Effective August 6, 2026, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®), items 123.712.f and 123.722.e, to remove references to dangerous goods as a category of items on the customs declaration form.
Likewise, customers that are authorized to privately print customs forms, in accordance with the specifications outlined in the Guidelines for Privately Printed Customs Forms (see PostalPro at postalpro.usps.com/node/2713), are instructed to discontinue the use of dangerous goods as a category of items. To provide mailers sufficient time to make necessary software changes, the Postal Service is:
n Providing advance notice, through this Postal Bulletin article, that mailers must cease the use of dangerous goods as a category of items effective January 17, 2027.
n Encouraging mailers to immediately implement these changes to avoid transportation delays.
This change to the customs declaration form does not alter the mailer’s responsibility to properly package, mark, label, and otherwise prepare mailable dangerous goods in accordance with the mailing standards found in IMM 135 and Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail, chapter 6.
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
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123.7 Completing Customs Forms
123.71 Preparation and Acceptance of Electronically Generated Customs Forms
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123.712 Postal Service Employee’s Acceptance of Electronically Generated Customs Declaration Forms
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[Revise item f. to read as follows:]
f. If the package contains mailable dangerous goods, ensure that the mailing complies with the provisions of 135.
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123.72 Preparation and Acceptance of PS Form 2976–R
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123.722 Postal Service Employee’s Acceptance of PS Form 2976-R
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[Revise item e. to read as follows:]
e. If the package contains mailable dangerous goods, ensure that the mailing complies with the provisions of 135.
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Although effective August 6, 2026, 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, 8-6-26
