Mail management policy overview

You should use these mail management policies to

• Develop agency-specific mail policies, guidelines, and operations
• Track and report mail expenditures and key performance indicators
• Learn best practices for mail management

We serve as a federal liaison to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and other mail service providers. We coordinate governmentwide policy, including administration of the Federal Mail Regulations (FMR), to assist agencies in identifying and administering best-practice mail management policies.

We define mail as any of the following that meet USPS size and weight requirements, regardless of the distribution, dispatch, or delivery method:

41 CFR 102-192 includes policies and requirements for effective, economical, and secure management of incoming, internal, and outgoing mail and materials.

Federal mail regulations

You are not required to report mail program data at this time. However, you should collect and maintain reporting functions for internal use to inform cost-effective decisions and sustainable improvements within the agency.

Best practices for mail management

• Require supervisor approval and justification for sending mail and materials overnight; overnight mail is the most costly and not always the most efficient
• Centralize express services in the mail center
• Develop a mail user’s guide for employees
• Audit carrier invoices to monitor performance
• Develop performance measurements for their mail operations in all their mail facilities and at their program levels

If you have questions, please email the Federal Mail Policy team.