Effective August 29, 2021, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), sections 508.11.1.1 and 508.11.4, to clarify that mail held under Hold Mail service also includes accountable mail, such as Priority Mail Express® and Certified Mail®.
The Postal Service is revising section 508.11.1.1 to specify that under Hold Mail service, mail held by request for an eligible address also includes accountable mail. The Postal Service is also revising section 508.11.4 to specify that accumulated mail, including accountable mail, must be picked up within 10 days of the end date of the Hold Mail service request.
Although the Postal Service will not publish this clarification in the DMM until August 29, 2021, 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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508 Recipient Services
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11.0 Hold Mail Service
11.1 General
11.1.1 Description
[Revise the first sentence of 11.1.1 to read as follows:]
USPS Hold Mail service provides customers or an authorized agent (11.1.2) the option to have all mail, including accountable mail, for an eligible address held at the Post Office for not less than 3 days and not more than 30 days.***
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11.4 Mail Pick Up or Delivery
[Revise the introductory text of 11.4 to read as follows:]
Customers have the option to pick up their accumulated mail under 11.1.1 at their local Post Office, or have a letter-carrier deliver their accumulated mail on the ending date specified in the Hold Mail service request under the following conditions:
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[Revise the second sentence of item c. to read as follows:]
c. ***If the accumulated mail, including accountable mail, is not picked up within the 10-day period, it will be returned to the sender or securely destructed.
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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,
Product Solutions, 6-17-21
