WASHINGTON – The U.S. Postal Service finalized a rule adding a new section to the Domestic Mail Manual that defines postmarks, explains where and how they are applied, and clarifies what postmarks do and do not prove about the date a mailpiece entered postal custody.
Effective December 24, 2025, new DMM section 608.11 outlines the markings that qualify as postmarks and the operational circumstances under which they are used. The agency said the update does not change postmarking practices but is intended to improve public understanding.
Under the rule, automated machine-applied postmarks at processing facilities display the facility name or location and the date of the first automated processing operation. Manual postmarks may be applied at those facilities when pieces cannot be machine-canceled. At retail counters, customers can request manual local postmarks free of charge; those postmarks, as well as Postage Validation Imprint labels produced at retail, align with the date the Postal Service accepted the mailpiece.
The rule emphasizes that a postmark confirms USPS custody on the date shown but may not reflect the first day the Postal Service accepted the item. The agency points customers who need proof of first acceptance to options such as Certificates of Mailing, Registered Mail and Certified Mail. It also notes that auxiliary markings and scan data, including Intelligent Mail barcode scans, indicate postal possession events but are not proof of the date of first acceptance. Preprinted postage labels generated by customers do not establish acceptance.
USPS adopted several clarifications in the final text following 130 public comments. Revisions include explicitly allowing “name or location” identifiers on postmarks, stating that manual local postmarks at retail are free upon request, and changing phrasing to “Manual (local) postmarks are applied to a mailpiece, upon a customer’s request.” The agency also added a reminder that customers planning to present 50 or more pieces for local postmarks should contact the postmaster in advance.
Many comments focused on mail-in voting and deadline-driven mail. USPS said the rule does not alter operations, including for Election Mail, and reiterated that customers who need a same-day postmark can obtain a manual local postmark at a retail counter at no cost. The Postal Service retained the phrase “first accepts possession,” saying it more accurately reflects the transfer of custody.
The final rule amends 39 CFR part 111 to incorporate DMM 608.11 and related references.