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POSTAGE METERING SYSTEMS
Navy commands using postage meters should use
them to the fullest extent possible.
Postage meters provide a means of achieving positive
accountability in one of two ways. The exact amount of
postage paid may be imprinted directly on an envelope or
a postage meter tape (fig. 3-4). The meter records the
value of the postage paid on official mailings.
Postage meters may not be owned, but must be
leased from an authorized manufacturer. A license is
required from the USPS for each postage meter leased to
a command. The license identifies the civil or military
post office where the postage meter is registered and the
location and model number of the postage meter.
The postage is initially set on the meter, then reset
each time additional postage is required. Only
authorized USPS representatives at the post office
where the meter is registered, or the custodian of postal
effects (COPE) in the case of a Military Post Office
(MPO), may reset the meter. All postage used by
Navy-operated postage meters is paid by the
command.
Your command’s postage meters are checked in
and out of service daily. Each meter is reset quarterly
for the estimated amount of postage to be used on that
meter during the quarter. Each time the meter is set or
reset, the clerk setting the meter will complete a
Receipt for Postage Meter Setting, PS Form 3603 (fig.
3-5). A copy will be filed by the responsible official
mail manager.
When the postage meter is used, complete a Daily
Record of Meter Register Readings, PS Form 3602-A
(fig. 3-6) at the beginning and ending of each day.
When the meter is set or reset, add the amounts
appearing in the ascending and descending registers
before the meter is used. The resulting sum becomes a
control number. At the close of business each day,
these two registers must be added together. If their sum
is not the same as the control number, the meter may
have malfunctioned. Before the meter is used again,
return the meter to the location from which it is leased.
The leasing activity will either repair or replace the
meter. If your command has a postage meter, it should
also have the necessary directions on file to be
Figure 3-4.—Example of a postage meter tape.
followed if the equipment malfunctions.
Figure 3-5.—Example of a Receipt for Postage Meter Setting, PS Form 3603
3-6
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