National Customer Rulings

The National Customer Rulings program provides strategic customers with decisions on mailpiece design, price eligibility, and issues classification decisions on the prices that will be charged on a customer's proposed mailings before deposit at a Business Mail Entry office. These decisions provide customers with increased confidence in planning and budgeting for mailings and certainty of acceptance at entry points. The PCSC works with each customer to customize the procedures for its participation in the program.

Overview of the Process

• Prior to mailing, the customer submits a proposed mailpiece design and requested price to the PCSC, in electronic or print format, along with information concerning volumes, locations, and dates of mailing.
• The PCSC reviews the piece against USPS mailing standards and requests additional information if needed. The PCSC then issues a decision on the mailpiece.
• If the mailpiece design is approved for the price requested, the PCSC issues a pre-approved national decision that may be presented with the mailing at any USPS acceptance unit where the mailer is authorized to enter that mail.
• The PCSC communicates decisions by e-mail to the customer and its mailing locations, with a printed follow-up letter if applicable.
• If the piece is not approved for the price requested, the PCSC provides the reason, and the mailer may modify the mailpiece and resubmit.

Benefits to the Customer

• The program provides a single point of contact to streamline communication and operations.
• Mailpieces for review may be sent via e-mail using a PDF file format, and the PCSC will communicate decisions to customers and to their mailing locations, with a follow-up letter/e-mail if applicable. This process expedites turnaround time for review and decisions.
• Decisions are made prior to mailing and are valid at all USPS acceptance points where the customer is authorized to enter that mail, ensuring consistency in the application of prices.
• These decisions eliminate questions and uncertainty at acceptance. Customers need only present their PCSC approvals at the time of mailing.
• The program reduces the possibility of disputes and appeals and reduces costly efforts to resolve them.
• The PCSC works with each customer to customize the procedures for its participation in the program to ensure mutual understanding of roles, responsibilities, and expectations.
• Customers will be able to plan their mailing campaigns with confidence and maintain projected budgets.

How to Get Started

The National Customer Rulings program is voluntary and available to high-volume customers who present mail at multiple USPS locations. Interested customers should provide general information regarding their mailings (i.e., types, classes, volumes, and locations) and their contact information using the National Customer Rulings Application Form ( HTML or PDF) or may direct inquiries to:

Manager, National Customer Rulings
Pricing and Classification Service Center
United States Postal Service
90 Church Street, Suite 3100
New York, NY 10007-2951