USPS Endorsements for Undeliverable Books

For those less familiar with postal endorsements: they are services offered by the Postal Service (officially called ‘ancillary service endorsements’) that, for a fee, let you instruct the Postal Service how to handle your mail if it is undeliverable as addressed. Across the country, most of you have good working relationships with your local post offices and can retrieve your undeliverable Imagination Library books each month. However, if you’re a Local Program Partner (LPP) whose post offices aren’t cooperating with returning undeliverable books, you may want to read the following before deciding whether to add a postal endorsement.

In November 2012, we began using the mandatory IMb (Intelligent Mail Barcode) put in place by the United States Postal Service. At that time, because we mail all DPIL books under one bulk mail permit, either all affiliates had to pay for any endorsement we added (such as Return Service Requested) or none could. Since February 2020, however, individual affiliates have been able to add endorsements again.

If you add an endorsement, the postal carrier will deliver a ‘due bill’ to the return address on the label for the undeliverable books. An LPP representative would then need to go to the local post office, pay the bill, and pick up the books and related materials. You’ll have a limited timeframe to retrieve endorsed, returned books, and the USPS can stop returning them if they are not picked up promptly. This could also affect our bulk mailing permit, so please monitor this closely if you choose to add an endorsement.

TO ADD AN ENDORSEMENT TO THE BOOKS:

Add any endorsement to Tag Line 1 in your Partner Profile, and we will handle the rest. If you wish to pay to retrieve your undeliverable Imagination Library books by adding the Return Service Requested endorsement or would like to add the Address Service Requested endorsement, take these steps:

1. Log in to BOS as Main Coordinator.

2. Under Daily Operations, select “Program Partner” then “Edit Profile". You can switch between programs at the top right if needed.

3. Find the Tag Line 1 box on the lower-left of your profile.

4. Type ‘Return Service Requested’ or ‘Address Service Requested’ in Tag Line 1 and click ‘Save and Exit’.

We will approve the change in the BOS, and this will print the Return Service Requested or Address Service Requested endorsement on the book labels until you request a change.

ENDORSEMENT SERVICES AND ASSOCIATED COST (Oct 2022 First Class Rates: find current rates here):

(The following information has been provided by the USPS)

Address Service Requested Endorsement

Scenario 1: The mail piece is undeliverable, and the USPS has a move update available:

If the move update on file is between 1 and 12 months old: The mail piece is forwarded to the updated address on file, and a notice of the new address is provided.
Cost: An Address Correction Fee of $0.55.
If the move update on file is between 12 and 18 months old: The mailpiece is returned with the new address attached.
Cost: The First Class Weighted Charge is billed (appropriate First Class postage multiplied by 2.472 and rounded to the nearest whole cent). Example: 7 ounces costs $2.40 for First Class postage; $2.40 × 2.472 = $5.80 total return charges.
If the move update on file is 18 months old or older: The mail piece is returned with the reason for non-delivery attached.
Cost: The First Class Weighted Charge is billed.

Scenario 2: The mail piece is undeliverable, and the USPS does not have a move update available:

What you get: The mail piece is returned with ‘No Forwarding Address on File’ attached.
What it costs: The First Class Weighted Charge is billed.

Return Service Requested Endorsement

What you get: The mail piece returned with a new address (if one is available) or reason for non-delivery attached.
What it costs: First Class postage – for flats this cost is $1.20 for the first ounce and $0.20 for each additional ounce. Example: if a book weighs 7 ounces, it will cost $2.40 to have it returned.

Endorsement Fact Sheet

The pricing and services can get confusing; please reach out to your local postmaster for the most current costs.