Effective September 11, 2017, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 503.3.0, Certified Mail, and subsections 604.9.2, Postage and Fee Refunds, and 604.9.5, Priority Mail Express Postage and Fees Refunds, to clarify refund standards and delete redundant text.
The Postal Service will revise section 503.3.0 to clarify the services available under Certified Mail®. We will also revise subsection 604.9.2.3 for clarity and to specify the refund information in reference to Certified Mail, Adult Signature, and Signature Confirmation™. The reference to Certified Mail must include the restricted delivery options listed under Certified Mail in DMM 503.3, and the reference to Adult Signature and Signature Confirmation must also include the restricted delivery options for both services as listed under the USPS Signature® services umbrella in section 503.8.0. We will revise item 604.9.2.3g to clarify that the reference to restricted delivery includes all extra service restricted delivery options. Additionally, the Postal Service will revise subsection 604.9.5.1 to clarify the refund criteria, and will revise subsection 604.9.5.4 to delete redundant text.
Although we will not publish these revisions in the DMM until September 11, 2017, the standards are effective immediately.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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500 Additional Mailing Services
503 Extra and Additional Services
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[Revise the title of 3.0 to read as follows:]
3.0 Certified Mail Services
3.1 Basic Standards
3.1.1 Description
[Revise the last sentence of 3.1.1 to read as follows:]
***Customers may direct delivery of Certified Mail only to the addressee (or addressee’s authorized agent) using Certified Mail Restricted Delivery (3.2.2); or to an adult using Certified Mail Adult Signature Required or Certified Mail Adult Signature Restricted Delivery when meeting the applicable standards for Adult Signature under 8.1.3.
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600 Basic Standards For All Mailing Services
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604 Postage Payment Methods and Refunds
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9.0 Exchanges and Refunds
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9.2 Postage and Fee Refunds
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9.2.3 Full Refund
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[Revise the text of item e. to read as follows:]
e. Fees are paid for special handling, Certified Mail services, USPS Tracking, or USPS Signature Services, and the article fails to receive the extra service for which the fee is paid.
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[Revise the text of item g. to read as follows:]
g. Fees are paid for return receipt or for any extra service restricted delivery option, and the USPS (through fault or negligence) fails to furnish the return receipt or its equivalent, or makes erroneous delivery or nondelivery.
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9.5 Priority Mail Express Postage and Fees Refunds
9.5.1 Priority Mail Express 1-Day and 2-Day Delivery
[Revise the text of 9.5.1 to read as follows:]
For Priority Mail Express 1-Day and 2-Day Delivery, the USPS refunds the postage and Sunday or holiday premium fee and/or the 10:30 a.m. delivery fee for an item not delivered, for an item for which delivery was not attempted, or if the item was not made available for claim by the delivery date and time specified at the time of mailing, subject to the standards for this service, unless the delay was caused by one of the situations in 9.5.5.
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9.5.4 Conditions for Refund
[Revise the text of 9.5.4 by deleting the second sentence in its entirety.]
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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, 8-3-17
