USPS Proposed Rule on Postmarks

USPS published Federal Register notice – Postmarks and Possession on 08/12/2025 seeking to define DMM language regarding how USPS will process blue box mail entered at RTO offices. Those blue boxes located in the RTO area won’t necessarily be postmarked the day the mailpieces are deposited.

This is important for our citizenry to understand how their utility, insurance, and credit card payments may be affected. If my parents dropped their insurance payment off expecting the letter to be postmarked (or cancelled) at their rural Post Office that same day, their envelope now sits overnight. This means the utility/finance/insurance company will see the postmark date indicates the customer remittance was late. Some statement-focused Mail Owners have software that scans the postmark date and is used for determining late payment occurrences, late fees, service disconnections and insurance cancellation notices.

We as Mail Service Providers are informing our Mail Owners who specialize in statement mailings how this may be impactful to their customer service and operations. I ask that you share this information with your teams and your Mail Owners.

Comments to the Federal Register notice are due by September, 11, 2025.