Duty Collection for Domestic Mail Arriving From Certain Insular Possessions and Territories
The Postal Service is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[supreg]), section 608, to provide instructions for customs cleara...
The Postal Service is revising
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service,
Domestic Mail Manual (DMM®), section 608, to provide instructions for customs clearance and the prepayment of applicable customs duties, taxes, and fees for certain goods mailed from American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands destined to the customs territory of the United States (CTUS), which is defined in 19 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 101.1 as the fifty States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
DATES:
Effective:
July 30, 2026.
Comments must be received by August 31, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Mail or deliver comments to the manager of Product Classification, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, RM 4446, Washington, DC 20260-5015. You may inspect and photocopy all written comments at USPS Headquarters Library, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, 11th Floor N, Washington, DC by appointment only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, by calling (202) 268-2906 in advance. Email comments, including the name and address of the commenter, to:
PCFederalRegister@usps.gov,
with a subject line of “Duty Collection for Domestic Mail.” Faxed comments will not be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michelle Lassiter at (202) 268-2914.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Pursuant to the Executive Order 14324 of July 30, 2025 (“Suspending Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries”), as amended, duty-free
de minimis
treatment under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C) was suspended on a global basis effective August 29, 2025.
On June 24, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published an interim final rule which implemented an immediate indefinite suspension of the
de minimis
administrative exemption for merchandise valued at $800 or less and imported through the international postal network (91 FR 37801). As a result, goods imported by mail that are valued at $2,500 or less, and are eligible for informal entry, may be entered under the new informal entry process which was also established by CBP's interim final rule, effective July 24, 2026.
The U.S. Postal Service® has coordinated with a licensed customs broker to enablemailers to prepay duties, taxes, and fees, and obtain proof of payment, for articles valued up to $2,500 entering the customs territory of the United States (CTUS) from the following insular possessions and territories: American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands. The DMM is hereby updated to reflect the additional steps mailers must follow before presenting their items at a Post OfficeTM
retail service counter.
The Postal Service is implementing these requirements immediately to avoid a delay or suspension of service for items being sent from the affected insular possessions and territories to the CTUS. Although exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b), (c)) regarding proposed rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), the Postal Service invites public comments on the described revisions.
The Postal Service adopts the described changes to Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. We will publish an appropriate amendment to 39 CFR part 111 to reflect these changes.
Accordingly, the Postal Service amends Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations as follows (see 39 CFR 111.1):
PART 111—[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for 39 CFR Part 111 continues to read as follows:
2. Revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service,
Domestic Mail (DMM), as follows:
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)
* * * * *
600 Basic Standards for All Mailing Services
* * * * *
608 Postal Information and Resources
* * * * *
2.0 Domestic Mail
* * * * *
2.3 Customs Forms Required
* * * * *
2.3.2 Items Containing Goods
[Delete 2.3.2 and renumber current 2.3.3 and 2.3.4 as 2.3.2 and 2.3.3, respectively. Renumber 2.3.5 as 2.3.4 and revise the first paragraph to read as follows:]
2.3.4 Items Eligible for Deposit or Pickup
Except for items covered by 2.6.3, items bearing a computer-generated customs form (
e.g.,
using Click-N-Ship service, an authorized PC Postage vendor, or the USPS API) may be deposited through any of the following methods, provided postage is paid by a means other than using postage stamps.
* * * * *
[Renumber 2.3.6 as 2.3.5 and revise the text by adding a new item d. to read as follows:]
2.3.5 Items Not Eligible for Deposit or Pickup
* * * * *
d. Any item requiring prepayment of customs duties, taxes, and fees, see 2.6.3.
* * * * *
[Renumber current 2.3.7 and 2.3.8 as 2.3.6 and 2.3.7, respectively.]
* * * * *
[Add new section 2.6 and renumber current 2.6 as 2.7 to read as follows:]
2.6 Items Sent to the Customs Territory of the United States (CTUS)
2.6.1 Duty Collection for Certain Domestic Mail
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has the authority to collect duties, taxes, and fees for items entering the customs territory of the United States (CTUS), which is defined as the fifty States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (19 CFR 101.1). Insular possessions of the United States other than Puerto Rico are American territory but, because they are outside the CTUS, goods mailed from these locations are subject to duties unless exempted (see 19 CFR 7.2 and 7.3).
