Effective July 14, 2024, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 508.1.8.3a(3), to clarify Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies’ (CMRAs) and notaries’ public responsibilities with respect to the mail addressee’s signature on PS Form 1583, Application for Delivery of Mail Through Agent.
The Postal Service is revising section 508.1.8.3a(3) to also clarify that notaries public regarding PS Form 1583 must be commissioned in a United States state, territory, possession, or the District of Columbia.
This clarification establishes that the notary public is domestically commissioned and addresses particularities of some state notary public laws that do not authorize notaries public to attest a signature. This revised standard allows notaries public to recognize the PS Form 1583 applicant’s acknowledged signature.
The revision also clarifies that the mail addressee (the applicant) must sign or confirm his or her signature on the PS Form 1583 in the physical or virtual (in real-time audio and video) presence of the CMRA owner, manager, or authorized employee, or acknowledge his or her signature on the PS Form 1583 in the physical or virtual (in real-time audio and video) presence of a notary public.
Although the Postal Service will not publish this clarification in the DMM until July 14, 2024, this standard is effective May 1, 2024.
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
1.0 Recipient Options
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1.8 Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies
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1.8.3 Delivery to CMRA
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[Revise the first sentence of 508.1.8.3a(3) to read as follows:]
The mail addressee (the applicant) must sign or confirm his or her signature in the physical or virtual (in real-time audio and video) presence of the CMRA owner or manager or authorized employee, or acknowledge his or her signature in the physical or virtual (in real-time audio and video) presence of a notary public commissioned in a United States state, territory, possession, or the District of Columbia.***
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The Postal Service will incorporate this revision into the next edition of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Product Solutions, 4-18-24
