| Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual > 100 Retail Mail Letters, Cards, Flats, and Parcels > 110 Retail MailPriority Mail Express > 115 Mail Preparation Overview 1.0 Priority Mail Express Supplies 2.0 Priority Mail Express 1-Day and 2-Day 3.0 Firm Mailing Book Priority Mail Express packaging provided by the USPS must be used only for Priority Mail Express. The mailer of any material mailed in USPS-provided Priority Mail Express packaging, regardless of how the packaging is reconfigured or how markings may be obliterated, is charged the appropriate Priority Mail Express price. The USPS-produced Priority Mail Express Legal and Padded Flat Rate Envelopes are not available at retail Post Office locations but may be ordered online at www.usps.com/store. When sealing a Flat Rate Envelope, the container flap must be able to close within the normal fold. Tape may be applied to the flap and seams to reinforce the container provided the design of the container is not enlarged by opening the sides, and the container is not reconstructed in any way. Customers mailing matter bearing a Priority Mail Express label or Priority Mail Express label generated through Click-N-Ship or another USPS-approved method are charged the appropriate Priority Mail Express price. Priority Mail Express 1-Day and 2-Day items must be labeled as follows: - For each Priority Mail Express item, the mailer may present the item at a Post Office to have a shipping label printed and affixed to the item, or use a Postal Service self-service kiosk (SSK) (where available) to generate and affix a Priority Mail Express label. Manual Post Offices continue to use Label 11-M.
- For each Priority Mail Express item, the mailer may use a Priority Mail Express label generated through Click-N-Ship or another USPS-approved method.
- For each Priority Mail Express item containing cremated remains, the mailer may label the item under 2.1a or 2.1b. The Intelligent Mail package barcode (IMpb) shipping label must have the appropriate service-type code and banner text above the barcode used for cremated remains. (See Publication 199, Intelligent Mail Package Barcode (IMpb) Implementation Guide for: Confirmation Services and Electronic Payment Systems, available on PostalPro at https://postalpro.usps.com).
Mailers may request the recipient’s signature upon delivery for Priority Mail Express items as follows: - A mailer sending a Priority Mail Express item and requiring a signature must request a signature at a Post Office or Postal Service SSK, or on a commercial label check the “Signature Required” box that a signature is requested to instruct USPS to obtain a signature. If the “Signature Required” box is selected, an image of the signature will be provided to mailers when they access delivery information. A mailer must select a signature service for Priority Mail Express COD, or Priority Mail Express with additional insurance.
- A mailer requiring a signature for a Priority Mail Express item containing cremated remains must request a signature at a Post Office or Postal Service SSK, or indicate on a commercial label that a signature is requested to instruct USPS to obtain a signature. If a signature is required, an image of the signature will be provided to mailers when they access delivery information. A mailer must select a signature service for Priority Mail Express with additional insurance.
For Priority Mail Express 1-Day Delivery, the mailer must determine whether the item is destined to a ZIP Code area to which Priority Mail Express 1-Day Delivery is offered from the point of origin. A Priority Mail Express 1-Day Delivery directory, showing detailed local information about Priority Mail Express 1-Day Delivery, is available at Post Offices. If the destination is not listed, the mailer must use Priority Mail Express 2-Day Delivery. Form 3877 is available at no cost to any mailer who mails an average of three or more Priority Mail Express items at one time, following these instructions: - Form 3877 must be presented with the items to be mailed.
- The mailer must enter on Form 3877 the full number of each Priority Mail Express item and the addressee’s name and address.
- All entries must be made in duplicate. One copy is kept by the accepting employee. The other is receipted and returned to the mailer.
- All unused parts of the address column in Form 3877 must be obliterated by drawing a diagonal line through the unused part. Any alteration must be initialed by the mailer and accepting employee.
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