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Postal Explorer > International Mail Manual - Issue 32 > 7 Treatment of Inbound Mail > 760 Forwarding
761 General Procedures
761.1 Items Addressed to Foreign Countries
Items addressed to foreign countries generally will be forwarded to a new
address of the addressee in the country of destination, subject to collection of
redirection charges prescribed by the internal regulations of the country.
The original destination country may forward an item to a third country if the
item complies with the conditions required for its further conveyance, and the
extra postage is paid at the time of redirection or the original destination
country is satisfied that it will be able to recover the redirection charges.
The sender may forbid any forwarding by placing an endorsement to that
effect on the wrapper in a language understood in the country of destination.
Forwarded items should be scanned/entered into the handheld scanner along
with the corresponding event code.
762 Mail of Domestic Origin
762.11 Letters and Postcards
Postcards and unregistered letters that do not appear to contain merchandise
and do not bear a notice forbidding forwarding may be redirected to the
original addressee in another country. Letters and cards are forwarded
without prepayment of additional postage.
762.12 Mail Other Than Letters and Postcards
Domestic mail (Periodicals Mail, Standard Mail (A), and Standard Mail (B))
addressed to a domestic addressee who has moved to another country must
not be forwarded to another country but must be returned to the sender.
Domestic mail that cannot be returned to the sender because of an incorrect,
incomplete, illegible, or missing return address must be treated as dead mail
and disposed of as provided in DMM 507. (See 762.2 for items bearing
foreign return address.)
762.2 Undeliverable Domestic Mail Bearing U.S. Postage and a
Foreign Return Address
a. Domestic letters that do not appear to contain merchandise and
domestic postcards that bear the sender's request for return must be
returned to the foreign return address. Postcards not bearing the
sender's request for return are disposed of as waste.
b. If a mailer places a foreign return address on registered or certified
letter mail, he or she is requesting, in effect, that the letter be returned
to the foreign return address if it is not deliverable at the U.S. address.
Further, the mailer thereby agrees, in case of loss of a registered letter
after dispatch from the United States, to the indemnity payment
provisions of 934, regardless of the amount of registry fee paid.
c. First-Class Mail containing merchandise, Standard Mail items, or
Package Services parcels, which bear a foreign return address, must
be held at the Post Office of the addressee, while a request for
instructions is sent to the International Claims and Inquiries Office
(ICIO) that handles inquiries for the country in which the sender is
located (see ). Requests must include the following
information:
(1) Names and addresses of sender and addressee.
(2) Weight of the item and any special services.
(3) Nature and value of contents if known. The International Claims
and Inquiries Office will contact the sender for disposition
instructions, completion of the required customs forms, and
payment of additional postage.
d. All other undeliverable domestic mail other than letters, postcards, and
parcels bearing a foreign return address must be treated as dead mail
and disposed of as provided in DMM 507.
763 Items Mailed Aboard Ships (Paquebot)
Mail posted aboard commercial vessels on the high seas may bear postage
stamps of the country whose flag the vessel flies. On arrival at a port, an
officer of the ship must give the mail to the post office of the foreign city. That
post office must cancel the stamps and dispatch the items. If the stamps are
foreign, the Post Office facility must use a special Paquebot postmark or
apply the word "PAQUEBOT" to the envelope in ink or with a rubber stamp.
