Effective January 26, 2020, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), in various sections to implement changes related to new price adjustments.
On December 20, 2019, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) found that the price adjustments proposed by the Postal Service for 2020 may take effect as planned. Information on final prices is available under Docket No. R2020-1 (Order No. 5373) on the PRC’s website at prc.gov.
The price adjustments and the following standards become effective January 26, 2020, which is when these revisions will be published in the DMM.
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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230 First-Class Mail
233 Prices and Eligibility
1.0 Prices and Fees
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1.5 Presort Mailing Fee
[Revise the second sentence of 1.5 to read as follows:]
***Payment of this fee does not apply to qualified full-service mailings (under 705.23.3.1a).***
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240 USPS Marketing Mail
243 Prices and Eligibility
1.0 Prices and Fees
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1.4 Fees
1.4.1 Presort Mailing Fee
[Revise the second sentence of 1.4.1 to read as follows:]
***Payment of this fee does not apply to mailers who present qualified full-service mailings (under 705.23.3.1a).***
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260 Bound Printed Matter
263 Prices and Eligibility
1.0 Prices and Fees
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1.2 Presorted and Carrier Route Bound Printed Matter
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1.2.5 Destination Entry Mailing Fee
[Revise the last sentence of 1.2.5 to read as follows:]
***Payment of this fee does not apply to mailers who present only qualified full-service flat-size mailings (under 705.23.3.1a).
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500 Additional Mailing Services
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508 Recipient Services
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4.0 Post Office Box Service
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4.4 Basis of Fees and Payment
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4.4.2 Fee Changes
[Revise the second sentence of 4.4.2 to read as follows:]
***In addition, USPS may assign a fee group to a new ZIP Code, may reassign one or more 5-digit ZIP Codes to the next higher or lower fee group based on the ZIP Codes’ cost and market characteristics, or may regroup 5-digit ZIP Codes.***
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5.0 Caller Service
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5.5 Basis of Fees and Payment
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5.5.3 Fee Changes
[Add a new last sentence to the text of 5.5.3 to read as follows:]
***In addition, USPS may assign a fee group to a new ZIP Code, may reassign one or more 5-digit ZIP Codes to the next higher or lower fee group based on the ZIP Codes’ cost and market characteristics, or may regroup 5-digit ZIP Codes.
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700 Special Standards
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705 Advanced Preparation and Special Postage Payment Systems
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22.0 Seamless Acceptance Program
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22.3 Basic Standards
[Add new second and third sentences to the introductory text of 22.3 to read as follows:]
***Any permits used in a Seamless Acceptance mailing will not prevent that mailing from being finalized regardless of if an annual fee is due on that permit. However, the first time the permit is used for a non-Seamless mailing, the mailer must pay the permit fee if the mail does not meet the requirements for a fee waiver.***
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23.0 Full-Service Automation Option
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23.2 General Eligibility Standards
[Revise the first sentence of the introductory text of 23.2 to read as follows:]
First-Class Mail (FCM), Periodicals, and USPS Marketing Mail, cards (FCM only), letters (except letters using simplified address format) and flats meeting eligibility requirements for automation or carrier route prices (except for USPS Marketing Mail ECR saturation flats), and Bound Printed Matter presorted or carrier route barcoded flat, are potentially eligible for full-service incentives.***
23.3 Fees
[Revise the title, introductory text, and item a. of 23.3.1 to read as follows:]
23.3.1 Eligibility for Exception to Payment of Annual Fees and Waiver of Deposit of Permit Imprint Mail Restrictions
Mailers who present automation or presort mailings (of First-Class Mail cards, letters, and flats, USPS Marketing Mail letters and flats, or Bound Printed Matter flats) that contain 90 percent or more full-service eligible mail as full-service, and 75 percent of their total mail is eligible for full-service incentives, are eligible for the following exceptions to standards:
a. Annual presort mailing or destination entry fees, as applicable, do not apply to mailings entered by mailers who meet both the 90-percent and 75-percent full-service thresholds for qualified full-service mailings, as specified in 23.3.1.***
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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, 1-2-20
