[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 111 (Friday, June 10, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33836-33838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-11472]


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POSTAL SERVICE

39 CFR Part 111


Premium Forwarding Service

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This final rule sets forth the standards adopted by the Postal 
ServiceTM to implement the Premium Forwarding Service (PFS) 
experiment.
    The Postal Service is conducting the PFS experiment to measure 
interest in a new service that forwards mail to residential customers 
who are temporarily away from their primary address. With PFS, your 
local Post Office will ship mail to your temporary address once a week 
via Priority Mail[reg].

DATES: Effective Date: This final rule is effective at 12:01 a.m. on 
August 7, 2005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Klutts, 202-268-7268.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Today, customers can submit a temporary 
forwarding request for their First-Class Mail and Periodicals mail. 
Customers also can have their mail held at the Post Office for short 
periods of time. Premium Forwarding Service (PFS) is a two-year, 
nationwide experiment that reships all of a customer's mail on a weekly 
basis.
    PFS is a personalized service designed for sending mail from a 
customer's primary residential address to a temporary address using 
Priority Mail. With PFS, the Postal Service boxes and ships mail to 
customers who are away for at least two weeks and up to one year.
    Express Mail and Priority Mail packages that are too large to fit 
inside the weekly PFS package are immediately and separately rerouted 
at no additional charge. Package Services parcels that are too large to 
fit inside the PFS package are forwarded with postage due. All mail 
requiring a delivery scan or a signature also is separately rerouted. 
Examples include Certified Mail, Registered Mail, and mail with 
Delivery Confirmation.
    PFS generally provides a shipment of a customer's mail every 
Wednesday from their primary address to their temporary address by 
Priority Mail. There is an initial enrollment fee of $10, plus a weekly 
per-shipment charge of $10.
    Customers who wish to participate must submit an application to the 
Post Office responsible for delivery to their primary address and pay 
the enrollment fee and shipment charges for the full duration they will 
be away. The minimum enrollment is two weeks, and the maximum is one 
year.
    Customers who wish to cancel PFS early may request a refund for any 
unused weekly shipment charges from the Post Office serving their 
primary address. Additionally, customers can contact that Post Office 
prior to the termination date to extend PFS service (up to one year 
total) as needed.
    The Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service approved 
the PFS experiment on May 10, 2005. The standards, which will be 
incorporated into Mailing Standards of the United

[[Page 33837]]

States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[reg]) are included in 
the Opinion and Recommended Decision of the Postal Rate Commission 
Approving Stipulation and Agreement for Experimental Premium Forwarding 
Service, Docket No. MC2005-1.
    The mailing standards for the two-year Premium Forwarding Service 
experiment are provided below.
    The Postal Service is making the following amendments to Mailing 
Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 
(DMM), which is incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal 
Regulations (see 39 CFR 111).

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111

    Administrative practice and procedure, United States Postal 
Service.

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, 
3001-3011, 3201-3219, 3403-3406, 3621, 3626, 5001.


0
2. Revise the following sections of the DMM, as set forth below:

700 Special Standards

* * * * *

709 Experimental Classifications and Rates

* * * * *
    [Add new 709.8.0 to read as follows:]

8.0 Premium Forwarding Service

8.1 Description and Purpose

    Premium Forwarding Service (PFS) is a 2-year experiment that, upon 
payment of postage and fees, provides residential delivery customers 
and certain post office box customers an option to have all mail 
addressed to their primary address reshipped or rerouted to a temporary 
address mainly by means of a weekly Priority Mail shipment. PFS is 
available for a period of not less than 2 weeks and not more than 1 
year. This optional service is in addition to the current piece-by-
piece forwarding service currently offered by USPS, whereby only 
certain mailpieces are forwarded.

8.2 Eligibility

8.2.1 Use

    Participation in PFS is subject to the following standards:
    a. PFS is available to residential delivery customers and all size-
one or size-two post office box customers.
    b. A customer must submit a completed PFS application, Form 8176, 
to the post office (or a station or branch of that post office) 
responsible for delivery to the customer's primary address. The 
enrollment fee and reshipment charges for the full duration of 
requested service must accompany the application form.
    c. Customers must designate on the application form whether the 
order is for an ``individual'' or an ``entire household.''
    d. PFS is available for a period of not less than 2 weeks and not 
more than 1 year.
    e. PFS is available only from and to domestic addresses.
    f. PFS is available to, but not from, central point delivery 
addresses, APO and FPO addresses, and U.S. State Department addresses.

