Effective January 27, 2019, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) to change the official name of “Great Britain and Northern Ireland” to “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.” Revisions will occur in the following places: sections 213.5, 292.45a, and 293.45; the Index of Countries and Localities; the Country Price Groups and Weight Limits; and the Individual Country Listings. We have also made minor applicable revisions throughout the IMM.
On February 12, 2018, International Bureau Circular 12 notified Universal Postal Union (UPU) member countries “of a necessary rectification concerning the official name of one of its member countries.” Past practice within the UPU (and elsewhere) led to the widespread use of the term “Great Britain” even though the official name of that UPU member country is “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.” Accordingly, all references within the UPU of “Great Britain” have been replaced with “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” as the official name, “United Kingdom” as the short name, and “UK” as the relevant abbreviation.
The Postal Service is following suit and changing references in the IMM from “Great Britain and Northern Ireland” to “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” or to “United Kingdom” where the shorter form is appropriate.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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2 Conditions for Mailing
210 Global Express Guaranteed
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213 Prices and Postage Payment Methods
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213.5 Destinating Countries and Price Groups
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Exhibit 213.5
Destinating Countries and Price Groups
[Delete the entry for Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and add an entry in alphabetical order to read as follows:]
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290 Commercial Services
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292 International Priority Airmail (IPA) Service
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292.4 Mail Preparation
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292.45 IPA Foreign Office of Exchange Codes and Price Groups
Exhibit 292.45a
IPA Office of Exchange Codes and Price Groups
[For the following entries, revise “via Great Britain” to “via United Kingdom”: Ascension, Bhutan, Falkland Islands, and Saint Helena.]
[Delete the entry for Great Britain and add an entry in alphabetical order to read as follows:].
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293 International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) Service
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293.4 Mail Preparation
293.45 ISAL Foreign Office of Exchange Codes and Price Groups
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Exhibit 293.45a
ISAL Foreign Office of Exchange Codes and Price Groups
[Delete the entry for Great Britain and add an entry in alphabetical order to read as follows:]
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3 Extra Services
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320 Insurance
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322 Priority Mail Express International Insurance
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322.2 Availability
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Exhibit 322.2
Priority Mail Express International and Priority Mail International Merchandise Insurance Limits (in U.S. Dollars)
[Delete the entry for “Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” and revise the entry for “United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland)” to read as follows:]
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Index of Countries and Localities
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[For the following entries, revise the parenthetical “(Great Britain and Northern Ireland)” to “(United Kingdom)”: Alderney, Channel Islands, England, Guernsey, The Isle of Man, Jersey, Northern Ireland, Sark, Scotland, and Wales.]
[Revise the entry “Great Britain and Northern Ireland” to “Great Britain (United Kingdom).”]
[Revise the entry “United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland)” to “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”]
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Country Price Groups and Weight Limits
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[Delete the entry “Great Britain and Northern Ireland” and add an entry in alphabetical order to read as follows:]
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Individual Country Listings
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[Move the entry for Great Britain and Northern Ireland after the entry for United Arab Emirates, and revise the heading to read as follows:]
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Includes England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, and The Isle of Man)
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The Postal Service will incorporate these revisions into the next edition of the online IMM, which is currently scheduled for January 27, 2019. The online IMM is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification, Marketing, 12-20-18
