| |
CHAPTER 5
SPECIAL SERVICES
Special services provide for the handling of mail in
other than the routine and ordinary manner. Special
services require fees in addition to the regular postage.
In this chapter you will learn about the special services
available to customers for domestic mail presented for
mailing at MPOs. You will also learn what specific
special services are available for the various classes of
mail and how to compute the fees for such services.
Special services for international mail will be
discussed in chapter 6.
REGISTERED MAIL
Registered mail service is designed to give added
protection for valuable and important mail. Postal
insurance coverage may be purchased for mail that is
registered in the event of loss or damage. Registered
mail is the most secure service the USPS offers. It
incorporates a system of receipts to monitor the mail’s
movement from the point of acceptance to delivery.
The sender is provided a mailing receipt, the accepting
post office maintains a copy of the receipt, and a
delivery record is kept at the post office of address. For
a complete discussion on registered mail, refer to
chapter 7.
OTHER SPECIAL SERVICES
Learning Objective:
Recognize other
special services available at an MPO.
Registered mail is one of the USPS special
services offered by MPOs. In this section you will
learn about the other special services that are available.
These special services include the following:
Certified mail
Insured mail (unnumbered and numbered)
Special handling
Certificate of mailing
Return receipt
Return receipt after mailing/duplicate return
receipt
Return receipt for merchandise
Restricted delivery
CERTIFIED MAIL
Certified mail provides the postal customer with a
mailing receipt at the time of mailing and a record of
delivery is kept at the post office of address. There is
no record kept at the accepting post office. Only
mailable matter on which postage at the First-Class or
priority mail rate has been paid will be accepted as
certified mail. Patrons should be advised that certified
mail does not provide postal insurance, thus if the
article is lost or damaged, no monetary loss can be
claimed. Certified mail may be addressed for delivery
only to the U.S. and its territories and possessions,
through APO/FPO post offices, or through the United
Nations Post Office, New York. DO NOT accept
certified articles destined to international addresses.
Certified mail receipts are completed in the
original only. The receipt is designed so that the sender
can easily complete it. When the customer presents an
article for mailing as certified mail, you, as the
accepting clerk, must postmark the receipt with an
APDS. If the proper postage and fees have been paid
on a certified article, it can be deposited in any
mailbox. However, if the sender desires to have the
receipt postmarked the article must be taken to the post
office.
Certified mail service can be combined with other
special services. Some of these other special services
include return receipts, and restricted delivery.
(Return receipts and restricted delivery will be
discussed in detail later in this chapter.)
Fees
The fee for certified mail is collected in addition to
the appropriate First-Class or priority mail postage and
any additional fee(s) for other special services. The fee
for certified mail can be found in Module R of the
DMM.
5-1
|
