USPS Office of Inspector General

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the Postal Service making changes and “slowing down the mail,” using terms like service standards and service targets. Don’t understand what any of this means? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Shedding some light on this subject is the topic of our recently released report, A Primer on Service Standards.  

Did you ever wonder what happens to mail with an illegible address or that’s sent to someone who no longer lives at the address? The U.S. Postal Service refers to this mail as undeliverable as addressed, or UAA mail. What happens next depends on how the mail was sent, such as the mail class and what services were paid for. It could be forwarded, returned to sender, or treated as waste.

When you run a business, you need to ensure the revenues from your products at least cover your cost of providing them. Pretty basic business principle. But for the U.S. Postal Service, it’s much more than that — it’s a legal requirement. Specifically, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 requires every postal product to earn enough to cover its costs.