The following changes to the Domestic Mail Manual are incorporated into the online version available via Postal Explorer at http://pe.usps.gov.

DMM Revisions

Customized Market Mail

Effective August 10, 2003, DMM E660 and M660 are added and other sections are revised to implement the classification for Customized MarketMail (CMM) service.

Use of CMM

CMM service represents a significant innovation for Standard Mail advertisers who want to target a specific audience with highly individualized mailpiece designs, including nonrectangular-shaped and multidimensional mailpieces such as cutouts of houses, automobiles, power boats, or wearing apparel. More creative designs could encourage greater customer interest and response rates to promotions, advertising, fund-raising campaigns, or other types of communications.

Before this service was introduced, mailing standards required that any mailpiece that was 1/4 inch thick or less could not be mailed if that piece was not rectangular. This exclusion of nonrectangular letter-size mail and, in some cases, nonrectangular flat-size mail, reduced the available options for businesses and organizations wishing to reach existing or potential customers through advertising messages and designs, including the shape of the mailpiece. CMM service will overcome this previous restraint.

Nonrectangular Shapes

A basic requirement for mailability in Domestic Mail Classification Schedule (DMCS) § 6020 DMM § C010.1.1 is that “[a]ll items, other than keys and identification devices, which are 0.25 inch thick or less must be rectangular in shape, at least 3.5 inches in width, and at least 5 inches in length.” Administrative rulings issued by the Postal Service have interpreted and further clarified that the term “rectangular” implies that rectangular mailpieces must have four right-angle corners, four straight and regular edges, and no holes or other voids within their dimensions.

Mailpieces that are 1/4 inch thick or less typically meet the dimensional standards for “letter-size” mailpieces or “flat-size” mailpieces. These two mail processing categories represent both the vast majority of mailpieces sorted and distributed in mail processing facilities and virtually all mail sorted into cases and delivered by Postal Service carriers or distributed to Post Office boxes.

The requirement that mail must be rectangular within certain dimensions for typical letter-size or flat-size mailpieces was established to ensure that the Postal Service could efficiently handle and deliver such mail, whether by automated, mechanized, or manual means.

CMM pieces will differ from other letter-size and flat-size mailpieces that are 1/4 inch thick or less in two significant aspects. First, CMM pieces can be nonrectangular or irregular in shape. Second, such mail will be required to bypass all Postal Service handling between the mailer’s plant (or point of origin) and the Post Office delivery unit. CMM pieces will therefore not be expected or required to be compatible with mechanical or automated processing because their entry profile was specifically developed to ensure that CMM pieces will bypass mail processing operations primarily designed for rectangular-shaped mail.

Employees are reminded that all mailpieces that are 1/4 inch thick or less and not prepared and mailed as CMM mailpieces must be rectangular. The exception to the mailability rule applies only to CMM pieces and to keys and identification devices. Other pieces not qualifying under this exception are nonmailable under DMM C010.1.0.

CMM Verification and Entry

At the mailer’s option, CMM pieces will have to be presented for postage verification at the origin office by:

(1) using existing plant-verified drop shipment (PVDS) procedures as defined in DMM P950,

(2) using either Express Mail or Priority Mail drop shipment procedures in DMM M072, or

(3) taking the pieces directly to a destination Postal Service facility with a business mail entry unit as a pre-sorted mailing subject to DMM E610.8.0.

Under the PVDS option in DMM P950, current standards for a 200-piece minimum volume will apply only to the entire PVDS mailing rather than to the quantity presented at each destination delivery unit (DDU). Normally, the DDU is the facility where the mail will be distributed to and cased for delivery by the corresponding mail carrier or distributed into Post Office boxes. Transportation to each destination will be the mailer’s responsibility, or it will be through the use of existing Express Mail or Priority Mail drop shipment standards in DMM D072.

CMM Preparation

Each CMM mailing will be subject to the current minimum volume requirement of 200 pieces for presorted Standard Mail pieces. There will be, however, no minimum volume requirements for packaging or containerization because all mail processing operations will be bypassed.

Packaging of CMM pieces will be required for all types of containers used in order to maintain mailpiece orientation, inhibit movement of the pieces, and ensure stability in transit. At the same time, packaging will help protect the individual mailpieces from damage. The number of pieces in each package and the method of packaging will be at the mailer’s discretion, subject to applicable standards for suitable materials and package sizes in DMM M020.

