Front Cover 2 postal bulletin 22509 (12-20-18) Contents COVER STORY Stamp Announcement 19-03: Joshua Tree Stamp . 53 USPS Makes Holiday Returns Easy . 3 Stamp Announcement 19-04: Bethesda Fountain Stamp. 54 Stamp Announcement 19-05: California Dogface POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND FORMS (Butterfly) Stamp . 55 UPDATES Stamp Announcement 19-06: U.S. Flag 2019 Stamp . 56 Manuals Stamp Announcement 19-07: Uncle Sam’s Hat Stamp . 58 DMM Revision: Change Address Quality Threshold Stamp Announcement 19-08: Gregory Hines Stamp . 59 for Intelligent Mail Package Barcode . 4 Pictorial Postmarks Announcement . 61 DMM Revision: Domestic Competitive Products Pricing How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Digital Color or and Mailing Standards Changes. 4 Traditional Postmarks . 62 DMM Revision: New Mailing Standards for Domestic Mailing Services Products. 11 DMM Revision: Products Mailable at Nonprofit Marketing Mail Prices. 13 PULL-OUT INFORMATION ELM Revision: Changes to Leave Computation Date . 14 Fraud IMM Revision: Changes to Pricing and Mailing Standards Invalid USPS Corporate Account Numbers. 25 for International Shipping Services . 15 Missing, Lost, or Stolen U.S. Money Order Forms . 26 IMM Revision: Individual Country Listing for Kazakhstan . 17 Missing, Lost, or Stolen Canadian Money Order Forms . 32 IMM Revision: Great Britain and Northern Ireland Verifying U.S. Postal Service Money Orders . 34 Name Change . 17 Counterfeit Canadian Money Order Forms . 34 IMM Revision: Swaziland Name Change. 20 Toll-Free Number Available to Verify Canadian IMM Revision: Individual Country Listing for Paraguay. 21 Money Orders . 34 Publications Other Information Publication 52 Reminder: Lithium Battery Markings . 23 Overseas Military/Diplomatic Mail . 35 Publication 223 Revision: Directives and Forms Update. 24 Thrift Savings Plan Fact Sheet. 41 Management Instructions Freely Associated States Restrictions . 44 Management Instruction PO-530-2018-2: Revised Process for Lease Trailer Damage Claims . 45 ORGANIZATION INFORMATION POSTAL BULLETIN 2018 SEMI-ANNUAL INDEX Finance 2018 Semi-Annual Index . PB 22499 (8-2-18) 2019 Pay Dates and Leave Year . 46 Information Security Find the latest in mail and delivery information Share Holiday Cheer, not User IDs and Passwords . 47 and services offered by U.S. Postal® Taking Your USPS-Issued Electronic Devices Abroad . 47 in the Postal Bulletin at International Mail about.usps.com/postal-bulletin International Mail: Changes to Pricing for International Mailing Services . 48 Stamp Services Stamp Announcement 19-01: Hearts Blossom Stamp . 49 Stamp Announcement 19-02: Year of the Boar Stamp. 51 Cover Story postal bulletin 22509 (12-20-18) 3 Cover Story USPS Makes Holiday Returns Easy The Postal Service™ is making improvements to its Return Labels returns infrastructure to prepare for the annual season of Return labels can either be included in the original order holiday returns. or requested through a merchant’s call center. Consumers This shopping season is likely to be even more hectic then affix the return label to their package and mail it using than last year with projected growth from online shopping one of the following options: ® in the double-digits. Also, USPS is projected to deliver Take it to one of 30,000 plus Post Offices nationwide, nearly 900 million packages between Thanksgiving and Drop it in one of 143,000 plus collection boxes (pack- New Year’s Day. Once the sun sets on candle and tinsel, ages must meet aviation mail security guidelines), or consumers will start returning items that they ordered or that they received as gifts. As the number of items ordered Go to usps.com to schedule a Package Pickup, online and shipped to consumers grows, so will the which is available to more than 40,000 ZIP Codes. demand for easy, convenient return methods that attract The Postal Service also offers a number of options that repeat business. help businesses create and deliver return labels to custom- ers. Businesses that use Priority Mail Returns® Service, The Postal Service is ready for the challenge in the fol- ® lowing ways: First-Class Package Return Service, Ground Return Ser- vice, and Parcel Return Service can use the Print and Continued expansion of our returns processing Deliver application to request return labels; USPS will then capabilities. A total of 16,723 Parcel Return Service create those labels and deliver them, along with return Return Delivery Units and 186 Return Sectional instructions, to the following: Center Facilities across the country are available to pick up packages. This helps USPS handle the vol- One of 30,000 plus Post Offices nationwide; ume and positions us as the returns shipping pro- A domestic address; or vider of choice in a crowded