Effective July 10, 2017, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 509.1.0, Address Information System Services, to clarify the processes for obtaining delivery statistics and receiving product updates from the Postal Service. Additionally, we will revise various DMM subsections related to this clarification.
On November 17, 2010, the Postal Service published a Federal Register final rule (77 FR 70128–70132) that included a revision to section 509.1.0, Address Information System Services, which added a comprehensive list of Address Information System (AIS) products and services available from the National Customer Support Center (NCSC). In the revision, we consolidated and renumbered text on the delivery statistics file. However, we omitted the information on Postmasters in Post Offices™ with rural delivery, highway contract box delivery, and PO Boxes™, who provide delivery statistics. The information remained in other sections in support of Postmasters who provide delivery statistics. For clarification, the Postal Service is reinserting the text in DMM subsection 509.1.11 that refers to Postmasters in certain Post Offices who provide delivery statistics. We will also update this section to provide the Every Door Direct Mail® website as an alternative process to obtain delivery statistics, rather than the Simplified Mailing Process website.
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, the NCSC notified all licensees and AIS product subscribers who received product updates from the Postal Service that effective October 1, 2014, hard copy fulfillment (e.g., CDs/DVDs) would cease, and the Postal Service would require licensees and product subscribers to retrieve product updates from the Electronic Product Fulfillment (EPF) web service at epf.usps.gov. The Postal Service will update subsections 509.1.5 and 509.1.11 to reflect the EPF web service as the source to retrieve product updates. We will also revise various subsections to correct DMM reference numbers and website addresses related to the above revisions.
Although we will not publish these revisions in the DMM until July 10, 2017, the standards 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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207 Periodicals
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23.0 Preparing Carrier Route Periodicals
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23.9 Delivery Sequence Documentation
23.9.1 General
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[Revise the DMM reference number in item d. to read as follows:]
d. Evidence of receipt of information from Postmasters for simplified address mailings (see 509.1.11).
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240 USPS Marketing Mail
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245 Mail Preparation
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6.0 Preparing Enhanced Carrier Route Letters
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6.8 Delivery Sequence Standards
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6.8.4 Updating Delivery Statistics Information for Simplified Addressing
[Revise the text of 6.8.4 to read as follows:]
Mailpieces prepared with a simplified address must be based on delivery stop information obtained within 90 days before the mailing date from the Delivery Statistics File, in accordance with 509.1.11.
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9.0 Preparing Enhanced Carrier Route Flats
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9.9 Delivery Sequence Standards
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9.9.4 Updating Delivery Statistics Information for Simplified Addressing
[Revise the DMM reference numbers in 9.9.4 to read as follows:]
Mailpieces with a simplified address, prepared for distribution to rural or highway contract routes or to PO Boxes in a Post Office without city delivery, must be based on delivery stop information obtained within 90 days before the mailing date, either from the Delivery Statistics File, in accordance with 509.1.11, or from the Postmaster of the destination office. Mailpieces with a simplified address, prepared for distribution to city routes or to PO Boxes in a Post Office with city delivery, must be based only on delivery stop information obtained from the Delivery Statistics File, in accordance with 509.1.11, within 90 days before the mailing date.
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500 Additional Mailing Services
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509 Other Services
1.0 Address Information System Services
1.1 General Information
[Revise the second and third sentence of 1.1 to read as follows:]
***These services are described in 1.2 through 1.34. Find additional information on these services on PostalPro at postalpro.usps.com or by calling the National Customer Support Center (see 608.8.0 for address) at 800-238-3150.***
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1.5 Address Information Service Viewer
[Revise the text of 1.5 to read as follows:]
The Address Information Service (AIS) viewer is an interactive application that provides the ability to retrieve, view, and print accurate and current ZIP Code information for all 50 states on demand. Additional AIS products and report options are updated monthly and available to use with the AIS viewer. Obtain the AIS viewer by contacting the National Customer Support Center as provided in 1.1, or by sending appropriate payment with the completed order form, available on the PostalPro website at postalpro.usps.com/address-quality.
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1.11 Delivery Statistics
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[Revise items a. through c. to read as follows:]
a. The Delivery Statistics File database is available via download from the Electronic Product Fulfillment secure web service. Information by state is also available with an annual subscription. For information on charges and an order form, call 800-238-3150 or go to the PostalPro website at postalpro.usps.com/address-quality. To order the products, send a written request and appropriate payment to the USPS Delivery Statistics File, National Customer Support Center (see 608.8.0 for address). Copying is allowed for an additional fee.
b. The Address Information System (AIS) viewer is an interactive application that is updated monthly and provides delivery statistics retrieval as well as other AIS products. See 1.5 for information on ordering the AIS viewer.
c. Get delivery statistics directly from the Every Door Direct Mail website. This interactive website is updated monthly and provides delivery statistics to mailers in accordance with the search functions selected. Access the Every Door Direct Mail website at usps.com.
[Add new item d. to read as follows:]
d. In Post Offices with rural delivery, highway contract box delivery, and PO Box delivery, Postmasters must provide, at no charge, the following information for their respective offices:
1. Number of PO Boxes rented.
2. Route numbers, number of boxes, and number of families on each rural and highway contract box delivery route (including seasonal data, if applicable).
3. Number of families served or number of business places served by rural or highway contract box delivery routes within the total delivery area.
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next online update of the DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Marketing, 5-25-17