CMM pieces will be required to be prepared in containers as appropriate to the volume of mail destined for the DDU. Equipment such as sleeved letter trays, Express Mail and Priority Mail containers (i.e., Postal Service pouches, sacks, envelopes, and boxes), or envelopes or boxes supplied by the mailer will be permitted as containers. Each mailing presented in mailer-supplied containers, including those prepared as Express Mail and Priority Mail drop shipment, will be required to be accompanied by sample containers for tare weight calculations. Mailings with more than three different types of containers or mailings consisting of nonidentical-weight pieces will be required to be presented using a manifest mailing system (MMS) under DMM P910 or any other available postage payment system if approved by the Business Mailer Support (BMS) manager, Postal Service Headquarters.

CMM containers will be required to bear the correct container label and be endorsed to the attention of the delivery unit supervisor or postmaster with instructions to “open and distribute” the contents. At the DDU, the CMM pieces will be distributed to carriers for casing and delivery or, for Post Office box addresses, to the box section for distribution into the Post Office boxes.

At the mailer’s option, every piece in a mailing will be permitted to bear the correct carrier route code under DMM M014. Under this option, the mailer must use CASS- certified software and the current USPS Carrier Route File scheme, hard copy Carrier Route Files, or another AIS product containing carrier route information, subject to DMM A930 and A950. Carrier route information will also require updating within 90 days before the mailing date.

CMM Rates

CMM pieces, each of which must weigh 3.3 ounces or less, will be subject to the basic Presorted nonletter piece rates, with no destination entry discount, in the Standard Mail Regular and Nonprofit subclasses. Owing to the irregular or nonrectangular shape inherent with CMM pieces, such pieces will also be subject to the residual shape surcharge (RSS).

CMM pieces will not be eligible for any destination entry discount, automation rate, or other presort rate. In addition, because CMM pieces will not be handled in mail processing facilities, such pieces will not be eligible for the parcel barcode discount, which currently is available to appropriately barcoded pieces that are also subject to the residual shape surcharge. CMM pieces, however, are not subject to the Standard Mail nonmachinable surcharge. Special services, as provided in DMM S900, will not be available for CMM pieces.

CMM Postage Payment

CMM pieces will be subject to the same options of postage payment (precanceled stamps, metered postage, or permit imprint) for Standard Mail pieces as permitted by current standards in DMM P600. CMM mailers will not be required to obtain special mailing permits or authorizations other than those already required for Regular or Nonprofit Standard Mail service.

Mailers will, in most cases, be required to pay postage through an approved manifest mailing system (MMS) when more than three different types of mailing containers are used or when the mailing consists of nonidentical-weight pieces. Express Mail and Priority Mail drop shipments generally are also better processed through a manifesting system. The Business Mailer Support (BMS) manager at Headquarters will approve the manifest mailing systems and any other special postage payment system under DMM P900 such as an optional procedure.

Mailers presenting CMM pieces must present the appropriate documentation, if required, along with one of the following postage statements:

• PS Form 3602-PS, Postage Statement - Standard Mail Subject to Surcharge - Postage Affixed.

• PS Form 3602-RS, Postage Statement - Standard Mail Subject to Surcharge - Permit Imprint.

• PS Form 3602-NPS, Postage Statement - Nonprofit Standard Mail Subject to Surcharge Postage Affixed.

• PS Form 3602-NS, Postage Statement - Nonprofit Standard Mail Subject to Surcharge – Permit Imprint.

The postage statements will be revised to accommodate CMM pieces as a separate line item on page 1, which corresponds to a separate part designated as “L” on the reverse. In addition, the revised statements have an additional check box under the “Processing Category” block designated as “CMM.” Copies of the statements will be posted on www.usps.com and will be available from the Material Distribution Center.

CMM Markings and Endorsements

In addition to the current class and rate markings required for Standard Mail pieces, CMM pieces will have to bear the marking “CUSTOMIZED MARKETMAIL” (or the approved abbreviations “CUST MKTMAIL” or “CMM”). The standards and placement of applicable markings and endorsements will follow existing requirements for Standard Mail pieces under DMM M012.

Sample Mailpieces Required

At the time of mailing, mailers presenting CMM mailpieces must provide the business mail entry unit or acceptance site these additional items for each mailing:

• A sample mailpiece.
• An extra copy of the corresponding postage statement.

CMM Physical Characteristics

CMM mailpieces can be constructed of any material that is safe for handling by Postal Service personnel. However, CMM pieces will have to be sufficiently flexible to withstand normal handling required for carrier casing and delivery and for placement into mail receptacles and Post Office boxes.

CMM pieces will not be allowed to have attachments or enclosures. However, CMM pieces are permitted to be constructed or assembled from layers or parts to form a single item.

