USPS Clarifies Their Clarification
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Back in October of 2004, the United States Postal Service issued new wording to help clarify how personal information would be handled in evaluating whether or not a mailpiece is eligable for Standard (or Non-Profit) Mail rates. Unfortunately, the ruling seemed to raise more questions than it answered regarding eligiblity, particularly for non-profit organizations and their fund-raising campaigns.
In response to the deluge of comments and questions, the USPS has issued Customer Service Ruling PS-323 The ruling further clarifies the language of the initial standards, giving concrete examples of things they will look at when evaluating the eligibility of a mailpiece for Standard Mail rates.
From the ruling:
Mailpieces containing personal information must be entered at First-Class Mail rates unless eligible for Standard Mail or Package Services rates under the provisions of DMM 243.2* or DMM 453.2*. DMM 243.2.2** provides that personal information may not be included in a Standard Mail mailpiece unless three conditions are met: the mailpiece contains explicit advertising for a product or service for sale or lease or an explicit solicitation for a donation; all of the personal information is directly related to the advertising or solicitation; and the exclusive reason for inclusion of all of the personal information is to support the advertising or solicitation in the mailpiece. As explained further under section 2, for mail within the nonprofit subclasses of Standard Mail, the term “solicitation for a donation” encompasses a request for any monetary or nonmonetary support for a nonprofit purpose of the mailer.
Lone Oak Companies recommends that you read through the Customer Service Ruling and please contact us with any questions you may have regarding the eligibility of your mailpeice.
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