Effective January 26, 2020, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), sections 223.1.4.3 and 223.1.4.4, to clarify the standards for Priority Mail® Commercial Plus cubic soft pack.
Section 223.1.4.4, “Determining Cubic Tier Measurement for Soft Pack and Padded Envelopes,” specifies how to determine the cubic tier measurements for cubic soft pack and padded envelope pricing. A soft pack under section 223.1.4.4 is defined as items prepared in soft packaging (poly, plastic, cloth, or similar soft packaging). Items not prepared in soft packaging or a padded envelope are subject to cubic rectangular and nonrectangular parcel pricing under section 223.1.4.3.
In addition, the Postal Service will revise section 223.1.4.3, “Determining Cubic Tier Measurements for Rectangular and Nonrectangular Parcels,” to further clarify the measuring of cubic rectangular and nonrectangular parcels.
Although these revisions will not be published in the DMM until January 26, 2020, the standards are effective immediately.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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200 Commercial Mail Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels
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220 Commercial Mail Priority Mail
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223 Prices and Eligibility
1.0 Prices and Fees
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1.4 Commercial Plus Cubic
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1.4.3 Determining Cubic Tier Measurements for Rectangular and Nonrectangular Parcels
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[Revise the first sentence of item a. to read as follows:]
a. Measure the length, width, and height at each dimension’s maximum point, in inches.***
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1.4.4 Determining Cubic Tier Measurement for Soft Pack and Padded Envelopes
[Revise the first sentence of 1.4.4 to read as follows:]
Cubic tier measurements for soft pack (poly, plastic, cloth, or similar soft packaging) and padded envelopes are based on the outside dimensions of length plus width, in inches, of the original packaging material.***
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The Postal Service will incorporate these revisions into the next edition of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification, Marketing, 12-19-19
