Effective November 7, 2016, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 207.16.2, to add an alternate process for publishers to submit their marked copies.
Currently, publishers are required to submit a marked copy(s) at either the original entry office or an additional entry office, unless they are certified by the Postal Service to use the Periodicals Accuracy, Grading, and Evaluation (PAGE) Program.
The Postal Service is adding the Alternate Marked Copy process to simplify the submission of marked copies for both the publishers and the Postal Service. This new process will not require a publisher to submit a marked copy(s) with every mailing. Instead, the Postal Service will request a randomly selected marked copy for review as part of the annual Statement of Ownership review. The Postal Service will confirm the information provided in the marked copy is accurate and properly represented on applicable postage statements.
This process will not eliminate the requirement to provide the correct advertising percentage for each Periodicals mailing on the electronic documentation or postage statement.
Publishers can enroll in the Alternate Mark Copy process as follows:
1. Email the PostalOne! Help Desk at postalone@email.usps.gov.
n Subject:
n Request: Alternate Marked Copy Review.
n Required Information:
n Publisher;
n Publication;
n USPS® Publication Number;
n City and State of the Post Office™ where marked copies are currently submitted; and
n Start Date (must be the first day of a month).
2. PostalOne! Help Desk will notify the Business Mail Entry Unit (BMEU) at the origin office that the publisher has enrolled.
3. The BMEU at the origin office will not request a marked copy with every issue and will use the alternative verification process.
4. PostalOne! Help Desk will maintain a list of publishers⁄publications enrolled in the alternative process on the Business Mail Acceptance webpage.
Additional information can be provided by contacting the district manager, Business Mail Entry, available on RIBBS at http:⁄⁄ribbs.usps.gov.
Although this clarification will not be published in the DMM until November 7, 2016, this revision is effective immediately.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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200 Commercial Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels
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207 Periodicals
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16.0 Postage Payment
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16.2 Filing Marked Copy
[Revise the text of 16.2 to read as follows:]
The publisher must file a copy (marked by the publisher) of each issue, so the advertising content may be verified, with the Postmaster of either the original entry office or an additional entry office. If there is more than one edition for an issue, the publisher must submit the main or most prominent edition of the issue and must have all other editions available for review upon request by the USPS. On the first page of each marked copy, the publisher must show the total units and percentage of space devoted to advertising and nonadvertising in the copy. Advertising matter printed on envelopes, wrappers, and the back of detached address cards must be included in the measurement. The computed percentage of advertising must be rounded off to two decimal places, as shown in 2.0. Publishers are not required to submit marked copies if they are certified by the USPS to use the Periodicals Accuracy, Grading, and Evaluation (PAGE) Program or participate in the Alternate Marked Copy process. For additional information, contact the district manager, Business Mail Entry, available on RIBBS at http:⁄⁄ribbs.usps.gov.
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We will incorporate this revision into the next update of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http:⁄⁄pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Marketing and Sales, 9-29-16
