41 C.F.R. Subpart A—General Provisions
Title 41 - Public Contracts and Property Management
This part prescribes policy and requirements for the efficient, effective, economical, and secure management of incoming, internal, and outgoing mail in Federal agencies. This part is governed by Section 2 of Public Law 94–575, the Federal Records Management Amendments of 1976 (44 U.S.C. 2901–2904), as amended, which requires the Administrator of General Services to provide guidance and assistance to Federal agencies on records management and defines the processing of mail by Federal agencies as a records management activity. In this part, “I”, “me”, and “you” (in its singular sense) refer to agency mail managers and/or facility mail managers; the context makes it clear which usage is intended in each case. “We”, “us”, and “you” (in its plural sense) refer to your Federal agency. In this part: (a) “Must” identifies steps that Federal agencies are required to take; and (b) “Should” identifies steps that GSA recommends. Yes, this part applies to you if you work in a Federal agency, as defined in §102–192.35. This part applies to all materials that might pass through a Federal mail processing center, including: (a) All internal, incoming, and outgoing materials such as envelopes, bulk mail, expedited mail, individual packages up to 70 pounds, publications, and postal cards, regardless of whether or not they currently pass through a particular mail center; (b) Similar materials carried by agency personnel, contractors, the United States Postal Service (USPS), and all other carriers of such items; and (c) Electronic mail only if it is printed out and mailed as described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section; however, this part encourages agencies to maximize use of electronic mail in lieu of printed media, so long as it is cost-effective. The following definitions apply to this part: Agency mail manager means the person who manages the overall mail communications program of a Federal agency. The agency mail manager also represents the agency in its relations with mail service providers, other agency mail managers, and the GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy. Class of mail means the 5 categories of domestic mail as defined by the United States Postal Service (USPS) in the Domestic Mail Manual, (C100 through C600.1.z). These are: (1) Express Mail and Priority Mail. (2) First Class. (3) Standard Mail (e.g., bulk marketing mail). (4) Package Services. (5) Periodicals. Commingling means the merging of outgoing mail from one facility or agency with outgoing mail from at least one other source. Expedited mail is a generic term that means mail designated for delivery more quickly than the USPS's normal delivery times (which vary by class of mail). Examples of expedited mail include USPS Express Mail and overnight and two-day delivery by other service providers. Facility mail manager means the person responsible for mail in a specific Federal facility. There may be many facility mail managers within a Federal agency. See subpart G of this part for additional information about facility mail managers. Federal agency (or agency) means: (1) Any executive department as defined in 5 U.S.C. 101; (2) Any wholly owned Government corporation as defined in 31 U.S.C. 9101; (3) Any independent establishment in the executive branch as defined in 5 U.S.C. 104; and (4) Any establishment in the legislative branch, except the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Architect of the Capitol, and all activities under the direction of the Architect of the Capitol (44 U.S.C. 2901(14)). Federal facility (or facility) means any office building, installation, base, etc., where Federal agency employees work; this includes any facility where the Federal government pays postage expenses even though few Federal employees are involved in processing the mail. Incoming mail means any mail that comes into the agency delivered by any service provider, such as the USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL. Internal mail means mail generated within a Federal facility that is delivered within that facility or to a nearby facility of the same agency, so long as it is delivered by agency personnel or a dedicated agency contractor (i.e., not a service provider). Large agency means a Federal agency whose total annual mail payments to all service providers exceeds $1 million. See appendix A to this part for a current list of the large agencies. Mail means the types of mail described in §102–192.30. Mail costs means allocations and expenses for postage and all other mail costs (e.g., payments to service providers, mail center personnel costs, mail center overhead, etc.). Mail piece design means laying out and printing items to be mailed such that they can be processed efficiently and effectively by automated mail-processing equipment. Mail system means all of the components of your mail operation including your methods for capturing data on your mail users, their volumes, and costs. The mail system includes the financial and accounting systems. It can be automated, manual or both. Official Mail Accounting System (OMAS) is the Postal Service's government-unique system used to track postage used by most Federal agencies. OMAS is used in conjunction with each agency's online payment and accounting system (OPAC) account at the Treasury. Outgoing mail means mail generated within a Federal facility that is going outside that facility and is delivered by a service provider. Postage means money due or paid to any service provider. Presort means a mail preparation used to receive a discounted mailing rate by sorting mail according to USPS standards. Program Level means a subsidiary part of a Federal agency that generates a significant quantity of outgoing mail. It could apply to an agency organizational entity, program, or project. (See subpart H of this part for additional information.) Service provider means any agency or company that delivers mail. Some examples of service providers are USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, courier services, the Military Postal Service Agency, the State Department of Diplomatic Pouch and Mail Division and other Federal agencies providing mail services. Special services means those mail services that require extra payment over basic postage; e.g., certified mail, business reply mail, registered mail, insurance, merchandise return service, certificates of mailing, return receipts, and delivery confirmation. Unauthorized use of agency postage means the use of penalty or commercial mail stamps, meter impressions, or other postage indicia for personal or unofficial use. Worksharing means cost-effective ways of processing outgoing mail that qualify for reduced postage rates; examples include presorting, bar coding, consolidating, and commingling. Details about mail classes can be found in the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM). The DMM is available from New Orders, Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250–7954, http://pe.usps.gov/. See §§102–2.60 through 102–2.110 of this chapter to request a deviation from the requirements of this part.
Title 41: Public Contracts and Property Management
PART 102–192—MAIL MANAGEMENT
Subpart A—General Provisions
§ 102-192.5 What does this part cover?
§ 102-192.10 What authority governs this part?
§ 102-192.15 How are “I”, “you”, “me”, “we”, and “us” used in this part?
§ 102-192.20 How are “must” and “should” used in this part?
§ 102-192.25 Does this part apply to me?
§ 102-192.30 What types of mail does this part apply to?
§ 102-192.35 What definitions apply to this part?
§ 102-192.40 Where can I get more information about the classes of mail?
§ 102-192.45 How do we request a deviation from these requirements, and who can approve it?
