The U.S. Postal Service is moving ahead with a broad expansion of its dimensional reporting rules for parcels, but shippers handling smaller items will get a grace period before new noncompliance penalties begin.
In a notice issued April 8, USPS said that from July 12, all shipments moving through commercial Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select will need to include accurate length, width and height information, regardless of parcel size.
At present, the requirement only applies to parcels larger than one cubic foot or exceeding 22 inches in length. For eligible shipments missing accurate dimensions, USPS currently imposes a $3 noncompliance fee, up from the previous $1.50.
Under the new framework, smaller shipments newly brought into scope will not face immediate penalties. Instead, USPS said the rollout will happen in two phases.
The first phase begins in July and will focus on reviewing data, monitoring customer activity and testing systems accuracy. This follows the final rule published in the Federal Register on March 31.
The second phase, tentatively planned for early next year, will involve the introduction of an automated system designed to detect whether dimensions are included in the manifest and whether those dimensions are accurate. At that stage, USPS will begin applying the noncompliance fee to smaller parcels with inaccurate reporting.
The agency said it adopted the phased approach after consulting stakeholders. Commenters had expressed concern that incorrectly applied penalties could drive Ground Advantage customers back to competing carriers. Others warned that the change could increase costs for shippers by forcing additional investment in dimension-capture systems.
USPS said it is aware of those concerns and intends to address them while balancing the need for accuracy and efficiency during phase two of the initiative.
Carlos Barbosa, vice president of e-commerce solutions at ePost Global, had previously noted that larger USPS shippers already capture dimensions for every parcel they handle. However, businesses that print Postal Service labels without measuring dimensions may be more exposed to additional charges as the rules expand to cover all parcels in the affected services.