Mail to be forwarded by air must be accompanied by International Form
CN 65, Bill. Weight of Airmail Items (formerly AV-2) (similar to PS Form 2710,
Statement of Net Weight of the Airmail), prepared by the ship's officer,
showing the weight of the items for each destination, including the United
States. The receiving Post Office facility must postmark Form CN 65 in the
lower right section titled "Timbre du bureau destinataire." When airmail is
presented at a Post Office facility that is not an international airmail exchange
office, the postmaster must transmit the Form CN 65 to the nearest
installation listed below:
INTERNATIONAL RECORDS UNIT
US POSTAL SERVICE
BUILDING 250
JOHN F KENNEDY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
JAMAICA NY 11430-9506
INTERNATIONAL RECORDS UNIT
US POSTAL SERVICE
11690 NW 25TH ST
MIAMI FL 33172-1702
INTERNATIONAL RECORDS UNIT
US POSTAL SERVICE
ROOM 216
2850 BAYSHORE BLVD
DALY CITY CA 94013-0015
Mail posted aboard a U.S. ship on the high seas, or aboard any ship while in
a U.S. port, must bear U.S. stamps and is not entitled to Paquebot
cancellation at a U.S. Post Office facility.
763.4 Forwarding Ship Passenger and Crew Mail
763.41 Items That Do Not Contain Merchandise
As an alternative to 762 and 764, unregistered items or correspondence that
does not contain merchandise addressed to crew members or passengers on
board a ship may be forwarded in the international mail, by surface or air, in
one forwarding envelope addressed to a ship or travel agency under the
following conditions:
a. The forwarding envelope in which the items are forwarded should
measure approximately 6 x 9 inches and be supplied by the sender. Do
not put postage on forwarding envelope, but place the following
endorsement in the upper right corner: "THIS ENVELOPE CONTAINS
PREPAID LETTERS FORWARDED IN BULK BY AUTHORITY OF THE
VICE PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS, U.S. POSTAL
SERVICE. ANY REQUIRED ADDITIONAL INTERNATIONAL
POSTAGE HAS BEEN AFFIXED TO THE ARTICLES ENDORSED."
b. The forwarding envelope must be presented unsealed at the mailing
office for a check of its contents. Any additional postage required must
be paid on each of the articles enclosed, as follows:
(1) Articles of U.S. origin. Pay on each article the difference between
the postage already paid and the appropriate international rate
(surface or air) to the new country of destination.
(2) Articles originating in other countries. If the envelope is to be
forwarded by air, affix full air postage from the United States to
the new country of destination on each article enclosed. No
additional postage is required if the envelope is to be forwarded
by surface means.
c. If the envelope is intended to be sent by air, place Label 19-A or Label
19-B in the upper left corner of the envelope immediately below the
return address of the sender.
d. The total weight of the forwarding envelope and its contents is limited to
18 ounces.
763.42 Accepting Employee's Responsibility
The accepting employee must check the envelope to see that any required
additional postage has been purchased, affixed, and canceled, and then seal
the envelope. The accepting employee must also apply the office date stamp
and his or her initials immediately below the sender's endorsement
prescribed in 763.41a.
764 Mail of Foreign Origin
764.1 Forwarding Within the United States
764.11 Mail Other Than Periodicals and Parcels
Except for periodicals and parcels, items received by surface may be
forwarded within the United States by surface and items received by air may
be forwarded within the United States by air without an additional postage
charge or fee, unless there is a notation forbidding their being forwarded.
764.121 Periodicals from Canada
Periodicals Mail publications from Canada are forwarded in the same manner
as domestic Periodicals Mail (see DMM 507).
764.122 Periodicals from Other Countries
Periodicals from all other countries will be forwarded, at no charge, for
60 days from the effective date of the change-of-address order. If the
periodical is received after the 60-day forwarding period, the Post Office
facility of original destination address must handle it as follows:
a. If it bears the sender's request for return, it must be endorsed "MOVED,
NOT FORWARDABLE," and returned to origin.
b. All other periodicals and any subsequent copies received must be
disposed of as waste.
c. At no time will an address correction notice be provided to the mailer.
764.131 Surface
a. A parcel may be forwarded to the original addressee or to an alternate
addressee at another Post Office facility in the United States by surface
transportation, subject to collection on delivery of postage at the U.S.
domestic zone rate.
b. The Post Office facility forwarding a parcel by surface in the United
States must mark the wrapper "POSTAGE DUE," and indicate the
amount of domestic postage necessary for forwarding and any
applicable storage charges.
c. When delivering a forwarded parcel, the Post Office facility must collect
the necessary amount for domestic transmission, even if the Postage
Due marking is omitted. The customs clearance and delivery fee
described in 712 is also collected on any forwarded, dutiable parcel.
