New Policy Make Postmarks Problematic as Proof of Filing
If you are like me, you probably don’t pay much attention to news coming out of the US Postal Service (USPS) apart from the inevitable rate increase notifications. But a recent change in USPS processing policy caught my eye and deserves attention, as it could cause major issues with proving the timely filing of things like tax returns and payments, court filings, bill payments and other time-sensitive documents for which postmarks historically have been considered proof of mailing.
Historically, USPS postmarked items on the date such items were received by it. They were able to do this because the postmarks were applied at the facility at which the piece was received. As a result, the applied postmark has traditionally been considered proof of the timely date of mailing by government agencies such as the IRS, DFA and others.
That is no longer necessarily the case. Due to the implementation of cost-saving measures by USPS, postmarks are now generally applied at regional distribution centers. Further, mail is now only being picked up once per day at some post offices. This, combined with mail in some cases now traveling farther to reach the regional centers (nearly half of all post offices are more than 100 miles from their processing center) is resulting in mail sometimes being postmarked on a date later than when it was actually mailed. I think you see the problem here.
In a final rule issued by USPS in late November titled Postmarks and Postal Possession, USPS said this, “The presence of a postmark confirms that the Postal Service accepted custody of a mailpiece, and that the mailpiece was in the possession of the Postal Service on the identified date. However, for the reasons that are further described below, the postmark date does not necessarily indicate the first day that the Postal Service had possession of the mailpiece.”
In other words, if you need to prove something was mailed on a specific date, don’t rely on the standard postmarking process! If that’s the case, what does one do to make sure the mail piece is dated with the needed date? USPS has this advice, all of which require a visit to a USPS retail counter:
- Take your mail piece to the USPS retail counter and ask for a manual local postmark. This will be applied with the date that corresponds to when USPS actually took possession.
- Use what is know as Postage Validation Imprint (PVI). When you pay for postage at a USPS retail counter, a PVI label is applied by the USPS employee that indicates date of acceptance.
- Use Registered or Certified Mail. This is a little more expensive, but you will be given a receipt you can use as evidence of the date of mailing.
Having to visit a physical USPS facility is an inconvenience to be sure, not to mention a time waster. However, when proof of mailing is needed to avoid the negative consequence of something being filed or mailed late, it just may be a necessary evil not to be avoided.
