[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 195 (Wednesday, October 10, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57488-57489]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-19875]


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POSTAL SERVICE

39 CFR Part 111


Temporary Mail Forwarding Policy

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Postal Service published an interim rule and request for 
comment on amendments to the standards in the Mailing Standards of the 
United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) concerning 
temporary change of address orders. The Postal Service is adopting the 
interim rule with clarifying revisions.

DATES: Effective Date: October 10, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles B. Hunt, Product Management, 
(901) 681-4651, James Wilson, Address Management, (901) 681-4676.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 7, 2006, the Postal Service 
published an interim final rule in the Federal Register revising the 
DMM standards concerning the duration and submission of change of 
address orders. 71 FR 38537. The notice also invited public comment 
concerning the changes. The Postal Service received five customer 
comments on the revisions.
    Four of the comments oppose the establishment of a six month limit 
on the duration of the initial temporary change-of-address order, 
stating their preference for a longer period such as seven or eight 
months if not the current period of up to one year. Some commenters 
appeared to misunderstand the new rule, believing that it reduces the 
amount of time for temporary change-of-address service from one year to 
six months. Others, not appearing to have this misunderstanding, based 
their comments on the inconvenience of submitting a second temporary 
change order.
    As explained in the interim rule, the change does not reduce the 
maximum time for which customers can obtain temporary change-of-address 
service, which remains up to one year. The change only requires 
customers to submit a second request if they need the service for more 
than six months. Since the majority (approximately 62 percent) of all 
temporary change-of-address requests are for less than six months, most 
requests will not be affected by the new policy. We realize that some 
customers may be inconvenienced by the requirement to submit a second 
request to extend their forwarding order. However, we will minimize the 
inconvenience by sending customers a reminder to submit a second 
temporary forwarding request if they desire additional forwarding time. 
We believe that limiting initial requests to six months will benefit 
customers who inadvertently fail to state an ending date on a temporary 
change of address order.
    Two commenters opposed extending the minimum duration of temporary 
change of address orders. One suggested that service be provided for 
shorter time periods for a fee, while the other suggested customers be 
required to submit the requests far enough in advance to permit them to 
be processed in time in order to be applied to the shorter period.
    As explained in the interim rule, the time needed to process and 
redirect the mail of temporary change-of-address orders may approach 
two weeks. Accordingly, the acceptance of short-term forwarding orders 
results in instances where mail does not arrive prior to the date the 
customer leaves the temporary address. This mail must be redirected 
again to the permanent address, resulting in additional handling by the 
Postal Service and delay in receipt of mail for the customer. The 
imposition of a fee for short-term temporary change-of-address service 
would not alter this pattern. Furthermore, while the Postal Service 
encourages customers to file change-of-address orders in advance of 
their move, it cannot, as a practical matter, require customers to 
submit them by a specific date since circumstances may require 
temporary moves on the part of a customer with little advance notice.
    Accordingly, for the reasons explained here as well as in the 
interim rule, the Postal Service adopts the interim rule as a final 
rule with the additional changes discussed below. These changes are 
based on review of the comments and further internal consideration of 
the standards.
    The additional changes to DMM 507.2.1.3 adopted in this final rule 
are intended to clarify the time periods for temporary change of 
address orders. That is, the revisions provide more precise information 
for customers by also expressing the periods in days. Accordingly, the 
changes state the minimum duration for a change of address order is 15 
days; the maximum duration for the initial change of address order is 
185 days; and the maximum duration for the additional change of address 
order is 179 days. A customer seeking the longest duration for 
temporary change of address, can accordingly submit an initial order 
for 185 days and a second order for 179 more days, thus reaching the 
maximum period of 364 days.
    The Postal Service adopts the following revisions of the DMM, 
incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 39 
CFR 111.1, 111.4.

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111

    Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service.

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Accordingly, 39 CFR part 111 is amended as follows:

PART 111--[AMENDED]

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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, 3626, 5001.


[[Page 57489]]



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2. Amend the following sections of the Mailing Standards of the United 
States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) set forth below:

500 Additional Mailing Services

* * * * *

507 Mailer Services

* * * * *

2.0 Forwarding

2.1 Change-of-Address Order

* * * * *

2.1.3 Temporary Forwarding

    [Revise paragraph in 2.1.3 as follows:]
    A customer temporarily moving away may have mail forwarded for a 
specific period of time, not to exceed 12 months (364 total consecutive 
days). The Postal Service provides temporary forwarding service for a 
period of two weeks to six months (15 to 185 days) in response to an 
initial temporary change-of-address order. Customers may extend the 
temporary forwarding period up to a maximum of 12 months (364 days), by 
filing a second change-of-address order to begin on the first day of 
the second six-month period (the 186th day) and expiring on the desired 
date, up to and including the last day of the second six-month period 
(364th day). Every temporary change-of-address order must specify both 
beginning and end dates.
* * * * *
    An appropriate amendment to 39 CFR 111.3 will be published to 
reflect these changes.

Neva Watson,
Attorney, Legislation.
[FR Doc. E7-19875 Filed 10-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P