Effective March 5, 2018, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 202.5.1, to clarify that only an Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb) with the correct delivery point routing code or a ZIP+4® Intelligent Mail barcode (for Business Reply Mail) may appear in the barcode clear zone.
On May 3, 2012, the Postal Service published a Federal Register final rule (77 FR 26185–26191) to revise the DMM in various sections to discontinue price eligibility based on the use of POSTNET™ barcodes. At that time, we also revised the DMM to state that only an IMb with the correct delivery point routing code may appear in the barcode clear zone. The Postal Service will revise section 202.5.1 to delete residual text and provide clarity.
Although we will not publish these revisions in the DMM until March 5, 2018, the standards are 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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202 Elements on the Face of a Mailpiece
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5.0 Barcode Placement Letters and Flats
5.1 Letter-Size
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5.1.2 General Barcode Placement for Letters
[Revise the third sentence of 5.1.2 to read as follows:]
***Mailers must print the barcode either in the address block or in the barcode clear zone as provided in 5.1.1 and 5.1.4, except for pieces that weigh more than 3.5 ounces, which must include the Intelligent Mail barcode with the correct delivery point routing code in the address block.***
5.1.3 Barcode on a Mailpiece
[Revise the introductory text of 5.1.3 to read as follows:]
If an Intelligent Mail barcode with the correct delivery point routing code is printed directly on the mailpiece in the lower right corner, the entire barcode must be within the barcode read area defined by these limits:
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5.1.4 Additional Barcode Permissibility
[Delete the last sentence of 5.1.4 in its entirety.]
[Revise the title and text of 5.1.5 to read as follows:]
5.1.5 Business Reply Mail
For Business Reply Mail under 505.1.0, a ZIP+4 Intelligent Mail barcode may appear in the address block when printed directly on the mailpiece, printed on an insert that appears through a window, or on an address label affixed directly to the piece; or it may appear in the lower right corner either printed directly on the mailpiece or on an insert that appears through a window.
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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, 2-1-18
