Effective July 13, 2025, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®), section 123.11, to provide clarity and consistency with customs declaration forms on international mail.
The Postal Service will also revise IMM sections 123.2, 123.721, 252.3, 527, 562, and 922.32 to remove redundant references of the form titles and UPU form numbers throughout each section. Additionally, the Postal Service will revise Exhibit 123.61 to add the option of using PS Form 2976-A in place of PS Form 2976 for items listed in the exhibit.
Although the Postal Service will not publish this clarification in the IMM until July 13, 2025, these revisions are effective immediately.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
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1 International Mail Services
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120 Preparation for Mailing
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123 Customs Forms and Online Shipping Labels
123.1 Types of Customs Forms
123.11 General
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a. Electronically Generated Customs Forms:
[Revise items a(1) and a(2) to read as follows:]
1. PS Form 2976, Customs Declaration (UPU Form — CN 22).
2. PS Form 2976-A, Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note (UPU Form — CP 72).
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c. Customs Declaration Envelopes:
[Revise item c(1) to read as follows:]
1. PS Form 2976-E, Customs Declaration Envelope (UPU Form — CP 91), is a plastic envelope that is attached to the mail item to carry and protect customs declaration form sets and other documentation needed for customs clearance (see 123.73).
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123.2 Availability
[Revise the first sentence of 123.2 to read as follows:]
PS Form 2976-R is available without charge at Post Office facilities.***
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123.6 Required Usage
123.61 Conditions
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Exhibit 123.61 (p.1)
Customs Declaration Form Usage by Mail Category
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[Revise the “Required PS Form” column in the Exhibit from “2976” to “2976 or 2976-A,” shown in bold.]
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First-Class Mail International Letters and Large Envelopes (Flats), as well as International Priority Airmail (IPA) Letters and Large Envelopes (Flats) and International Surface Air Lift (ISAL) Letters and Large Envelopes (Flats)
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All IPA and ISAL letter-size and flat-size items, as defined in 241.2, containing only nondutiable documents.
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Under 16 ounces3
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None4
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See 123.62 for additional information concerning “documents.” Items containing merchandise are prohibited in IPA/ISAL letters and large envelopes (flats).5
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16 ounces to 17.6 ounces
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2976 or 2976-A2
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First-Class Package International Service Packages (Small Packets), as well as IPA Packages (Small Packets) and ISAL Packages (Small Packets)
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All First-Class Package International Service packages (small packets), as defined in 251.2, regardless of contents, and, for commercial mailers, IPA packages (small packets) and ISAL packages (small packets), regardless of contents.
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$400 or less
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2976 or 2976-A2
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Merchandise is permitted unless prohibited by the destination country.
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123.7 Completing Customs Forms
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123.721 Sender’s Preparation of PS Form 2976-R
[Revise the first sentence of 123.721 to read as follows:]
An image of PS Form 2976-R is available at about.usps.com/forms/ps2976r.pdf. ***
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2 Conditions for Mailing
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250 First-Class Package International Service
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252 Eligibility
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252.3 Customs Forms Required
[Revise the text of 252.3 to read as follows:]
First-Class Package International Service items always require a fully complete PS Form 2976 or 2976-A.
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5 Nonpostal Export Regulations
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520 Foreign Trade Regulations — U.S. Census Bureau
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527 Placement of ITN, AES Downtime Citation, or AES Exemption
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[Revise item a. to read as follows:]
a. On PS Form 2976-R, the customer must write one ITN or AES Downtime Citation in block 13, or note the applicable AES Exemption in block 14.
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[Revise item c. to read as follows:]
c. On PS Form 2976 or 2976-A, if the customer is sending items to Cuba, Iran, North Korea, or Syria under the “foreign libraries” exemption described in 526.2e, the customer must enter “NOEEI § 30.37(y).”
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560 Export of Rough Diamonds
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562 Mailing
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[Revise item b. to read as follows:]
b. The shipment must bear a completed PS Form 2976-A.
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9 Inquiries, Indemnities, and Refunds
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920 Inquiries and Claims
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922 Claims
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922.32 Evidence of Indemnity Coverage
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[Revise items a(3) and a(4) to read as follows:]
3. For ordinary parcels, the original or a copy of the mailing receipt or the sender’s copy of the PS Form 2976-A.
4. For registered items and insured parcels, the original or a copy of the mailing receipt or the sender’s copy of PS Form 2976-A issued at the time of mailing.
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The Postal Service will incorporate this revision into a later edition of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Product Solutions, 5-15-25