8.2.2 Prohibited Use

    Customers cannot have a temporary or permanent forwarding order 
active simultaneously with enrollment in PFS. PFS cannot be combined 
with any ancillary or extra services beyond those purchased by the 
original sender. In addition, PFS is not available for:
    a. Customers whose primary address is a size-three, size-four, or 
size-five post office box. Residential customers who use these post 
office box sizes due to the unavailability of smaller boxes may request 
a waiver of this restriction.
    b. Customers whose primary address is a business delivery address.
    c. Customers whose primary address is a central point to which the 
USPS provides delivery in bulk to a third party, such as a commercial 
mail receiving agency (CMRA), RV park, trailer park, or hotel.

8.3 Rates and Fees

8.3.1 Enrollment

    Customers must pay a $10.00 nonrefundable enrollment fee.

8.3.2 Charge Per Reshipment

    The reshipment charge for each Priority Mail shipment is $10.00 for 
each week of service requested.

8.4 Extension or Early Termination

8.4.1 Early Termination of Service

    A customer who terminates PFS early (e.g., a customer prepays for 
10 weeks but returns to a primary address after 8 weeks) may request a 
refund for any unused weekly shipment charges from the post office 
serving the primary address. The enrollment fee is nonrefundable.

8.4.2 Extension of Service

    A PFS customer may contact the post office responsible for delivery 
to the primary address prior to the termination date and extend PFS 
service (up to 1 year maximum service from the initial start date) as 
needed. An extension is processed only after the post office receives 
payment of all postage and fees for the extension.

8.5 Disposition of PFS Mail

8.5.1 Weekly Priority Mail Reshipments

    Regardless of any endorsement on a mailpiece, all mail is reshipped 
in the weekly Priority Mail shipment, except as specified below.

8.5.2 Mailpieces Requiring a Scan or Signature at Delivery

    Mailpieces requiring a scan or signature at delivery (e.g., Express 
Mail, Certified Mail, numbered insured mail, mailpieces with Delivery 
Confirmation) are appropriately scanned, then immediately and 
separately rerouted to the temporary address, subject to the following:
    a. Express Mail, Priority Mail, and First-Class Mail are rerouted 
at no additional charge.
    b. Standard Mail and Package Services mailpieces are rerouted 
postage due at the appropriate Priority Mail rate.

8.5.3 Priority Mail Not Requiring a Scan or Signature at Delivery

    Priority Mail that does not require a scan or signature at delivery 
is immediately and separately rerouted to the temporary address, unless 
it will fit into the weekly Priority Mail shipment and such inclusion 
does not delay its delivery to the temporary address.

8.5.4 Large Packages Not Requiring a Scan or Signature at Delivery

    Packages that do not fit into the weekly Priority Mail shipment and 
do not require a scan or signature at delivery are separately rerouted 
to the temporary address, subject to the following:
    a. First-Class Mail and Periodicals parcels (firm bundles) are 
rerouted at no additional charge.
    b. Standard Mail and Package Services parcels are rerouted postage 
due at the appropriate Priority Mail rate.
    c. Oversized Parcel Post parcels are rerouted postage due at the 
appropriate oversized Parcel Post rate.

8.5.5 Mailpieces Arriving Postage Due at the Primary Address

    Any mailpiece arriving postage due at the post office serving a PFS 
customer's primary address is not reshipped in the weekly Priority Mail 
shipment and will be rerouted individually. Pieces arriving postage due 
are rerouted as follows:

[[Page 33838]]

    a. Postage due First-Class Mail pieces are rerouted as First-Class 
Mail postage due. Only the original postage due amount is collected. 
There is no additional charge for rerouting the mailpiece.
    b. Postage due Priority Mail pieces are rerouted as Priority Mail 
postage due. Only the original postage due amount is collected. There 
is no additional charge for rerouting the mailpiece.
    c. Postage due for all Package Services pieces, other than 
oversized Parcel Post pieces, are rerouted as Priority Mail. The total 
postage due for Package Services pieces is the sum of the postage due 
at the time of receipt at the primary post office plus the postage due 
for rerouting the piece from the primary post office to the temporary 
post office at the appropriate Priority Mail rate.
    d. Postage due oversized Parcel Post pieces are rerouted as Parcel 
Post. The total postage due is the sum of the postage due at the time 
of receipt at the primary post office and the postage due for rerouting 
the piece from the primary post office to the temporary post office at 
the appropriate oversized Parcel Post rate.

8.6 USPS Responsibility

    The delivery post office serving a PFS customer's primary address 
must:
    a. Prepare and send the PFS shipments once each week, on 
Wednesdays.
    b. Ensure that PFS shipments end in accordance with the original or 
revised end date specified on the application form, and that delivery 
to the primary address begins (or holding mail commences under 
507.3.4.4) as designated by the customer.
    c. Ensure that Label 85 (Permit No. G-400) is properly affixed to 
each reshipped PFS Priority Mail package. Postage meter or PVI postage 
must not be affixed.
* * * * *

Neva R. Watson,
Attorney, Legislative.
[FR Doc. 05-11472 Filed 6-9-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P