Effective July 10, 2017, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), subsections 201.7.6 and 201.8.5.3, to clarify the dimensional criteria of Parcel Select Lightweight® (PSLW) parcels.
The DMM states that PSLW prices are only available for eligible machinable, machinable lightweight, or irregular parcels. The DMM further states that a parcel exceeding the maximum dimensional criteria for a machinable parcel is considered a nonmachinable parcel and, therefore, is not eligible for PSLW prices. The Postal Service will revise subsection 201.7.6, Irregular Parcel, to note that a parcel exceeding the maximum machinable parcel dimensional criteria is a nonmachinable parcel. The Postal Service will also revise subsection 201.8.5.3, Parcel Select Lightweight, to state that a parcel exceeding the maximum dimensional criteria for a machinable parcel is not eligible for PSLW prices. This revision clarifies that a parcel exceeding the maximum machinable parcel dimensional criteria is a nonmachinable parcel, and that a PSLW parcel cannot exceed the maximum machinable parcel dimensional criteria.
Although we will not publish these revisions in the DMM until August 7, 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
201 Physical Standards
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7.0 Physical Standards for Parcels
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7.6 Irregular Parcel
[Revise the text in the first sentence of 7.6 to read as follows:]
An irregular parcel is a parcel not meeting the dimensional criteria for machinable parcels in 7.5.1 or lightweight machinable parcels in 7.5.2 (a parcel that exceeds the maximum dimensional criteria in 7.5.1 is a nonmachinable parcel under 7.7).***
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8.0 Additional Physical Standards by Class of Mail
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8.5 Parcel Select
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8.5.3 Parcel Select Lightweight
[Revise the text of 8.5.3 to read as follows:]
Parcel Select Lightweight pieces must weigh less than 16 ounces, cannot exceed the dimensional criteria for machinable parcels under 7.5.1, and must be large enough to accommodate postage and other required elements on the address side of the piece.
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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, 6-22-17