For purposes of defining the dimensional requirements, a straight line drawn between the most distant outer points on a CMM mailpiece will define the axis of its length and a perpendicular line to that axis will be the axis of its height. The minimum and maximum dimensions and weight are as follows:

(1) Height: No less than 3-1/2 inches and no more than 12 inches.
(2) Length: No less than 5 inches and no more than 15 inches.
(3) Thickness: No less than 0.007 inch at its thinnest point and no more than 3/4 inch at its thickest point.
(4) Weight: No more than 3.3 ounces.

CMM pieces will be permitted to have voids or holes and to have a nonuniform thickness. If pieces are of nonuniform thickness, packages of CMM pieces will be required to be prepared by counterstacking under DMM M020 to ensure stability in transit whether transported under PVDS or under Priority Mail or Express Mail drop shipment. This packaging requirement not only stabilizes the pieces during transportation, but it also ensures Postal Service employees will more easily handle and deliver the mail.

Mailpiece design approval by the manager of business mail entry in the district serving the office of mailing, though not required, is recommended. Physical or graphic content will be subject to current standards in DMM C020 and C030 and to any applicable nonpostal statutes and regulations.

CMM Addressing

Each CMM piece will be required to bear a complete mailing address including an accurate 5-digit ZIP Code or ZIP+4 Code. CMM pieces must bear the exceptional address format or the occupant address format under DMM A020.

The exceptional address format uses both a recipient’s name and the alternative “Current Occupant” or “Current Resident,” followed by a complete delivery address, city, state, and ZIP Code or ZIP+4 code. If the named recipient has moved, mail bearing an exceptional address format is neither forwarded to the recipient’s new address nor returned to the sender. Instead, such mail is left at the indicated delivery address for the current resident.

The occupant address format does not use an actual recipient’s name but only the designation “Occupant,” “Householder,” or “Resident” in place of a name, followed by a complete delivery address, city, state, and ZIP Code or ZIP+4 code. Mail bearing an occupant address is neither forwarded nor returned.

The address block could be placed anywhere on the mailpiece as currently permitted for flat-size mailpieces, whether printed directly on the mailpiece, or printed on an address label permanently affixed to the piece. The address and other mandatory information such as postage indicia and class and rate markings will be required to be clearly identifiable and legible, following current mailing standards.

CMM pieces will be subject to the standard for address quality and address list maintenance that requires all 5-digit ZIP Codes included in addresses on pieces claimed at Regular Standard Mail and Nonprofit Standard Mail rates to be verified and corrected within 12 months before the mailing date using a method approved by the Postal Service. This requirement ensures that mail is addressed for the correct ZIP Code destination and eliminates potential misdirection of mail. The use of detached address labels (DALs) will not be permitted for CMM pieces.

CMM Delivery

Delivery is considered completed and Postal Service handling of a CMM mailpiece will end when the piece is delivered to the street address or Post Office box address on the piece or when a Postal Service employee distributes the piece into the Post Office box if the piece bears a Post Office box address. CMM pieces will be delivered or left at the address, and CMM pieces that are undeliverable as addressed because of an invalid address will be discarded.

Ancillary service endorsements used for address correction services and the forwarding and return of mail will not be available. Each piece will also be required to bear the appropriate carrier release endorsement in DMM D042 (“Carrier-Leave If No Response”) to indicate that a deliverable CMM piece is to be left in a safe location near the recipient’s mail receptacle if the piece cannot be placed inside the receptacle.

Delivery Confirmation and Signature Confirmation Services — Use With First-Class Mail Parcels and Package Services Parcels

Effective July 10, 2003, DMM C100, C700, S918, and S919 are revised to clarify when it is permissible to use Delivery Confirmation service or Signature Confirmation service with mailpieces entered at First-Class Mail or Package Services rates. This revision clarifies that, for those two classes of mail, Delivery Confirmation service or Signature Confirmation service may be used only for parcels and not for letter-size mail or flat-size mail.

Original Mailing Standards

Before this revision, the mailing standards underlying the use of these two special services with First-Class Mail parcels and Package Services parcels were in DMM C100.5.0 and C700.1.0h in DMM Issue 57, dated June 30, 2002.

As part of the DMM revision, the general term “box,” which was used in the original language of those mailing standards, is replaced with the specific definitions of a parcel as currently defined in DMM C050 for machinable parcels, irregular parcels, and outside parcels.