764.132 Air
Forwarding by air must be prepaid.
764.2 Forwarding to Another Country
764.21 Mail Other than Periodicals and Parcels
764.211 General
Items may be forwarded to another country if that country accepts mail of the
classification involved.
764.212 Method of Forwarding
Airmail letters and cards marked "PRIORITY," which do not bear instructions
forbidding their forwarding, are forwarded by air without additional postage.
Surface and all other items and parcels are forwarded by surface.
764.22 Periodicals
The provisions of 764.12 apply in the case of publications addressed to
persons who have filed a change of address to another country.
764.23 Parcels
764.231 Forwarding by Surface Mail
If the addressee has moved to the country of the parcel's origin and no
instructions are given to deliver to a second addressee in the United States,
the Post Office facility will mark the parcel "MOVED," show the forwarding
address of the addressee, and send it by surface transportation, including
parcels originally received by air, after crossing out the "PAR AVION" label or
other airmail marking, to the appropriate exchange office for return to the
country of origin.
764.232 Delivery to an Alternate Addressee
If the addressee has moved to a third country or if the sender has included
instructions for delivery to an alternate addressee in a third country, the Post
Office facility must hold the parcel and request instructions from the
international claims and inquiries office for the country of the addressee or
sender (see ). Requests should include the following information:
a. Names and addresses of sender and addressee, or alternate
addressee.
b. Weight of the parcel.
c. Whether the parcel is insured.
d. Nature and value of the contents as shown on the customs declaration.
764.233 Undeliverable as Addressed Parcels
If the parcel is undeliverable as addressed and (a) sender instructs that, in
that event, parcel is to be abandoned, or (b) there is no return address or
forwarding address, then handle parcel in accordance with 772.15 and
772.32(c).
764.24 Customs Entry Forms
Detach both copies of Customs Form (CF) 3419, affixed to dutiable mail
being forwarded to another country, and treat them as prescribed in 713.32.
764.3 Backstamping
A legible postmark must be applied to (a) the back of letters and to the front
of postcards when received missent and (b) to all forwarded or returned
items.
765 Directory Service
Foreign mail, except foreign circulars, is provided directory service (see DMM
507).
Note: Foreign mail bearing letter-class postage, received in quantities,
and having the general characteristics of circular mail, must not be given
directory service.
Post Office facilities must hold international mail items for pickup by the
addressee for 30 days. However, inbound Express Mail items must be
treated as prescribed in Domestic Mail Manual D042.1.7.
766.21 Refused, Undeliverable, or Unforwardable Item
An item refused or known to be neither deliverable nor forwardable must be
treated as undeliverable immediately.
766.22 Request for Return
Items enclosed with a sender's request for return within a specified period
may be held for the period specified, not to exceed 60 days.
766.23 Items Conditionally Refused by Addressee
An item conditionally refused by the addressee because of the duty assessed
(see 713.233 for the procedure when the addressee asks that the U.S.
Customs Service reconsider the duty) is held until the customs office gives a
decision on the protest. If no decision is reached within 30 days, the customs
office should be asked to expedite its decision.
766.24 Items Returned From Customs Custody
An item returned from customs custody with advice that the addressee has
not complied with required customs entry procedures must be treated
immediately as undeliverable.
766.25 Request for Delivery to Alternate Addressee
An item bearing the sender's request for delivery to an alternate addressee
must be held 15 days at the disposal of the first addressee and 15 days at
the disposal of the second. If the alternate addressee is at another Post
Office facility, the item is forwarded subject to 764.1, and the 15-day period
begins from the day of receipt at the second office of address.
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