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must be mailed in envelopes at the letter rate of
postage. Reply cards are not accepted in international
mail except as provided in the IMM, Chapter 1, Section
132.2.
Preparation for Mailing
The basic requirement for postcards accepted in
international mail is the same as those for domestic
mail. Postal cards and postcards should be constructed
of paper strong enough to withstand normal handling
in the postal system. Highly glazed paper, or paper
having an overall design, is not acceptable. Only
light-colored cards should be used. Brilliant colors
may not be used. Privately made postcards, except
picture post cards, must have the word “Postcard”
printed on them.
The right half of the address side of the card is
reserved for the address of the addressee and postal
notations or labels. The mailer may use the back and
the lower left half of the address side for
correspondence or writing. Postage must be placed on
the address side in the upper right corner of the card.
Undeliverable postcards are disposed of in the country
of address unless they bear the name and address of the
mailer.
Attachments
The following items may NOT be attached to
postcards:
Cloth, embroidery, or spangles
Samples of merchandise
The following items may be glued on the left half
of the address side of a card, or on the side opposite the
address side, if they are made of paper or other thin
material, and stick completely to the card:
Clippings of any kind
Illustrations or photographs
Labels other than address labels
Stamps of any kind, except that stamps that are
likely to be confused with postage stamps may
be placed only on the back
Address labels or address tabs that may be glued
to the address side of the card
Weight and Size Limits
Postcards should be approximately the same
quality and weight of a postal card. Remember that
postal cards are those cards issued and sold by the
USPS.
The size limits for postcards are minimum-3 1/2 by
5 1/2 inches and maximum-4 1/4 by 6 inches.
AEROGRAMMES
Aerogrammes are air letter sheets that can be
folded into the form of an envelope and sealed. Tape or
stickers cannot be used to seal aerogrammes. Military
post offices can order aerogrammes from the USPS for
resale to postal customers. Aerogrammes can be sent
to all countries and can be sent registered mail on
payment of the registry fee. Enclosures are not
authorized in aerogrammes. Aerogrammes that do
contain enclosures are treated as regular airmail letters.
Aerogrammes with enclosures on which postage has
not been paid at airmail letter rates must be returned to
the sender for additional postage or, if there is no return
address, forwarded to the international exchange
office (IEO) marked, “postage due.”
PRINTED MATTER
For postal purposes, printed matter is defined as
anything that has been reproduced on paper in several
identical copies by any process other than handwriting
or typewriting.
For mailing purposes, printed matter is divided
into three types (1) regular printed matter, (2) books
and sheet music, and (3) publisher’s periodicals.
Regular Printed Matter
Regular printed matter includes all printed matter
other than books, sheet music, and publisher’s
periodicals.
Books and Sheet Music
Printed matter of this type includes books that have
8 or more printed pages. The printed matter should
consist wholly of reading matter or scholarly
bibliography, or reading matter with incidental blank
spaces for notations. It must not contain any
advertising matter, other than incidental
announcements of books, in the form of book pages.
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