2.6.2 Preparation and Acceptance of Electronically Generated Customs Forms
Regardless of mail class or weight, items containing goods must bear a properly completed, computer-generated customs form produced through an approved USPS system capable of electronically transmitting the associated customs data when the items are sent into the CTUS from an APO/FPO/DPO location abroad (see 703.2.7.3), from the possessions and territories listed in 2.1 (except Puerto Rico), or from a Freely Associated State
( printed page 47962)
listed in 2.2. The following are mandatory and conditional data elements.
a.
Mandatory Data Elements:
The following data elements are mandatory for all customs forms regardless of mail class:
1. Sender's full name and address.
2. Recipient's full name and address.
3. Category of items (
e.g.,
document, gift, merchandise, etc.).
4. A detailed qualitative description of contents, as well as the quantity, net weight, and value for each item in the package.
5. For all goods, all applicable tariff codes from the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (including all 10-digits codes and 8-digit codes, if applicable).
6. Country(ies) of origin of goods.
7. Sender's signature and date.
b.
Conditional Data Elements:
The following data elements may be required based on the contents of the package and other nonpostal rules and regulations (
Note:
this is not an all-inclusive list.):
1. Sender's phone number or email address, if available.
2. Recipient's phone number or email address, if available.
3. License/Permit number, if applicable.
4. AES ITN or exemption citation (NOEEI) (see
520
-
527), if applicable.
2.6.3 Proof of Customs Duty Payment or Recording of Duty Exemption
Mailers sending dutiable goods valued up to $2,500 from the U.S. possessions and territories listed in Exhibit 2.6.3 are required to ensure payment of all applicable duties, taxes, and fees before presenting the item to an employee at a Post Office retail service counter. Proof of duty payment or confirmation of the duty exemption status (
e.g.,
declaration ID, QR Code®, etc.) must be presented at the time of mailing. Deposit and pickup methods listed under 2.3.5 are prohibited.
Note:
Mailers sending items containing only documents that have no monetary value are not required to provide proof of duty payment or proof of duty exemption. For more information about goods that qualify for duty exemptions, see
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/e-commerce/faqs.
Exhibit 2.6.3 Proof of Customs Duty Payment or Duty Exemption Record
American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
U.S. Virgin Islands
2.6.4 Preparation by the Sender
Before mailing, when using the Zonos Prepay app, the sender should complete the following steps:
b. Use the mobile app to pay any applicable duties, taxes, and fees, and obtain a declaration ID and QR Code®.
Note:
As a licensed customs broker, Zonos may charge a fee for its services.
c. Present the item along with the declaration ID to an employee at a Post Office retail service counter. Alternatively, themailer may present the Zonos Prepay QR Code® at a Post Office location where scanning technology is available at the time of acceptance.
2.6.5 Preparation by Acceptance Employee
Postal Service acceptance employees must comply with all requirements set forth in the most recent applicable training materials and standard operating procedures. For mailpieces containing dutiable goods and items where themailer used the services of a licensed customs broker, the following steps should be completed:
a. Obtain the customer's proof of duty payment or duty exemption. This may be in the form of a declaration ID or QR Code®.
b. Complete the data entry for customs form information, if necessary, and obtain the USPS tracking number.
c. Link the proof of duty payment or proof of exemption record to the USPS tracking number by following the instructions in the standard operating procedures.
Note:
This step may require the acceptance employee to access a third-party website.
* * * * *
[Revise the title of 608.7 to read as follows:]
7.0 Trademarks and Copyrights
* * * * *
[Add new 7.3 to read as follows:]
7.3 Third-Party Trademarks
The following are third-party registered trademarks and service marks that appear throughout the DMM.
QR Code® is a registered trademark of Denso Wave, Inc.
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 47960
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Duty Collection for Domestic Mail Arriving From Certain Insular Possessions and Territories,” thefederalregister.org (July 30, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-15420/duty-collection-for-domestic-mail-arriving-from-certain-insular-possessions-and-territories.