Effective December 12, 2024, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) section 138.1 regarding the mailability of certain perishable matter as follows:
n The revision of 138.1c(3) clarifies that the exchange of parasites and predators of injurious insects are permitted only between officially recognized scientific or health agencies.
n The revision of 138.1c(4) removes the reference to First-Class Mail International (FCMI) service while keeping the references to First-Class Package International Service, Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelopes, and Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate Boxes. This revision aligns the text with the standards in IMM 242.1, which indicates that only correspondence and nondutiable documents that are otherwise acceptable and not prohibited by the Postal Service or the country of destination may be mailed at the FCMI price. Items other than correspondence and nondutiable documents mailed to an international destination are required to be mailed using an applicable package service.
n New item d. replaces 138.1c(5) to reflect that this requirement applies to live and dead animals. It also changes the document reference from Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) to Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail, which is the Postal Service document that provides the container requirements for mailable animals.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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1 International Mail Services
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130 Mailability
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138 Perishable Matter
138.1 Animals
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c. Parasites and predators of injurious insects, if the following conditions are met:
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[Revise item c(3) in its entirety; revise item c(4) (removing “First-Class Mail International service”); remove item c(5); and add new item d. to read as follows:]
(3) The sender and recipient are officially recognized scientific or health agencies.
(4) They are sent by First-Class Package International Service, Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelopes, or Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate Priced Boxes.
d. Mailable live and dead animals are subject to the provisions of Publication 52, including chapter 5.
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Although effective December 12, 2024, the Postal Service will incorporate these revisions into the next edition of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Product Solutions, 12-12-24
