U S POST OFFICE GUIDE

	CHOOSING THE RIGHT CLASS OF MAIL	SENDING YOUR MAIL ABROAD
	ADDRESSING AND PACKAGING	USING SPECIAL MAILING SERVICES
	USING OUR CONSUMER SERVICES	BENEFITING FROM OTHER CUSTOMER SERVICES
	USPS House Post Office Locations	Go to Mailing Services

TOPICS
CHOOSING THE RIGHT CLASS OF MAIL
Go to Contents
Express Mail - Faster
Priority Mail - Fast
First-Class Mail
Second-Class Mail
Third-Class Mail
Fourth-Class Mail (Parcel Post)

EXPRESS MAIL -- FASTER

Express Mail is our fastest service. It offers guaranteed delivery service 365 days a year. We also offer Express Mail International Service to over 200 territories and countries, and we are the only company to offer APO / FPO Express Mail shipments at domestic prices.

To use Express Mail Next Day Service, take your shipment to any designated Express Mail post office, generally by 5 p.m.; deposit it in an Express Mail collection box; call for on-demand pickup; or had it to your letter carrier. Your local post office can give you specific Express Mail acceptance time for your area. Your mailing will be delivered to the eddressee by noon the next day, if you are mailing between major markets, or no later than 3 p.m. the next day. Express Mail can also be picked up at the destination post office as early as 10 a.m. the next day. Destinations that can be reached by noon or 3 p.m. the next day from your city may be determined by using the Express Mail Next Day Service Network Directory. If you do not have a copy, ask your post office to check the destination for you, or call 1-800-222-1811 for specific Express Mail network information.

We even supply you with mailing containers (envelopes, boxes, and tubes) and the necessary mailing labels at no additional charge. Customers find our 2-pound flat rate envelope very convenient to use. Express Mail service comes with a money-back postage guarantee if the Postal Service does not meet its service commitment. To receive your refund, apply at any post office by presenting the original customer receipt. Also, by calling 1-800-222-1811 at anytime you can find out the delivery status of your shipment.

Merchandise is automatically insured up to $500 against loss or damage. Compensation for loss of negotiable items such as currency or bullion is limited to $15. Document reconstruction insurance is available up to $50,000 for nonnegotiable documents. Payment can be considered for reasonable costs incurred to reconstruct an exact duplicate of a lost or damaged nonnegotiable document. However, except for per page copying cost, indemnity is not paid for documents if copies of lost documents are available, or if they could have been made before mailing. As with all claims, there are specific procedures to be followed, time limits, and qualifying conditions. Contact your local post office or your local Postal Service Consumer Affairs and Claims Office for more information. Other Express Mail services include Express Mail Custom Designed Service, Express Mail International Service, Express Mail Military Service, Express Mail Same Day Airport Service, and Express Mail Drop Shipment and Reshipment Services. You can pay for Express Mail with stamps, postage meter strips, or through an Express Mail Corporate Account. Also, in some cities, credit cards can be used. Call or visit your post office for details.

PRIORITY MAIL - FAST

Priority Mail is First-Class Mail weighing more than 11 ounces. When the speed of Express Mail is not needed, but preferential handling is desired, use Priority Mail. Priority Mail offers faster delivery at the least expensive rate in the industry. You also have the option of sending mail weighing less than 11 ounces as Priority Mail.

The maximum weight for Priority Mail is 70 pounds, and the maximum size is 108 inches in length and girth combined.

Priority Mail should be well identified. Your local post office will supply Priority Mail stickers, labels, envelopes, and boxes at no extra charge. You will find our 2-pound flat rate envelope convenient to use. Priority Mail can be insured, registered, certified, or sent COD for an additional charge. Call your local post office for additional information.

A presort discount is available for large mailings. Priority Mail drop shipment service is also available. A report about using the presort discount with your large mailings is being prepared for our House of Representative Customers. When the report is on-line you'll find it listed on the Contents Menu under "Bulk Mail."

Use First-Class Mail for letters, postcards, postal cards, greeting cards, personal notes, and for sending checks and money orders. Use Priority Mail for First-Class items weighing more than 11 ounces.

Additional services such as certificates of mailing, certified, registered, COD, and restricted delivery can be purchased at the option of the mailer for First Class Mail. Insurance can also be purchased. However, insured articles mailed at the First-Class rate must contain merchandise. All First-Class Mail receives prompt handling and transportation.

If your First-Class Mail is not letter-size, make sure to mark it "First-Class" or use a large green diamond bordered envelope. First-Class Mail is generally delivered overnight to locally designated cities and within 2 days to locally designated states. Delivery by the third day can be expected for remaining outlying areas.

SECOND-CLASS MAIL

Only publishers and registered news agents approved for second-class mailing privileges may mail at the second-class rates of postage. Other rates such as First-Class, single-piece third- or fourth-class must be paid for magazines and newspapers mailed by the general public. Call or visit your post office for additional information.

