Front Cover 2 postal bulletin 22264 (7-30-09) Contents Contents POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND FORMS Supply Management UPDATES Custodial Products — Buy From National Contracts Manuals not General Services Administration. 60 DMM Revision: Clarification of Standards Relating to New Requirement for Custodial Rental Items Contracts Mailpieces Bearing a Simplified Address . 3 Effective October 1, 2009 . 61 DMM Revision: New Polywrap and Deflection Minimum Wage Change . 62 Standards for Commercial Flat-Size Mail . 4 USPS Headquarters Managers and Field Installation DMM Revision: New Barcode Placement Standards for Heads: Semi-annual Capital Property Reviews . 62 Automation Letters . 6 DMM Revision: Booklets: Sealing Letter-Sized Booklets Mailed at Automation Prices . 7 PULL-OUT INFORMATION IMM Revision: Size and Weight Limits for the Czech Fraud Republic . 10 Withholding of Mail Orders . 23 IMM Revision: International Business Reply Service — Invalid Express Mail Corporate Account Numbers . 26 Updates. 11 Missing, Lost, or Stolen U.S. Money Order Forms . 28 IMM Revision: Update to Postal Service Contact When Missing, Lost, or Stolen Canadian Money Order Forms . 33 Reporting Postage Payment Anomalies . 11 Verifying U.S. Postal Service Money Orders . 36 Handbooks Counterfeit Canadian Money Order Forms . 36 Handbook F-101 Revision: Repayment of Locally Toll-Free Number Available to Verify Canadian Money Adjudicated Claims . 12 Orders . 36 Publications Other Information Publication 223 Revision: Directives and Forms Update. 13 Overseas Military/Diplomatic Mail . 38 Publication 431 Revision: Changes to Post Office Box Service and Caller Service Fee Groups . 17 Notices Revised Privacy Act Notice . 18 ORGANIZATION INFORMATION Finance Fiscal Year 2009 Closing Guidance: Message Gary Cooper stamp From the Controller . 19 Human Resources Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement Act of 2009 . 21 Intelligent Mail and Address Quality Post Office Changes . 43 Mailing and Shipping Services Mail Alert . 47 Philately USPS National Emergency Hotline Stamp Announcement 09-41: Eid . 49 Is your facility operating? Call 888-363-7462 Stamp Announcement 09-42: Thanksgiving Day Parade . 50 Stamp Announcement 09-43: Gary Cooper . 52 Correction: Hawai’i Statehood Stamp . 53 Pictorial Postmarks Announcement . 54 How to Order the First Day of Issue Digital Color or Traditional Postmarks . 58 Also on the Web at www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/bulletin/pb.htm Policies, Procedures, and Forms Updates postal bulletin 22264 (7-30-09) 3 Policies, Procedures, and Forms Updates Manuals DMM Revision: Clarification of Standards Relating to Mailpieces Bearing a Simplified Address Effective August 3, 2009, the Postal Service™ is revising 300 Commercial Flats Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, ***** Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 245.68 and 345.69 to pro- vide clarification relating to delivery sequence standards 340 Standard Mail for mailpieces bearing a simplified address. ***** Current standards describe the requirement for the peri- odic updating of walk sequence information for mailpieces 345 Mail Preparation prepared with a simplified address. For these mailpieces, ***** this requirement is fulfilled through the acquisition of cur- rent delivery statistics information. 6.0 Preparing Enhanced Carrier Route Flats ***** Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) 6.9 Delivery Sequence Standards ***** ***** 200 Commercial Letters and Cards [Revise the title and text of 6.9.4 as follows:] ***** 6.9.4 Updating Delivery Statistics Information for Simplified Addressing 240 Standard Mail Mailpieces prepared with a simplified address must be ***** based on delivery stop information obtained within 90 days before the mailing date, either from the Delivery Statistics 245 Mail Preparation File or from the postmaster of the destination office (when ***** authorized under 509.1.5). 6.0 Preparing Enhanced Carrier Route Letters 6.9.5 Out-of-Date Walk Sequence Information [Revise the text of 6.9.5 as follows:] ***** Mailings prepared with out-of-date walk-sequencing or 6.8 Delivery Sequence Standards delivery statistics information are not eligible for prices requiring walk-sequence preparation. ***** [Revise the title and text of 6.8.4 as follows:] ***** These revisions will be incorporated into the August 6.8.4 Updating Delivery Statistics Information for update of the online DMM available via Postal Explorer® at Simplified Addressing http://pe.usps.com and into the next printed version of the Mailpieces prepared with a simplified address must be DMM. based on delivery stop information obtained within 90 days before the mailing date, either from the Delivery Statistics File or from the postmaster of the destination office (when — Mailing Standards, authorized under 509.1.5). Pricing, 7-30-09 6.8.5 Out-of-Date Walk Sequence Information [Revise the text of 6.8.5 as follows:] Mailings prepared with out-of-date walk-sequencing or delivery statistics information are not eligible for prices requiring walk-sequence preparation. ***** 4 postal bulletin 22264 (7-30-09) Policies, Procedures, and Forms Updates DMM Revision: New Polywrap and Deflection Standards for Commercial Flat-Size Mail Effective September 8, 2009, the Postal Service™ is Mailing Standards of the United States Postal revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) 301.1 and 301.3.2.1 to adopt new polywrap and deflection standards ***** for flat-size commercial mail of all classes, as published 300 Commercial Mail Flats April 6, 2009, in our Federal Register final rule (74 FR 15380–15384). 