New Mailing Standards for Domestic Mailing Services Products

<RULE> POSTAL SERVICE <CFR>39 CFR Part 111</CFR> <SUBJECT>New Mailing Standards for Domestic Mailing Services Products</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Postal Service <E T="51">TM</E> . <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> On April 9, 2024, the Postal Service (USPS®) filed a notice of mailing services price adjustments with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), effective July 14, 2024. This final rule contains the revisions to <E T="03">Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service,</E> Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®) to implement the changes coincident with the price adjustments and other DMM changes. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Effective July 14, 2024. </EFFDATE> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Doriane Harley at (202) 268-2537 or Dale Kennedy at (202) 268-6592. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> On May 30, 2024, the PRC favorably reviewed the price adjustments proposed by the Postal Service. The price adjustments and DMM revisions are scheduled to become effective on July 14, 2024. Final prices are available under Docket No. R2024-2 (Order No. 7155) on the Postal Regulatory Commission's website at <E T="03">www.prc.gov.</E> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Different Additional Ounce Rates for First-Class Mail® Flats</HD> Currently, First-Class Mail® flats incur a first ounce price and a uniform additional ounce price that is applied at each level from the second to the thirteenth ounce. The Postal Service will implement a change to allow the Pricing department to provide a distinct price at each ounce increment. <HD SOURCE="HD1">USPS Marketing Mail Flat-Shaped—Separating Lightweight and Heavyweight Rate Categories</HD> The Postal Service will implement a change that will divide some USPS Marketing Mail flat-shaped pieces into two distinct pricing categories, lightweight (0 to 4 ounces) and heavyweight (from above 4 ounces up to 16 ounces). Lightweight pieces will continue to have only a piece-price component, with dropship discounts available for different entry points. Heavyweight pieces will have per-piece and per-pound price components, the per-pound components apply to the entire weight of the piece, with per-pound dropship discounts available for different entry points. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Business Reply Mail (BRM) Simplification</HD> The Postal Service will incentivize Qualified Business Reply Mail (QBRM) customers to enroll in Intelligent Mail Barcode Accounting (IMbA) by waiving annual account maintenance and quarterly fees and by reducing the per-piece fee. Customers who link current QBRM permits to an Enterprise Payment Account (EPA) and successfully complete the onboarding process will have subsequent annual and quarterly fees waived and receive a reduced QBRM IMbA per-piece fee. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Elimination of Simple Samples (Product Samples)</HD> The Postal Service will eliminate Simple Samples, also referred to as Product Samples, as a product offering due to low customer usage. Alternative, economical products are available. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Catalog Price Incentive—Marketing Mail and Bound Printed Matter</HD> The Postal Service will revise the mailpiece requirements for catalogs and offer a price incentive to mailers who mail catalogs that meet these revised requirements. The incentive and revisions will apply to all USPS Marketing Mail products except for EDDM-Retail and to Bound Printed Matter flats and parcels. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Enlarge Maximum Size for Plus One</HD> The Postal Service will increase the maximum size for Plus One mailpieces to 6″ x 11″. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Adding Optional Preparation Standards to USPS Marketing Mail Carrier Route Automation Letters</HD> The Postal Service will implement an optional tray preparation for High Density and High Density Plus letters. This optional tray preparation will allow mail preparers to combine multiple mail owner's eligible HD and HD+ letters with 5-digit letters in one tray to reduce the volume of residual trays entered in the mailstream. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Matching Nomenclature & Classification Standards to Network Redesign</HD> <E T="03">New Network Future State Nomenclature Mapping</E> —Under Phase 1 of the Postal Service network future state, the Postal Service is revising the DMM to provide site mapping nomenclature for facilities ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> NDC/RPDC). Phase 1 will not include site mapping in the Quick Service Guides (QSGs) or revisions to destination entry pricing nomenclature or labeling lists. In some cases where there is overlapping of nomenclature in the DMM for market dominant and competitive products ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> DMM 705.8.0) the site mapping nomenclature is included in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> Notice for the domestic competitive products price change. