762 Mail of Domestic Origin

762.1 Addressee Moved to Another Country

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, and Package Services) 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

Handle an undeliverable domestic mailpiece that is addressed to a U.S. addressee and that bears a foreign return address based on its class and size and shape, as noted below:

1. A domestic postcard: Return to the foreign address.
2. A domestic letter-size or flat-size mailpiece that does not appear to contain merchandise: Return to the foreign address.
3. A domestic Registered Mail mailpiece that does not appear to contain merchandise: Return to the foreign address. In case of loss of a Registered Mail letter after dispatch from the United States, the mailer agrees to the indemnity payment provisions of 934.2, regardless of the amount of registry fee paid.
4. A domestic Certified Mail letter-size or flat-size mailpiece that does not appear to contain merchandise: Return to the foreign address.
5. Regardless of mail class, a domestic parcel-size mailpiece or any domestic mailpiece that appears to contain merchandise: Hold at the Post Office of the addressee. While holding the piece, the Post Office submits a request for instructions to International Claims, St. Louis ASC, P.O. Box 80146, St. Louis, MO 63180-0146. The request must include the following information:
1. The names and addresses of the sender and the addressee.
2. The weight of the item and any extra services.
3. The nature and value of contents if known.

The International Claims Office will contact the sender for disposition instructions, completion of the required customs forms, and payment of additional postage.