[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 27, 2009)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55140-55142]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25462]
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POSTAL SERVICE
39 CFR Part 111
New Move Update Assessment Procedures for January 2010 for
Automation and Presort First-Class Mail and All Standard Mail Items
AGENCY: Postal Service TM.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Postal Service is filing with the Postal Regulatory
Commission a notice of revisions to policies and procedures for
determining postage adjustments for mailings of First-Class
Mail[supreg] and Standard Mail[supreg] pieces that are determined to
contain a large number of address inaccuracies. Consistent with the
Commission filing, this notice and final rule provides revised mailing
standards and procedures for administering the Move Update standards.
DATES: Effective January 4, 2010.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bill Chatfield, 202-268-7278.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Postal Service previously published a
final rule regarding several changes to mailing standards in support of
the May 11, 2009 price change, in the Federal Register on April 6,
2009, and stated: * * * ``Beginning in January 2010, we establish a
charge for Standard Mail mailings not meeting Move Update standards of
7 cents per piece, in addition to the applicable Standard Mail
postage.'' The notice and final rule published today discusses
tolerances for determining when the number of change-of-address
inaccuracies in a mailing requires additional postage assessments at
the time of acceptance, and also discusses how the error rate and
additional postage assessment will be calculated for First-Class Mail
and Standard Mail items at the time of acceptance.
This assessment approach is not designed to permit customers to
substitute payment of the Move Update Assessment Charge for the
implementation of appropriate processes that meet the requirements of
the Move Update standard. It is designed to facilitate the acceptance
of mail in the event that a Performance Based Verification (PBV)
process determines that a sample of the mailing has an error rate above
a tolerance specified by the Postal Service. If customers do not
certify that they meet the Move Update requirement or are determined
not to have met this requirement, they are subject to single-piece
First-Class Mail prices on all pieces in the mailing.
We provide additional background and an explanation of the Move
Update standards and new procedures, followed by changes to the mailing
standards in Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service,
Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[supreg]).
Background
The Move Update standard requires periodic matching of a mailer's
address records with customer-filed change-of-address (COA) orders
received and maintained by the Postal Service. The mailer then is
required to update the address on the mailpiece for any addressee with
a COA on file. The goal is to reduce the number of mailpieces in a
mailing that require forwarding or return. Mailers who claim Presorted
or automation prices for First-Class Mail or any Standard Mail prices
must certify that they have updated the mailing addresses contained in
the mailing within the 95-day period preceding the mailing date.
All deficient mailings of commercial First-Class Mail pieces have
been subject to single-piece First-Class Mail prices for each piece in
the mailing. In the absence of any action, the same consequence would
have applied to Standard Mail mailings that Postal Service acceptance
procedures determine to be deficient. This would have been a
substantial increase in postage for Standard Mail pieces found to be
deficient at acceptance.
To mitigate this effect, the Postal Service announced in 2008 that
we would assess 7 cents per piece for all pieces in Standard Mail
mailings with an error rate (pieces with a COA that were not updated/
total pieces with COAs) greater than a tolerance established by the
Postal Service. The assessment was initially intended for May 2009
implementation. However, in response to strong customer concerns, we
deferred implementation until January 2010 via an announcement in our
April 6, 2009 Federal Register notice.
Consistent with the treatment of Standard Mail, the Postal Service
has now decided to apply a 7-cent per piece additional postage charge
for First-Class Mail pieces determined by acceptance procedures to have
an error rate of greater than 30 percent, effectively lowering the
additional postage assessments for First-Class Mail pieces. In
addition, for both First-Class Mail and Standard Mail, the additional
postage charge would apply to the percentage of the mailing, above the
Postal Service-established tolerance, determined by sampling to be in
error.
Procedures
Performance-Based Verification procedures at acceptance allow the
Postal Service to test a sample of the mailing and evaluate the
effectiveness of a customer's Move Update processes. The addresses in
the verification sample are compared to the National Change of Address
(NCOA) database. To determine the change of address accuracy in the
sample, the PBV process will determine the number of pieces within the
sample that should have been updated with COA information (A). The PBV
process will then determine the number of pieces that were not properly
updated (B). The PBV process will calculate the error rate in the
sample by dividing B
[[Page 55141]]
by A (B / A = error rate). At this time the Postal Service has
established an acceptable tolerance rate of 30%. In other words, only
if the error rate in the sample exceeds 30% will the mailing be subject
to an additional postage assessment at the time of mailing. The Postal
Service has established an exception to this process for small samples:
if the actual number of changes of address not updated found in the
sampling is five or less (B = 5 or less), the mailing will not be
subject to the assessment, regardless of the error rate.
If an assessment is warranted, the assessment depends on the extent
to which the error rate exceeds the 30% tolerance. If the error rate is
50%, the assessment will apply to 20% of the pieces in that mailing
(50%-30% = 20%) and 20% of the mailpieces in that mailing will be
assessed an additional 7 cents in postage. Additional examples follow.
If 40% of COAs were not updated, then the assessment will
apply to 10% (40%-30%) of the pieces in the mailing.
If 80% of COAs were not updated, then the assessment will
apply to 50% (80%-30%) of the pieces in the mailing.