301 Physical Standards Polywrap standards, currently applicable only to auto- 1.0 Physical Standards for Flats mation flats, will apply to all flat-size mailpieces using poly- 1.1 General Definition of Flat Size Mail wrap, except saturation and high-density Periodicals or Standard Mail® flats. We originally proposed to implement Flat-size mail other than that in 3.0, Physical Standards for this broader application of polywrap standards on May 11, Automation Flats, is: 2009, but chose to delay implementation to allow mailers ***** who have not been using approved polywrap more time to [Revise the text of item b as follows:] transition to the new standards. Detailed specifications for polywrap approved for use on flats, as well as a list of b. Not more than 15 inches long, 12 inches high, or approved products, are available at http://ribbs.usps.gov; 3/4 inch thick, except for: click Site Index by Topic in the upper frame, and then under 1. Periodicals mailed under 707.26.0. “RIBBS™ Links (cont.)”, Polywrap Manufacturers. 2. Polywrapped flats, with selvage that extends The polywrap selvage (overhang) will be included on a beyond the contents, up to a maximum length of polywrapped flat when measured for maximum dimen- 15-3/4 inches. The enclosed contents must not be sions. However, we increase the maximum length of a longer than 15 inches. polywrapped flat to 15.75 inches (inclusive of selvage) from the current 15 inches to accommodate additional selvage ***** for larger publications. We continue to allow no more than 1.2 Length and Height of Flats 1-1/2 inches of selvage in the length and no more than 1/2 [Revise the text of 1.2 by adding new third and fourth sen- inch in the height. We do not include selvage when measur- tences about selvage as follows:] ing for minimum dimensions. ***When determining the maximum height or length of a flat, On September 8, 2009, we also will extend the deflec- include any selvage of polywrap material that may enclose tion standards currently applicable to automation flats, to the piece. When determining the minimum height or length all flat-size mailpieces, except those mailed as saturation of a flat, do not include the selvage of any polywrap mate- and high-density Periodicals or Standard Mail flats. The rial that may enclose the piece. deflection standards change to allow 1 inch less of vertical deflection (droop) than is currently allowed. We eliminate ***** the current exception for oblong flats (those with a bound [Renumber current 1.5 as new 1.7.] edge on the shorter side) so all flats are tested with the [Move 301.3.2.3 in its entirety, renumber as 1.5, revise length placed perpendicular to the edge of a flat surface. heading and text to extend maximum deflection standards As a reminder, USPS® reduced the deflection standards in to all flat-size mailpieces, and delete item c as follows:] 2007, permitting up to a 4-inch drop for pieces at least 10 inches long. The new standards will allow a 3-inch drop for 1.5 Maximum Deflection for Flat-Size Mailpieces pieces at least 10 inches long, compared to a maximum of Flat-size mailpieces must be flexible (see 1.3) and must 2-3/8 inch drop before May 2007. Our difficulties in meet maximum deflection standards. Flat-size pieces processing oblong flats, and those that come close to the mailed as high density or saturation carrier route pieces are current maximum deflection, made it clear that the reduc- not required to meet these deflection standards. Test tion in 2007 was too extreme. Our delayed implementation deflection as follows: has granted mailers the opportunity to make changes to a. For pieces 10 inches or longer (see Exhibit 1.5a): slightly stiffen their “droopy” flats to meet the new standards. 1. Place the piece on a flat surface with the length perpendicular to the edge of the surface and We will be revising Mailing Standards of the United extend the piece 5 inches off the edge of the sur- States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) as face. Test square-shaped bound flats by placing explained here. the bound edge parallel to the edge. Turn the piece around and repeat the process. Policies, Procedures, and Forms Updates postal bulletin 22264 (7-30-09) 5 2. The piece is mailable as a flat if it does not droop Exhibit 1.5b Deflection Test—Pieces Less Than 10 more than 3 inches vertically at either end.