In the case of First-Class Mail parcels and Package Services parcels, these revised standards support both a customer need and an operational requirement to maintain high rates of scanning of Delivery Confirmation barcodes and Signature Confirmation barcodes by segregating Delivery Confirmation pieces and Signature Confirmation pieces from letter-size and flat-size mail.

Parcel Definitions

As presented in the revised standards in DMM S918 and S919, the current definitions of a parcel are modified solely for the purposes of using either Delivery Confirmation service or Signature Confirmation service, including removing the minimum weight for so-called “machinable” parcels sent at First-Class Mail rates, and adding a rigidity requirement for machinable parcels that measure no more than 3/4 inch thick. These revisions do not modify the definition of parcels in DMM C050 as they apply to the requirements for Standard Mail and Package Services parcel preparation.

By using the existing standards for parcels and their readily known definitions to determine what constitutes a parcel, the Postal Service can clearly define a parcel for purposes of using Delivery Confirmation service or Signature Confirmation service. This use should reduce the subjectivity of determining what distinguishes a “parcel” from a “flat” or a “letter.”

Service Restrictions

Mailers and postal employees are reminded of these class-specific uses of Delivery Confirmation service and Signature Confirmation service:

• Priority Mail service: all Priority Mail pieces, regardless of mail processing category, are eligible for Delivery Confirmation service or Signature Confirmation service.

• First-Class Mail service: only parcels are eligible for Delivery Confirmation service or Signature Confirmation service.

• Package Services: only parcels are eligible for Delivery Confirmation service or Signature Confirmation service.

• Standard Mail service: only pieces subject to the residual shape surcharge are eligible for Delivery Confirmation service (and only for the electronic option). Standard Mail pieces, regardless of mail processing category or whether a residual shape surcharge is applied, are not eligible for any form of Signature Confirmation service.

• Customized Market Mail is not eligible for either service.

Negotiated Service Agreements

Effective June 12, 2003, DMM G043 is revised; DMM G091, G092, and G095 are redesignated as G991, G992, and G995, respectively; DMM G900 is redesignated as G090; DMM G910 is added to provide requirements for negotiated service agreements (NSAs). An NSA is an agreement between the Postal Service and a single mailer that requires changes to the established rates, fees, or classifications for that mailer only.

The Governors of the Postal Service approved the experimental changes in the classification, rates, and fees applicable to Capital One, in accordance with the Capital One NSA. The Board of Governors set September 1, 2003, as the effective date.

The negotiated service agreement (NSA) requires Capital One Services, Inc. (Capital One) to receive electronic notification for undeliverable First-Class Mail solicitations instead of physical return of the pieces. The notices are to be provided through the Address Change Service (ACS) program and the usual electronic address correction fee is to be waived. Capital One also agrees to maintain and enhance address and mail preparation quality. In exchange for Capital One’s receipt of the electronic notice for its First-Class Mail solicitations and its compliance with the terms of the NSA, Capital One would have available declining block rates of postage for volumes above stated thresholds. A copy of the NSA is filed with the Postal Rate Commission in Docket No. MC2002-2 as Attachment G to the Postal Service’s Request for a Recommended Decision and can be found at www.prc.gov.

Standard Mail Plant-Verified Drop Shipment (PVDS) Mailings — Clarification of Minimal Volume Requirement

Effective July 10, 2003, DMM E650.1.3 and E752.1.2 are revised. These revisions represent editorial modifications only and do not alter the current mailing standards or impose any new requirements. DMM E650.1.3 is revised to clarify the application of the minimum volume requirement for Standard Mail items prepared using plant-verified drop shipment (PVDS) procedures. In DMM E752.1.2, a few minor text revisions are made to the corresponding standards for Bound Printed Matter (BPM) items. The text in both sections is also reorganized for clarity.

The standards in DMM E650.1.3 will continue to require that each Standard Mail PVDS destination entry rate mailing contain at least 200 pieces or 50 pounds of addressed pieces and that each group of pieces prepared for entry at each destination Post Office be presented as a separate mailing meeting the minimum volume requirement. Pieces deposited at the same destination entry Post Office, but claimed at different destination entry rates, may be included in a single mailing when reported on the same postage statement (subject to only one minimum volume requirement), provided that the destination entry Post Office is the proper facility for claiming each of the destination entry discounts.

