Effective March 6, 2017, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), in various sections of part 270, to include the Media Mail® and Library Mail parcel barcode standard, clarify flat-size mail preparation, and update DMM references.
The Postal Service will:
n Add the Intelligent Mail® package barcode (IMpb®) requirements for Media Mail and Library Mail parcels in new subsection 273.5.5 for consistency in the DMM.
n Revise the flat-size mail eligibility standard in 273.1.2 and move it under 275.4.0.
n Update several DMM references in 273.7.3.
Although we will not publish the changes in the DMM until March 6, 2017, the revisions are effective immediately.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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200 Commercial Mail Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels
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270 Media Mail and Library Mail
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273 Prices and Eligibility
1.0 Prices and Fees
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[Delete 1.2, Shape, Flexibility, and Thickness, in its entirety and renumber current 1.3 through 1.5 as new 1.2 through 1.4.]
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5.0 Basic Eligibility Standards for Media Mail and Library Mail
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[Add new 5.5 to read as follows:]
5.5 IMpb Standards
All Media Mail and Library Mail parcels, unless inducted through a retail transaction or a USPS self-service kiosk, must bear an Intelligent Mail package barcode (IMpb) prepared under 708.5.0. Mailpieces not meeting the requirements for use of unique Intelligent Mail package barcodes or extra services barcodes as outlined in Publication 199 will be assessed an IMpb noncompliance fee. For details, see the PostalPro website available at https://postalpro.usps.com.
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7.0 Price Eligibility for Media Mail and Library Mail
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7.3 Price Categories for Media Mail and Library Mail
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7.3.1 Flats
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[Revise items a. and b. to read as follows:]
a. 5-Digit Presort Price. To qualify for the 5-digit price, a piece must be sorted to 5-digit sacks under 275.5.0 or 5-digit pallets under 705.8.0. All logical 5-digit bundles on pallets must contain at least 10 pieces.
b. Basic Presort Price. All pieces prepared and sorted under 275.5.0 or 705.8.0, that are not eligible for the 5-digit price, qualify for the basic price.
7.3.2 Parcels
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[Revise items a. and b. to read as follows:]
a. To qualify for the 5-digit price, a piece must be sorted to either 5-digit scheme (machinable parcels only) and 5-digit sacks under 275.6.0, or to 5-digit scheme (machinable parcels only) and 5-digit pallets under 705.8.0, or 705.22.0. All logical 5-digit bundles on pallets must contain at least 10 pieces. Nonmachinable parcels may qualify for the 5-digit price if prepared to preserve sortation by 5-digit ZIP Code as prescribed by the Postmaster of the mailing office.
b. All pieces prepared and sorted under 275.6.0, 705.8.0, or 705.22.0 that are not eligible for the 5-digit price may qualify for the basic price. Nonmachinable parcels may qualify for the basic price if prepared to preserve sortation by NDC as prescribed by the Postmaster of the mailing office.
[Delete item c. in its entirety.]
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275 Mail Preparation
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4.0 Basic Standards for Preparing Media Mail and Library Mail
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[Add new item e. to read as follows:]
e. Flat-size pieces that do not meet the standards in 201.3.0 through 201.5.0 must be prepared as parcels.
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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, Marketing, 3-2-17
