Posted on September 27, 2021 by
Roger Marks
USPS is amending the
Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) and 39 CFR to clarify that the regulations for mailing hazardous materials are found in Publication 52,
Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail.
Read the
Final Rule.
USPS removed its regulations for hazardous, restricted, and perishable materials from the
Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) in 2014 to reduce the size of the manual and moved them to Publication 52.
Publication 52 is available online.
The Final Rule also lists a variety of publications and memoranda that USPS uses to create new regulations. These includes
Publication 52 as well as the
DMM, the
Postal Operations Manual, the
International Mail Manual, circulars, handbooks, management or regional instructions, memoranda of policy, and more.
In the Rule, USPS clarifies what makes something a USPS regulation:
“...status as regulations depends not on the formal designation of the document, but on its statement of binding rules of future effect beyond those stated elsewhere in the Postal Service regulations.”
Enforceable USPS regulations are not necessarily codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, although they may be.
Hazmat Postal Shipper Online Training
Lion's
Hazmat Postal Shipper Online Course covers the USPS Publication 52 requirements that shippers must follow to offer hazardous materials through the mail. Build on your knowledge of US DOT's 49 CFR Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) and learn the unique requirements for hazardous materials by mail.
Shippers who complete this online course build expertise to identify which materials can be mailed; which are prohibited; and how to ensure safe, on-time delivery of hazmat by mail.
Recent USPS Hazmat Rule Changes
Recent rule changes initiated by USPS concerning hazardous materials by mail include:
More about USPS and hazardous materials