THIRD-CLASS MAIL

Third-class mail is used primarily by retailers, catalogers, and other advertisers to promote their products and services. Advertising by mail allows advertisers to reach existing customers or to target new customers by sending messages to specific neighborhoods or to certain demographic groups that are likely to be interested in their products. It also allows the advertisers to convey a significant amount of information about their products and to measure the results of their advertisements. Churches and other charitable organizations may take advantage of the attractive nonprofit rates for their large mailings. The minimum volume needed to take advantage of either the regular third-class rates or the nonprofit rates is 200 pieces per mailing. The pieces must weigh less than 16 ounces and be prepared in a manner that allows for efficient handling. Third-class also includes single-piece rates that anyone may use to send individual parcels weighing less than 1 pound. If faster service is needed, use First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, or Express Mail.

A report about using discount rates with your large mailings is being prepared for our House of Representative Customers. When the report is on-line you'll find it listed on the Contents Menu under "Bulk Mail."

FOURTH-CLASS MAIL (PARCEL POST)

Use this service for packages weighing 1 pound or more. If you enclose or attach First-Class Mail, First-Class postage must usually be paid for the enclosure or attachment. (Ask your postmaster about incidental First-Class attachments or enclosures that do not require separate payment of First-Class postage.)

You can purchase insurance to cover the value of articles mailed at the fourth-class rate. (For details, see Insurance.) Packages mailed within the continental United States may weigh up to 70 pounds and measure up to 108 inches in length and girth combined.

Your post office also has information about lower local mailing rates and special mailing rates for books, catalogs, and international mailings.

Our delivery goal for parcel post is 2-9 days, depending on distance. or For faster delivery of parcels, use Priority Mail or Express Mail.

All mail originating in foreign countries and U.S. overseas territories, other than the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is subject to U.S. Customs Service examination upon entering the United States. Many imported goods are subject to the payment of U.S. Customs duty. When dutiable merchandise enters by mail, the amount due is determined by the Customs Service, but is collected by the Postal Service. When the duty is collected on behalf of the Customs Service, the Postal Service also collects a customs clearance and delivery fee on each dutiable item. This fee offsets the cost of collection and remittance. For customs information, write to:

Customs forms are required when you send dutiable letter packages, small packets, printed matter, and parcels to international destinations. The specific customs form you will need is governed by the type of mail and the regulations of the destination country.

Individual countries may restrict or prohibit certain articles. Articles that are prohibited by the destination country are nonmailable. Articles that are restricted are subject to the import requirements of that country. Specific information about restrictions and prohibitions for individual countries, and the forms required for mailing are listed in the International Mail Manual. This manual is available at your local post office .

INTELPOST (International Electronic Post) is an international facsimile message service available between the United States and more than 40 foreign countries. A black and white image of the document (text and/or graphic) is printed and delivered in the destination country. Depending on your choice of delivery option, your facsimile message is delivered either the same day or the next day. Call your local post office for more information.

You can send airmail and surface mail to almost all foreign countries in a variety of ways:

All categories of international mail, except Express Mail, may be sent either airmail or surface mail. However, all letters and postcards originating in the United States and intended for delivery in either Canada or Mexico receive First-Class Mail treatment in the United States and airmail treatment in those two countries. Check with your local post office for specific information about the country to which you are mailing.

Publication 5 1, International Postal Rates and Fees, is available at all post offices. This booklet contains general mailing information and current postal rates and fees for postal services from the United States to foreign countries.

Parcel Airlift (PAL) service and space available mail (SAM) are only for personal parcels and publications mailed to military personnel overseas at the third- and fourth class rates.

Packages up to 30 pounds and 60 inches in combined length and girth may be sent by PAL. This mail is flown to a military mail dispatch center where it becomes space available mail for airlift overseas. You pay the regular parcel post rate to the military mail dispatch center, plus a small fee for the air service, depending on weight.

Parcels of any class that weigh up to 15 pounds and are not more than 60 inches in combined length and girth marked "SAM" also are airlifted overseas on a space available basis to military post offices. However, this mail is transported by surface within the United

States to a military mail dispatch center. There is no additional fee for space available mail.

Express Mail Military Service is available for sending urgent letters, documents, and packages to overseas military APO/FPO addresses. We deliver to more than 300 military post offices. Postage for Express Mail Military Service is the same as for domestic Express Mail.

Recorded delivery service, like certified mail service, is intended for letters, documents, and items of little or no value. It is an appropriate service if you want to receive a record of mailing on international mail, and want to know that a record of delivery exists, in the event an inquiry is necessary.

EXPRESS MAIL -- FASTER

PRIORITY MAIL - FAST

Use First-Class Mail for letters, postcards, postal cards, greeting cards, personal notes, and for sending checks and money orders. Use Priority Mail for First-Class items weighing more than 11 ounces.

SECOND-CLASS MAIL

THIRD-CLASS MAIL

FOURTH-CLASS MAIL (PARCEL POST)