We will analyze the results of the PBV samples periodically, and
will adjust the tolerance as needed to ensure the effectiveness of
mailers' Move Update processes.
The Postal Service adopts the following changes to Mailing
Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual
(DMM), incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations.
See 39 CFR 111.1.
List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111
Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service.
0
Accordingly, 39 CFR part 111 is amended as follows:
PART 111--[AMENDED]
0
1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 111 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 414,
416, 3001-3011, 3201-3219, 3403-3406, 3621, 3622, 3626, 3632, 3633,
and 5001.
0
2. Revise the following sections of Mailing Standards of the United
States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) as follows:
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail
Manual (DMM)
* * * * *
200 Commercial Mail Letters and Cards
* * * * *
230 First-Class Mail
233 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Basic Standards for First-Class Mail Letters
* * * * *
3.5 Move Update Standard
* * * * *
[Add new 3.5.4 to read as follows:]
3.5.4 Basis for Additional Postage Assessments
Pieces in mailings that were not addressed in accordance with the
Move Update Standard (under 3.5) are ineligible for presort postage
prices. Pieces subject to an additional postage assessment at the time
of mailing for change-of-address errors are subject to additional
postage of $0.07 per assessed piece according to procedures published
in the Move Update Mailer Advisement Policy, available at
ribbs.usps.gov.
* * * * *
240 Standard Mail
243 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Basic Standards for Standard Mail Letters
* * * * *
3.9 Move Update Standard
3.9.1 Basic Standards
* * * Addresses subject to the Move Update standard must meet these
requirements:
* * * * *
[Delete item d in its entirety.]
* * * * *
[Add new 3.9.4 to read as follows:]
3.9.4 Basis for Additional Postage Assessment
Pieces in mailings that were not addressed in accordance with the
Move Update Standard (under 3.9) are ineligible for Standard Mail
prices. Pieces subject to an additional postage assessment at the time
of mailing for change of address errors are subject to additional
postage of $0.07 per assessed piece according to procedures published
in the Move Update Mailer Advisement Policy, available at
ribbs.usps.gov.
* * * * *
300 Commercial Mail Flats
* * * * *
330 First-Class Mail
333 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Eligibility Standards for First-Class Mail Flats
* * * * *
3.5 Move Update Standards
* * * * *
[Add new 3.5.4 to read as follows:]
3.5.4 Basis for Additional Postage Assessment
Pieces in mailings that were not addressed in accordance with the
Move Update Standard (under 3.5) are ineligible for presort postage
prices. Pieces subject to an additional postage assessment at the time
of mailing for change of address errors are subject to additional
postage of $0.07 per assessed piece according to procedures published
in the Move Update Mailer Advisement Policy, available at
ribbs.usps.gov.
* * * * *
340 Standard Mail
343 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Basic Standards for Standard Mail Flats
* * * * *
3.9 Move Update Standard
3.9.1 Basic Standards
* * * Addresses subject to the Move Update standard must meet these
requirements:
* * * * *
[Delete item d in its entirety.]
* * * * *
[Add new 3.9.4 to read as follows:]
3.9.4 Basis for Additional Postage Assessment
Pieces in mailings that were not addressed in accordance with the
Move Update Standard (under 3.9) are ineligible for Standard Mail
prices. Pieces subject to an additional postage assessment at the time
of mailing for change of address errors are subject to additional
postage of $0.07 per assessed piece according to procedures published
in the Move Update Mailer Advisement Policy, available at
ribbs.usps.gov.
* * * * *
400 Commercial Parcels
* * * * *
430 First-Class Mail
433 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
[[Page 55142]]
3.0 Basic Standards for First-Class Mail Parcels
* * * * *
3.5 Move Update Standard
* * * * *
[Add new 3.5.4 to read as follows:]
3.5.4 Basis for Additional Postage Assessment
Pieces in mailings that were not addressed in accordance with the
Move Update Standard (under 3.5) are ineligible for presort postage
prices. Pieces subject to an additional postage assessment at the time
of mailing for change of address errors are subject to additional
postage of $0.07 per assessed piece according to procedures published
in the Move Update Mailer Advisement Policy, available at
ribbs.usps.gov.
* * * * *
440 Standard Mail
443 Prices and Eligibility
* * * * *
3.0 Basic Standards for Standard Mail Parcels
* * * * *
3.9 Move Update Standard
3.9.1 Basic Standards
* * * Addresses subject to the Move Update standard must meet these
requirements:
* * * * *
[Delete item d in its entirety.]
* * * * *
[Add new 3.9.4 to read as follows:]
3.9.4 Basis for Additional Postage Assessment
Pieces in mailings that were not addressed in accordance with the
Move Update Standard (under 3.9) are ineligible for presort postage
prices. Pieces subject to an additional postage assessment at the time
of mailing for change of address errors are subject to additional
postage of $0.07 per assessed piece according to procedures published
in the Move Update Mailer Advisement Policy, available at
ribbs.usps.gov.
* * * * *
We will publish an appropriate amendment to 39 CFR Part 111 to
reflect these changes.
Stanley F. Mires,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. E9-25462 Filed 10-26-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P