Effective June 23, 2019, the Postal Service™ will revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), in various sections to include a more flexible option for package addressees to provide an electronic signature indicating delivery of a package.
The Postal Service is adding an electronic option for deliveries. Customers have the option to sign up through Informed Delivery® and provide a signature electronically. This will enable the customer to apply the previously provided signature to future Commercial package deliveries sent to the customer‘s address using Priority Mail Express®, Signature Confirmation™ service, or Insurance for more than $500, which eliminates the need for a signature at the time of delivery. When the shipper does not reject the use of the previously provided signature, the customer who previously provided an electronic signature will be given the option for each delivery whether to sign at the time of delivery, or use the previously provided electronic signature.
For Priority Mail Express, the shipper already must request a signature in order for it to be collected. This will make the previously provided electronic signature available for such deliveries, unless the shipper indicates on the shipping manifest that the signature needs to be collected from the recipient at the time of delivery.
Application to all shipments using Priority Mail Express, Signature Confirmation service, and Insurance for more than $500, rather than just Commercial shipments, may be phased in later.
Changes to the DMM language include a more general reference to the signature for the affected services, while adding a description of “signature” which distinguishes between the traditional signature and the electronic signature.
Additionally, the Postal Service will remove outdated text referring to Priority Mail Express labels printed before January 2012.
Although the Postal Service will not publish these revisions in the DMM until June 23, 2019, the standards are effective immediately.