DMM Revision: Address Quality Census Measurement and Assessment Process
Effective May 7, 2018, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), sections 507.1, 507.4, 602.5, and 705.23, to include the Address Quality Census Measurement and Assessment Process, a new method of Move Update verification and assessment procedure for evaluating address quality. This new procedure applies to mailers who enter eligible letter- and flat-size pieces of First-Class Mail® and USPS Marketing Mail® that meet the requirements for Basic or Full Service mailings. In addition, the Postal Service is extending no-fee Address Correction Service (ACS™) to mailers who enter qualifying mailpieces.
Although we will not publish these revisions in the DMM until May 7, 2018, 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
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507 Mailer Services
1.0 Treatment of Mail
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1.5 Treatment for Ancillary Services by Class of Mail
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1.5.2 Periodicals
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[Revise item c. to read as follows:]
c. Address correction service is mandatory for all Periodicals publications, and the address correction service fee must be paid for each notice received.
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4.0 Address Correction Services
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4.2 Address Change Service (ACS)
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4.2.2 Service Options
[Revise the introduction for 4.2.2 and add new item d. to read as follows:]
ACS offers four levels of service, as follows:
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d. A Full Service option available to mailings of First-Class Mail automation cards, letters, and flats; USPS Marketing Mail automation letters and flats; USPS Marketing Mail Carrier Route, High Density, and Saturation letters; Periodicals Outside County barcoded or Carrier Route letters and flats; Periodicals In-County automation or Carrier Route letters and flats; and Bound Printed Matter Presorted, non-DDU barcoded flats. Mailers who present at least 95 percent of their eligible First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail volume as Full Service in a calendar month would receive electronic address correction notices for their qualifying Basic automation and non-automation First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail pieces charged at the applicable address correction fee for the Full Service Intelligent Mail option for future billing cycles (as described in DMM 705.23.0). The Basic First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail pieces must:
1. Bear a unique IMb printed on the mailpiece;
2. Include a Full Service or OneCode ACS STID in the IMb;
3. Include the unique IMb in eDoc;
4. Be sent by an eDoc submitter providing accurate Mail Owner identification in eDoc; and
5. Be sent by an eDoc submitter maintaining 95 percent Full Service compliance to remain eligible for this service and undergo periodic Postal Service re-evaluation.
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4.2.8 Address Correction Service Fee
[Revise 4.2.8 to read as follows:]
ACS fees would be assessed as follows:
a. The applicable fee for address correction is charged for each separate notification of address correction or the reason for nondelivery provided, unless an exception applies.
b. Once the ACS fee charges have been invoiced, any unpaid fees for the prior invoice cycle (month) would be assessed an annual administrative fee of 10 percent for the overdue amount.
c. Mailers who present at least 95 percent of their eligible First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail volume as Full Service in a calendar month would receive electronic address correction notices for their qualifying Basic automation and non-automation First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail pieces, as specified in 4.2.2. The electronic address correction notices are charged at the applicable Full Service address correction fee for all future billing cycles.
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600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
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602 Addressing
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5.0 Move Update Standards
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[Revise the title and text of 5.3 to read as follows:]
5.3 Move Update Verification
Mailers who submit any Full Service volume in a calendar month will be verified pursuant to the Address Quality Census Measurement and Assessment Process beginning in the next calendar month. First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail letter and flat-size mailpieces with addresses that have not been updated in accordance with the Move Update standard will be subject to the Move Update assessment charge, if submitted via eDoc with unique Basic or Full Service IMbs. The Move Update assessment charge will be assessed if:
a. The percent of all qualifying mailpieces submitted in a calendar month that have a COA error is greater than the 0.5-percent error threshold, as determined by an analysis of the data captured by mail processing equipment.
b. Each mailpiece with addresses containing COA errors in excess of the error threshold will be assessed the Move Update assessment charge.
c. Supporting details are described in Publication 685, Publication for Streamlined Mail Acceptance for Letters and Flats, which is available at postalpro.usps.com.
5.4 Mailer Certification
[Revise the text of 5.4 to read as follows:]
The mailer‘s signature on the postage statement or electronic confirmation during eDoc submission certifies that the Move Update standard has been met for the address records, including each address in the corresponding mailing presented to the Postal Service.
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700 Special Standards
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705 Advanced Preparation and Special Postage Payment Systems
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23.0 Full Service Automation Option
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23.5 Additional Standards
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23.5.2 Address Correction Notices
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[Revise item a. to read as follows:]
a. Address correction notices would be provided at the applicable Full Service address correction fee for letters and flats eligible for the Full Service option, except for USPS Marketing Mail ECR flats, BPM flats dropshipped to DDUs, or BPM carrier route flats. Mailers who present at least 95 percent of their eligible First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail volume as Full Service in a calendar month would receive electronic address correction notices for their qualifying Basic automation and non-automation First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail pieces charged at the applicable Full Service address correction fee for future billing cycles. The Basic automation and non-automation First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail pieces must:
1. Bear a unique IMb printed on the mailpiece;
2. Include a Full Service or OneCode ACS STID in the IMb;
3. Include the unique IMb in eDoc;
4. Be sent by an eDoc submitter providing accurate Mail Owner identification in eDoc; and
5. Be sent by an eDoc submitter maintaining 95 percent Full Service compliance to remain eligible for this service and undergo periodic Postal Service re-evaluation.
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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, 3-15-18
