Effective April 7, 2025, the Postal Service™ will revise the following sections of Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) as follows:
n 201.7.6.2 to clarify nonstandard-parcel characteristics.
n 201.7.6.2d to clarify that in addition to the characteristics outlined in items a. through c., other characteristics, such as parcels prepared under sections 601.3.0 and 601.4.0 with contents that may cause the parcel to roll or not maintain the integrity of the packaging during processing, are considered nonstandard.
n 601.4.7 to remove obsolete text.
n 601.4.8, “Difficult Load,” to delete it in its entirety because the information provided in that section is included under applicable DMM sections in 601.4.0.
Although the Postal Service will not publish these revisions in the DMM until April 7, 2025, these standards are effective immediately.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
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200 Commercial Mail Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels
201 Physical Standards
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7.0 Physical Standards for Parcels
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7.6 Nonstandard Parcels
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7.6.2 Characteristics
[Revise the introductory text of 7.6.2 to read as follows:]
A parcel is considered nonstandard if it has the following characteristics:
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[Revise the text of item d. to read as follows:]
d. Other (e.g., parcels prepared under 601.3.0 and 601.4.0 with contents that may cause the parcel to roll or not maintain the integrity of the packaging during processing).
600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
601 Mailability
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4.0 Acceptable Mailing Containers
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4.7 Cloth Bags
[Revise the text of 4.7 to read as follows:]
Cloth bags are acceptable for loads of up to 10 pounds, if the seams of the bags equal the strength of the basic material.
[Delete 4.8, “Difficult Load,” in its entirety and renumber current 4.9 and 4.10 as 4.8 and 4.9, respectively.
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The Postal Service will publish these revisions in the April 7, 2025, edition of the online DMM, which is available on Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Product Solutions, 1-23-25
