs Form
APO = Army/Air Force Post Office
ATF = Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Box C = Department of State (DOS) contractor personnel
Box R = Retired military personnel
DMM = Domestic Mail Manual
DPO = Diplomatic Post Office
FPO = Fleet Post Office
MPO = Military Post Office, includes APO and FPO
PACT = Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act
PAL = Parcel Airlift
PMEMS = Priority Mail Express Military Service
PUB 52 = Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail
SAM = Space Available Mail
USDA = United States Department of Agriculture
Note: Mail order catalogs are prohibited as SAM or PAL mail.
A. Mail of all classes must fit in a mail sack. Mail may not exceed the following dimensions:
n Maximum length: 27 inches.
n Maximum width: 14 inches.
n Maximum height: 14 inches.
A1. USPS Standard Ground [formerly Standard Post] and Parcel Select parcels may not exceed 108 inches in length and girth combined.
B. Mail addressed to Box C is limited to 2 pounds.
C. Retirees (Box R) are not authorized mail service.
C1. Mail addressed to Retirees (Box R) is limited to 16 ounces and up to a 90-day supply of TRICARE medications. This restriction does not apply to mail endorsed “Free Matter for the Blind or Handicapped.”
D. Parcels of any class are prohibited.
E. Mail is limited to First-Class Mail items, including audio and video media, weighing 13 ounces or less. This limitation does not apply to Official Mail.
F. Reserved for future use.
G. Mail is limited to First-Class Mail and Priority Mail items only. This restriction also applies to Official Mail.
H. Regardless of mail class, a customs declaration (PS Form 2976, PS Form 2976-A, or PS Form 2976-B) is required for all items weighing 16 ounces or more or any item (regardless of weight) containing potentially dutiable mail contents (e.g., merchandise or goods) addressed to or from an MPO or DPO ZIP Code. If mailed using Priority Mail Express service, mailpieces requiring a customs form that are addressed to or from an MPO or DPO location must bear a properly completed PS Form 2976-B. No customs form is required for items weighing less than 16 ounces when the contents are not potentially dutiable (e.g., nonnegotiable documents). The surface area of the address side of the mailpiece must be large enough to contain the applicable customs declaration. The following exceptions apply:
n Known mailers are exempt from providing customs documentation on non-dutiable letters or printed matter. A known mailer is a business mailer who enters volume mailings through a business mail entry unit (BMEU) or other bulk mail acceptance location, pays postage through an advance deposit account, uses a permit imprint for postage payment, and submits a completed postage statement at the time of entry that certifies that the mailpieces contain no dangerous materials that are prohibited by postal regulations.
n All federal, state, and local government agencies whose mailings are regarded as “Official Mail” are exempt from providing customs documentation on any item addressed to an MPO except for those MPOs to which restriction “H1” applies.
n If a mailpiece is endorsed “Contents for Official Use — Exempt from Customs Requirements.”
H1. All federal, state, and local government agencies must complete customs documentation when sending potentially dutiable mail addressed to or from this MPO or DPO.
I. Reserved for future use.
J. Registered Mail service is prohibited.
K. Electronic Delivery status information for Extra Services is not available on www.usps.com. Manual record of delivery may be available upon request.
L. Official Mail only.
L1. All Official Mail is prohibited.
M. PMEMS is not available.
N. Mailings of household shipments and case lots of food to or from an MPO require military transportation office approval prior to mailing. Mailings to or from a DPO require pre-approval from the Diplomatic Pouch and Mail Director.
O. Securities, currency, or precious metals including in their raw, unmanufactured state are prohibited. Official Mail shipments are exempt from this restriction.
P. Coffee is prohibited.
Q. Cigarettes and other tobacco products, including tobacco leaves, chewing and pipe tobacco, snuff, and cigars are prohibited, including those that are authorized in Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail, under PACT.
Q1. 200 grams of tobacco per parcel are permitted duty free.
R. Obscene and horror articles, images, prints, paintings, cards, films, videotapes, comic books, etc., are prohibited.
R1. Any matter depicting nude or seminude persons, pornographic, or sexual items are prohibited.
R2. Non-authorized political materials are prohibited.
R3. Religious materials contrary to the Islamic faith are prohibited in bulk quantities, but individual items for the personal use of the addressee are permissible.
R4. All alcoholic beverages, including those mailable under Publication 52, part 421, are prohibited.
R5. Materials used in the production of alcoholic beverages (i.e., distilling material, hops, malts, yeast, etc.) are prohibited.
S. Medicines (prescription, over-the-counter, vitamins, and supplements) are prohibited when mailed to individuals for human or animal use. This prohibition does not apply when medicines are sent as Official Mail only between specifically designated agencies such as pharmaceutical distributors, hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies.
S1. Mailers are responsible for ensuring that all medicines and vaccines conform to host nation laws.
T. Radio transceivers, cordless/cellular telephones, global positioning systems, scanners, base stations, and handheld transmitters are prohibited.
U. Firearms of any type are prohibited, except firearms mailed to or by official U.S. government agencies. This restriction does not apply to firearms mailed from this MPO ZIP Code, provided ATF and USPS regulations are met. Antique firearms do not require an ATF form.
U1. Privately owned weapons are prohibited.
U2. Mailing firearms to or from this MPO ZIP Code is restricted to one shotgun and one single shot .22 caliber rifle per individual.
U3. Replica and inert explosive devices and weapons are prohibited in the mail.
U4. Weapons of any type are prohibited to all DPOs.
U5. Weapon parts are prohibited.
V. Meats, including preserved meats, bones, skin, hair, feathers, horns or hoofs of hoofed animals, and wool samples, whether hermetically sealed or not, are prohibited.
V1. Pork or pork by-products are prohibited.
V2. Hermetically sealed packages of meat products bearing USDA certification, such as dried beef, salami, and sausage, may be mailed.
W. Fruits, vegetables, live animals, and live plants are prohibited.
X. Cremated remains are prohibited.
Y. Synthetic cannabinoids used to stimulate the central nervous system commonly known as “synthetic marijuana,” “K2,” or “Spice” are prohibited.
Z. Reserved for future use.
