E217 Basic Rate Eligibility

Summary

E217 describes the eligibility requirements for Periodicals claiming the Outside-County, Outside-County Preferred, Outside County Science-of-Agriculture, and In-County rates. It also discusses the discount qualifications.

1.0 Outside-County Rates

1.1Description

Outside-County rates apply to copies of an authorized Periodicals publication mailed by a publisher or news agent that are not eligible for In-County rates under 4.0. Outside-County rates consist of an addressed per piece charge, a zoned charge for the weight of the advertising portion of the publication, and an unzoned charge for the weight of the nonadvertising portion.

1.2Nonrequester and Nonsubscriber Copies

For excess noncommingled mailings under E215, nonrequester and nonsubscriber copies are not eligible for Periodicals rates unless the publication is authorized under E212.2.0 and is not authorized to contain general advertising. Nonrequester and nonsubscriber copies in excess of the 10% allowance under E215 are subject to Outside-County rates when commingled with requester or subscriber copies, as appropriate.

2.0 Outside-County Preferred Rate Discount

Periodicals publications qualifying as Nonprofit or Classroom Periodicals under E270 receive a 5% discount off the total Outside-County postage, excluding the postage for advertising pounds. Requester publications are not eligible for the Preferred rate discount. Nonsubscriber copies claiming the Preferred rate discount are subject to the standards in E215.

3.0 Outside-County Science-of-Agriculture Rates

3.1Authorization

To be mailed at the Science-of-Agriculture Periodicals rates, a publication must be granted Periodicals entry in other than the requester category and granted a Science-of-Agriculture rate authorization.

3.2Eligibility

Science-of-Agriculture rates apply to Outside-County copies of authorized Periodicals publications mailed by publishers or news agents when the total copies provided during any 12-month period to subscribers residing in rural areas are at least 70% of the total number of copies distributed by any means for any purpose.

3.3Other Rates

All Outside-County rates and discounts apply, except for separate rates for DDU, DSCF, DADC, and zones 1 and 2. Nonsubscriber copies are subject to E215. Each piece must meet the standards for the rates or discounts claimed.

3.4Application Procedures

The Science-of-Agriculture rate is available only after USPS authorization. An application or written request for Science-of-Agriculture rates must be filed at the publication’s original entry post office. Application may be made by submitting an application for Periodicals mailing privileges (Form 3500) or by filing for reentry (on Form 3510) after Periodicals mailing privileges are authorized. The applicant must submit evidence to show eligibility under the corresponding standards in E217.

4.0 In-County Rates

4.1Subscriber Copies

In-County rates apply to subscriber copies of any issue of a Periodicals publication (except a requester publication) when they are entered within the county in which the post office of original entry is located for delivery to addresses within that county, if one of the following is met:

a. The total paid circulation of such issue is less than 10,000 copies.

b. The number of paid copies of such issue distributed within the county of publication is more than 50% of the total paid circulation of such issue.

4.2Exceptional Conditions

The standard in 4.1 also is applied under any of these exceptional conditions:

a. If an entry office postmaster directs the publisher to deposit copies of the publication at a postal facility serving that office, those copies are considered as mailed at the entry office for purposes of In-County rates.

b. A copy addressed to a destination within the county of publication is eligible for In-County rates when the entry post office serving that address is outside the county.

c. Each Periodicals publication (except a requester publication or commingled nonsubscriber copies above the 10% allowance) having original entry at an incorporated city situated entirely within a county or contiguous to one or more counties in the same state, but politically independent of such county or counties, is considered within a part of the county with which it is principally contiguous. Copies mailed into that county are charged postage at the In-County rates. Where more than one county is involved, the publisher selects the principal county and notifies the postmaster.

4.3Nonsubscriber Copies

During a calendar year, the total number of nonsubscriber copies mailed at In-County rates may not exceed 10% of the number of subscriber copies mailed at In-County rates. The number of nonsubscriber copies mailed at In-County rates must be included in the determination of the overall 10% allowance under E215. Effectively, the allowance for nonsubscriber copies mailable at the In-County rates is the 10% allowed under this standard or the overall 10% limit under E215, whichever occurs first.

4.4Other Rates

Each piece also must meet the standards for the rates and discounts claimed. Subject to E250, the delivery unit piece rate applies to each piece claimed in the pound rate portion at the delivery unit rate.

5.0 Discounts

The following discounts are available:

a. Nonadvertising. The nonadvertising discount applies to the Outside-County piece rate and is computed under P013.

b. Destination Entry. Destination entry discounts are available under E250 for copies entered at specific USPS facilities.

c. Pallet. Two discounts are available in R200 for Outside-County rate nonletters (flats and irregular parcels) packaged and placed directly on pallets: a destination entry pallet discount, and a discount for all other pallets. Only one of the two discounts may be claimed. Except for overflow pallets, each pallet must contain a minimum of 250 pounds of addressed pieces. Pieces taken to destination delivery units (DDUs) that cannot accept pallets need meet only the minimum weight requirement. To determine whether a 5-digit delivery facility can handle pallets, refer to the Drop Shipment Product maintained by the National Customer Support Center (NCSC) (see G043).

6.0 Copies Mailed by Public

The applicable single-piece First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, or Package Services rate is charged on copies of publications mailed by the general public (i.e., other than publishers or registered news agents) and on copies returned to publishers or news agents.

DMM Issue 58 (8-10-03)

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