Effective January 17, 2019, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), sections 703.2.3.6 and 703.2.3.7, to reflect a change in how mail that is required to bear customs forms is prepared and presented at USPS® retail counters. An article entitled “Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note PS Form 2976-R Phase-In Complete at Retail,” which appears in this issue of the Postal Bulletin, covers these changes.
As of January 11, 2019, all Postal Service retail lobby customers with international and domestic mailpieces requiring a customs form must complete customs information worksheet PS Form 2976-R, USPS Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note. This includes mailpieces destined for Army Post Offices (APO), Fleet Post Offices (FPO), Diplomatic Post Offices (DPO), and U.S. Possessions, Territories, and Freely Associated States (PTFAS).
The Postal Service initially rolled out PS Form 2976-R in 2016 for use with shipments to international destinations. Mailers of shipments to APO, FPO, DPO, and PTFAS continued to use hard copy PS Forms 2976, 2976-A, and 2976-B, as appropriate, when a customs declaration form was required.
As of January 11, 2019, Retail Systems Software is able to print the Intelligent Mail® package barcode (IMpb®) on customs forms to APO/FPO/DPO and PTFAS, so retail customers must now use PS Form 2976-R when preparing mailpieces requiring a customs form, including those destined to APO/FPO/DPO ZIP Codes™ and PTFAS destinations.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
* * * * *
700 Special Standards
703 Nonprofit Standard Mail and Other Unique Eligibility
* * * * *
2.0 Overseas Military and Diplomatic Post Office Mail
* * * * *
2.3 General Restrictions
* * * * *
2.3.6 Customs Declarations
[Revise the title and text of 2.3.6 to read as follows:]
2.3.6 Customs Declaration PS Form 2976-R at Retail
For mailpieces requiring a customs form sent to an APO/FPO/DPO address from a USPS retail unit,
a. Mailers must:
1. Complete a hard copy of PS Form 2976-R, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note.
2. Present the completed PS Form 2976-R with the mailpiece at a retail service counter.
b. Retail associates must:
1. Enter the information into the retail system or Customs Form Online. See Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®), section 123.742, for PS Form 2976-R acceptance procedures.
2. Electronically generate and print the applicable PS Form 2976, PS Form 2976-A, or PS Form 2976-B and affix it to the mailpiece.
Note: PS Form 2976-R may not be used for mail from APO/FPO/DPO addresses.
2.3.7 Customs Declarations — Required Usage
[Revise the introductory sentence to read as follows:]
Except as provided in 2.3.6, customs declarations forms required for use to or from APO/FPO/DPO addresses are as follows:***
* * * * *
Although effective on January 17, 2019, the Postal Service will incorporate this revision into the next edition of the online DMM, which is currently scheduled for March 4, 2019. The online DMM is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Marketing, 1-17-19