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Mail Growth Incentives Continuation in Calendar Year 2025</HD> For calendar year 2024, the Postal Service introduced two new incentives designed to promote the growth of First-Class Mail® (the “First-Class Mail Growth Incentive”) and USPS Marketing Mail® (the “Marketing Mail Growth Incentive”). The effective dates of both incentives is January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. The Postal Service will continue both incentives for calendar year 2025. <HD SOURCE="HD1">2025 Promotions</HD> The Postal Service has been incenting mailers to integrate mobile technology and use innovative print techniques in commercial mail since 2012. These promotions have become an integral way for industry to try new things and innovate their mail campaigns. A 2025 Promotions Calendar is planned with opportunities for mailers to receive a postage discount by applying treatments or integrating technology in their mail campaigns. These revisions will provide consistency within postal products and add value for customers. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Market Dominant Comments on Proposed Changes and USPS Responses</HD> The Postal Service did not receive any formal comments on the April 2024 proposed rule (89 FR 27330-27353). The Postal Service adopts the described changes to <E T="03">Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service,</E> Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), incorporated by reference in the <E T="03">Code of Federal Regulations.</E> We will publish an appropriate amendment to 39 CFR part 111 to reflect these changes. <LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HED">List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111</HD> Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service. </LSTSUB> Accordingly, the Postal Service amends <E T="03">Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service,</E> Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), incorporated by reference in the <E T="03">Code of Federal Regulations</E> as follows ( <E T="03">see</E> 39 CFR 111.1): <HD SOURCE="HED">PART 111—[AMENDED]</HD> <REGTEXT TITLE="39" PART="111"> 1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 111 continues to read as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">Authority:</HD> 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 13 U.S.C. 301-307; 18 U.S.C. 1692-1737; 39 U.S.C. 101, 401-404, 414, 416, 3001-3018, 3201-3220, 3401-3406, 3621, 3622, 3626, 3629, 3631-3633, 3641, 3681-3685, and 5001. </REGTEXT> <REGTEXT TITLE="39" PART="111"> 2. Revise the <E T="03">Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service,</E> Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) as follows: <HD SOURCE="HD1">Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">100 Retail Mail Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">140 USPS Marketing Mail Flats Every Door Direct Mail-Retail (EDDM-Retail)</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">145 Mail Preparation</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">1.0 Preparation of EDDM-Retail Flats</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">1.1 General Information</HD> <E T="03">[Revise the text of 1.1 to read as follows:]</E> All pieces mailed as EDDM-Retail mailings must be bundled under 1.3 and presented directly to the correct delivery Post Office or destination delivery unit (DDU)/Sorting & Delivery Center (S&DC), or mailed to the DDU/S&DC via Priority Mail under 146. <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">146 Enter and Deposit</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">1.0 Basic Options</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">1.1 Entry at Delivery Post Office</HD> <E T="03">[Revise the text of 1.1 to read as follows:]</E> All EDDM-Retail mailings must be entered directly at the Post Office (or DDU/S&DC) responsible for the Post Office Box or carrier route delivery for which the mailing is prepared, or shipped to that Post Office under 1.2. <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">200 Commercial Mail Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">201 Physical Standards</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">4.0 Physical Standards for Flats</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">4.1 General Definition of Flat Size Mail</HD> <E T="03">[Delete item (d) and renumber item (e) as (d):]</E> <STARS/> <E T="03">[Delete section 201.4.9 titled “Catalogs” in its' entirety]</E> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">8.0 Additional Physical Standards by Class of Mail</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">8.4 USPS Marketing Mail Parcels</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">8.4.2 Marketing Parcels</HD> <STARS/> <E T="03">[Delete item (e) in its' entirety]</E> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">203 Basic Postage Statement, Documentation, and Preparation Standards</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">3.0 Standardized Documentation for First-Class Mail, Periodicals, USPS Marketing Mail, and Flat-Size Bound Printed Matter</HD> <STARS/> <HD SOURCE="HD1">3.2 Format and Content</HD> For First-Class Mail, Periodicals, USPS Marketing Mail, and Bound Printed Matter, standardized documentation includes: <STARS/> d. For bundles on pallets, list these required elements: <STARS/> <E T="03">[Revise item d(4) to read as follows:]</E> 4. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 155k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━