Effective November 4, 2021, the Postal Service™ is revising the Postal Operations Manual (POM) to update the standards for the treatment of nonmailable matter and align them with standards elsewhere in Postal Service regulations.
Postal Operations Manual (POM)
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1 Retail Management
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13 Retail Services at Counters
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139 Nonmailable Matter — Articles and Substances: Special Mailing Rules
139.1 General Provisions
139.11 Rules and Procedures
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[Revise the title and text of 139.118 to read as follows:]
139.118 Return to Sender with Report to PCSC
Except for matter described in 139.117 and overweight/oversized items subject to DMM 601.1.2, all matter found in the mail and believed to be nonmailable must be returned to sender, and a report fully describing such mailing must be referred to the PCSC director.
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6 Delivery Services
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68 Undeliverable Mail
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681 Mail Undeliverable as Addressed
681.1 General Provisions
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[Revise item g. to read as follows:]
g. Nonmailable matter under 138 and 139.
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681.5 Treatment of Undeliverable-as-Addressed Mail
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681.53 Nonmailable and Nonstandard Pieces
[Revise 681.53 to read as follows:]
Except for matter described in 139.117 and overweight/oversized items subject to DMM 601.1.2, nonmailable and nonstandard pieces are forwarded, returned, or referred to the Inspection Service as applicable under 138 and 139.
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69 Dead Mail
691 General
691.1 Definition
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[Revise item a. to read as follows:]
a. Matter is nonmailable and subject to 139.117.
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The Postal Service will incorporate these revisions into the next edition of the online POM, which is available on the PolicyNet website:
n Go to blue.usps.gov.
n In the left-hand column, click Essential Links, and then click PolicyNet.
n Go to the right-hand side under “Published Forms and Directives.”
n Click Manuals.
The direct URL for the Postal Service PolicyNet website is blue.usps.gov/cpim.
— Product Classification,
Product Solutions, 11-4-21