market worth about One of more than 2,837 self-service kiosks, where $6 billion. consumers can print them. It’s easier for businesses to insure returns with Businesses that create their own returns labels may also USPS. Insurance is available for up to $5,000. distribute them to customers via the Label Broker™. Offering one universal shipping permit. We have Designed for customers without a printer, the Label Broker one universal shipping permit that covers Parcel allows merchants to store labels in a secure USPS reposi- Return Service, Merchandise Return Service, and tory; customers may then print labels at their local Post ® USPS Returns® and outbound products. Office or at usps.com. Significant enhancement for USPS Returns. USPS Merchants can also instruct the Postal Service to hold Returns applies to three mail classes: First-Class the labels for pickup at a designated Post Office. Small and Package Service®, Priority Mail®, and Ground Return medium-sized merchants have the following options: Service. This service offers customers cost-effective Use the Merchant Returns Label Tool to generate options and streamlines the weighing and rating Merchandise Returns or USPS Returns labels. process through mail processing equipment. ® Use the Click-N-Ship Business Pro to generate Par- cel Return Service or Merchandise Return Service labels to include in the original shipment box or send to the cloud platform. Self-service printing is also available individually or in batches. — Shipping Products and Services, Product Innovation, 12-20-18 4 postal bulletin 22509 (12-20-18) Policies, Procedures, and Forms Updates Policies, Procedures, and Forms Updates Manuals DMM Revision: Change Address Quality Threshold for Intelligent Mail Package Barcode Effective January 27, 2019, the Postal Service™ will 2.1.8 Compliance Quality Thresholds revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Ser- [Revise the text of 2.1.8 to read as follows:] vice, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 204.2.1.8, to All mailers who enter commercial parcels must meet the update the Address Quality (AQ) Compliance threshold for established thresholds for IMpb Compliance Quality out- all mailers who enter commercial parcels. lined in Exhibit 2.1.8 to avoid an IMpb noncompliance fee. ® The Postal Service will increase the Intelligent Mail Failure to meet any compliance quality threshold described ® Package Barcode (IMpb ) AQ threshold from 89 percent to in Exhibit 2.1.8 will result in the assessment of the IMpb 90 percent, effective January 31, 2019. The effective date noncompliance fee. For details, see Publication 199: Intel- of the new IMpb AQ threshold will coincide with the effec- ligent Mail Package Barcode (IMpb) Implementation Guide tive date for the previously determined threshold increases for: Confirmation Services and Electronic Verification for Manifest Quality and Barcode Quality. System (eVS) Mailers, available on PostalPro at postal- pro.usps.com. Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) Exhibit 2.1.8 IMpb Compliance Quality Thresholds [Replace “89” in the column “Compliance Thresholds” for ***** the “Address Quality” line item (under the column “Compli- 200 Commercial Mail Letters, Cards, Flats, and ance Categories”) with “90.” Delete the bullet item “Valid Parcels primary street number” listed under the column “Valida- tions” for the “Address Quality” line item.] ***** ***** 204 Barcode Standards The Postal Service will incorporate these revisions into ***** the next update of the online DMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com. 2.0 Standards for Package and Extra Service Barcodes — Product Classification, Marketing, 12-20-18 2.1 Intelligent Mail Package Barcode ***** DMM Revision: Domestic Competitive Products Pricing and Mailing Standards Changes Effective January 27, 2019, the Postal Service™ will This article describes new prices and product features revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Ser- for Competitive Products established by the Governors of vice, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) to reflect changes to the United States Postal Service®. New prices are available prices and mailing standards for the following competitive on Postal Explorer® at pe.usps.com. products: Competitive Products changes are identified by product ® Priority Mail Express . as follows: ® Priority Mail . Priority Mail Express ® First-Class Package Service . ® Dimensional Weight Pricing Parcel Select . ® The Postal Service will defer implementing Dimensional USPS Retail Ground . Weight (DIM) pricing for Priority Mail Express retail and Extra Services. commercial parcels until June 23, 2019. Effective June 23, Return Services. 2019, postage for Priority Mail Express parcels addressed Mailer