A mail owner must:
- Obtain a Mailer ID number, or use a DUNS number already known by the Postal Service (see chapter 2).
- Complete the certification process (or use a certified third-party designee) for printing labels or sending/receiving files (see chapters 2 and 3).
- Determine whether the mail owner or a third-party designee will receive the records (see 4-3.1.2).
- Submit a completed PS Form 5053, Bulk Proof of Delivery Application.
- Submit a completed PS Form 5054, Bulk Proof of Delivery Application Payment Authorization, or have the third-party designee fill out the form.
Mail owners certified for printing labels or sending/receiving files must submit PS Form 5053, Bulk Proof of Delivery Application, to request return receipts in bulk. PS Form 5053 (see Exhibit 4-3.1.2) includes instructions for submitting the form.
Only the mail owner — not a third-party designee — may complete PS Form 5053. If designating a third party, the mail owner must indicate the designee and the designee’s DUNS number on PS Form 5053, which then serves as the mail owner authorization for the Postal Service to release proof of delivery records to a third-party designee.
When a mail owner indicates that a third-party designee will receive its records, the Postal Service will inform the designee by e-mail of the mail owner’s activation date for the BPOD program.
Listed below are some of the choices that a mail owner must make when completing PS Form 5053:
- Choose between receiving a CD-ROM or Signature Extract File.
- Choose whether it or a third-party designee will receive files.
- Choose whether an electronic file will always or will never be sent.
- Choose who will send the electronic file (necessary for mail owners choosing the Pay at Mailing option — see 4-2.2).
- Choose payment method (postage meter, PC Postage/Pay at Mailing, or credit card/Pay as Compiled — see 4-2.2).
- Choose whether to receive proof of delivery letters that are combined into one file or that are parsed into individual files.
Exhibit 4-3.1.2
PS Form 5053, Bulk Proof of Delivery Application
If a mail owner decides to have a different third-party designee receive its records, the mail owner must complete and submit a new PS Form 5053. The Postal Service will process the request and send to the new third-party designee an e-mail containing the mail owner’s information. The new third-party designee will use its existing key code to access the mail owner’s records. The Postal Service will begin using the new third-party designee’s key code to encrypt the mail owner’s records.
If a mail owner decides to stop having a third-party designee receive its records and to start receiving its own records itself, the mail owner must complete and submit a new PS Form 5053. The Postal Service will process the request and send to the mail owner an e-mail containing the mail owner’s new key code. The Postal Service will begin using the mail owner’s new key code to encrypt the mail owner’s records.