The clarification to DMM E650.1.3 better details the application of the minimum volume standards for PVDS mailings and aligns the standards with the existing text for destination entry BPM in DMM E752.1.2. The added text in DMM E650.1.3 clarifies that mailers may use the combined total piece count (or combined total weight) from a single presort file (showing all line items for all destinations in a mailing job) on the associated PS Form 3602-C, Consolidated Postage Statement Supplement - Supplement Standard Mail or Nonprofit Standard Mail (or a postage statement register), to meet the 200-piece or 50-pound minimum volume requirement for each mailing. By using this alternative, a mailer may enter fewer than 200 pieces at a single destination entry Post Office, provided that the single presort file listed on the associated PS Forms 3602, Statement of Mailing With Permit Imprints, and 3602-C, Statement of Mailing With Permit Imprints

First-Class Mail or International Letter Classification Mail Only (or a postage statement register) meets the 200-piece or 50-pound minimum volume requirement. When pieces from different Standard Mail mailings (Presorted, automation, and/or Enhanced Carrier Route) are presented together under PVDS procedures, each of these mailings must separately meet a 200-piece or 50-pound minimum volume requirement.

Minor text revisions are also made to the standards in DMM E752.1.2 for destination entry BPM mailings to correspond to the clarification for Standard Mail PVDS mailings.

These revisions eliminate the further need for Customer Support Ruling (CSR) PS-283, Plant Verified Drop Shipment (PVDS) Minimum Volumes. Therefore, CSR PS-283 is rescinded effective with this notice. As information, all CSRs are available at http://ribbs.usps.gov.

Standard Mail Flats in Letter Trays

Effective July 10, 2003, portions of DMM M032, M033, and M910 are revised to clarify several points about using letter trays instead of sacks when preparing and palletizing certain sizes of Standard Mail flat-size pieces and to add co-traying as another option. This revision also rescinds Customer Support Ruling PS-290, Enveloped Mailpieces Exceeding 1/4 Inch Thickness.

This traying option applies to Standard Mail flat-size pieces claimed at automation rates, as well as flat-size pieces claimed at Enhanced Carrier Route rates. No more than 10 percent of a mailing job prepared under this option may be claimed at Presorted rates. This 10 percent maximum applies to the entire mailing job, not to individual plant-verified drop shipment (PVDS) destination points.

All mail under this option must be prepared as follows:

• Packaging is required except for full 5-digit trays and full individual carrier route trays under DMM M033. Under the packaging exception in DMM M020.1.9, mail need not be prepared in other levels of packages when it is placed in a full tray to the corresponding tray level and none of the mail in that tray would have been more finely sorted if packaged. Packaging is required, however, for any mail prepared under the co-traying option in DMM M910 to ensure that automation rate pieces and nonautomation rate pieces are always kept separate.

• The entire mailing job must be trayed. Sacking is not permitted except when the required minimum pallet load in DMM M041.5.3 cannot be met.

• All trays must be palletized, except for mail prepared for Priority Mail or Express Mail drop shipment or mail prepared for Enhanced Carrier Route destination delivery unit rates.

Allowing Standard Mail flat-size pieces in letter trays instead of sacks is limited to current sortation requirements and minimum required quantities in a container in order to minimize the impact on the number of containers handled by the Postal Service as well as to maintain presort and rate integrity. Each tray must be prepared under the same standards used for sacking and, in general, must contain at least 125 pieces or 15 pounds of pieces. Mailers must use as few trays as possible without jeopardizing rate eligibility.

Polywrap Specifications and Certification Program

Effective July 10, 2003, DMM C820 is revised to clarify standards for the use of polywrap for flat-size mailpieces claimed at automation rates and its certification program.

Although these standards are reorganized to present the information in a logical sequence and to consolidate material, there are no material changes to current mailing standards or polywrap specifications. The principal clarifications include the following:

• Haze requirement. Revised DMM Exhibit C820.4.1 clarifies that an address label must be affixed to the outside of the polywrap used on the mailpiece in order to eliminate the need for meeting the haze requirement for approved polywrap.
• Wrap direction. Revised DMM C820.4.2 clarifies that the wrap direction of polywrap for automated flat sorting machine (AFSM) 100 flat-size pieces is only around the longer axis. Also, it clarifies that the wrap direction for flat sorting machine (FSM) 1000 flat-size pieces may be around either the longer axis or the shorter axis. This revision also defines the term axis as it relates to wrap direction.
• Selvage. Revised DMM C820.4.3 clarifies, for purposes of applying the polywrap standards for overhang (selvage) only, that the edge of the mailpiece designated as top must be one of the two physically longer edges of the piece. All automation rate flat- size mail must be rectangular.
• Certificate of conformance. Revised DMM C820.4.5 clarifies that the polywrap manufacturer, not ASTM International, provides the certificate of conformance stating that the polywrap meets the requirements in DMM Exhibit C820.4.1.