Effective January 1, 2025, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) to reflect changes to international Return Receipt as established by the Universal Postal Union. The Postal Service made similar revisions to Notice 123, Price List, available on Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
In Order No. 8179 issued on December 2, 2024, in Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) Docket No. MC2025-58, the PRC favorably concluded that the termination of international Return Receipt as an extra service for Priority Mail International service and First-Class Package International Service may go into effect on January 1, 2025. However, international Return Receipt will continue to be available for First-Class Mail International letters and flats when Registered Mail is purchased as an extra service. The order is available on the PRC website at prc.gov.
These IMM revisions implement changes associated with the termination of international Return Receipt as an extra service for the following:
n Priority Mail International® Service.
n First-Class Package International Service®.
n Retention for First-Class Mail International® Service when used with international Registered Mail® Service.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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1 International Mail Services
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140 International Mail Categories
141 Definitions
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141.4 Priority Mail International
[Revise the last sentence of the first paragraph to read as follows (removing “and return receipt service”:]
*** At the sender‘s option, extra services, such as additional merchandise insurance coverage, may be added on a country-specific basis.
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[Revise the last sentence of the second paragraph to read as follows (removing “and return receipt service”):]
*** At the sender‘s option, extra services, such as additional merchandise insurance coverage, may be added to Priority Mail International Flat Rate Envelopes and Small Flat Rate Priced Boxes on a country-specific basis.
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141.6 First-Class Package International Service
[Revise the last sentence of the text to read as follows (removing “and return receipt”:]
*** At the sender’s option, extra services, such as Registered Mail, may be added on a country-specific basis.
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2 Conditions for Mailing
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230 Priority Mail International
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232 Eligibility
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232.9 Extra Services
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[Remove 232.92 in its entirety and renumber current 232.93 as 232.92.]
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250 First-Class Package International Service
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252 Eligibility
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252.5 Extra Services
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[Remove 252.53 in its entirety and renumber current 252.54 as 252.53.]
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3 Extra Services
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320 Insurance
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322 Priority Mail Express International Service
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[Remove 322.4 in its entirety.]
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323 Priority Mail International Insurance
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[Remove 323.4 in its entirety and renumber current 323.5 through 323.7 as 323.4 through 323.6.]
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330 Registered Mail
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334 Processing Requests
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334.5 Return Receipt
[Revise the text to read as follows:]
Return receipts can be purchased for First-Class Mail International items with international Registered Mail service to most countries. (See 330 and 340 and Individual Country Listings.)
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340 Return Receipt
341 Description
[Revise the first sentence of the text to read as follows:]
PS Form 2865, Return Receipt for International Mail (Avis de Reception), is a pink card that is attached to a First-Class Mail International item when used in conjunction with international Registered Mail service at the time of mailing and that is removed and signed at the point of delivery and returned to the sender. ***
342 Availability
[Revise the text to read as follows:]
Return receipt service can be purchased only at the time of mailing and is available only for a First-Class Mail International item when used in conjunction with international Registered Mail service. Some countries do not admit return receipts. See Individual Country Listings.
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344 Processing Requests
344.1 Form
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344.12 Accepting Clerk’s Responsibility
The accepting clerk must:
[Revise item a. to read as follows (removing “insured or”:]
a. Record the return receipt fee on the registered mailing receipt.
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7 Treatment of Inbound Mail
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750 Extra Services
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753 Return Receipt
753.1 Completion of Return Receipt Form
[Revise the first sentence of the text to read as follows (removing “or insured”:]
Inbound registered mail for which the sender requests advice or confirmation of delivery will be endorsed with the words “AVIS DE RECEPTION” or with the letters “A.R.,” and be accompanied by a light red or pink card similar to PS Form 2865, Return Receipt for International Mail. ***
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Individual Country Listings
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Extra Services
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Return Receipt (340)
[For every country that permits return receipt service (which is every country except Denmark, Iraq, Montenegro, and North Korea), revise the text to read as follows:]
Fee: Refer to Notice 123, Price List, for the applicable price.
Available for First-Class Mail International items with Registered Mail service only.
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Montenegro
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Extra Services
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Return Receipt (340)
[Revise the text to read as follows:]
NOT Available
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Although effective January 1, 2025, 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, 2-20-25
