Sending Mail Abroad

• Customs
• Special Services
• Parcels and Publications Sent to Military Bases

The principal classes of international mail are as follows:

• Express Mail International Service (EMS) - for mailing high-priority or other urgently needed items, including merchandise, which can be sent to nearly 200 countries and territories around the world. The delivery target is 2 to 3 days.
• Global Priority Mail - for mailing urgent items weighing up to 4 pounds, including merchandise, which can be sent to more than 30 countries around the world.
• Aerogrammes - air letter sheets that can be folded and sealed to form an envelope.
• Letters, Postcards, and Letter Packages - personal handwritten or typewritten communications, as well as other items that are paid for at letter class rates.
• Printed Matter - includes books, sheet music, publishers' periodicals, and regular printed matter (i.e., advertising mail, catalogs, and directories).
• Small Packets - for light-weight merchandise, commercial samples, or documents other than personal correspondence.
• Parcel Post - for shipping heavier merchandise and printed matter.

All printed matter items, small packets, and parcel post packages may be sent either airmail or surface mail. Check with your local post office for specific information about the mail service in the country to which you are mailing.

Customs

Customs forms are required when you send dutiable letter packages, small packets, printed matter, and parcels to international destinations. The specific customs form is governed by the type of mail, the weight of the item, and the regulations of the destinating country.

Individual countries may restrict or prohibit certain articles. Articles that are prohibited by the destinating country are nonmailable. Articles that are restricted are subject to the import requirements of that country. Specific information about restrictions and prohibitions for individual countries and about the forms required for mailing is listed in the International Mail Manual, available at your local post office or online at pe.usps.gov.

For customs information, write to the U.S. Customs Service (see address on previous page.)

Special Services

Registry service, with a very limited level of indemnity protection, is available for letter mail, small packets, and all printed matter. (For details, see Registered Mail.) Insured parcel post service is also available to many countries.

Recorded delivery service, like domestic certified mail service, is intended for letters, documents, and items of little or no value. It is an appropriate service if you want the assurance of knowing that a record of delivery exists in the event an inquiry is necessary. For an added fee, you can purchase a return receipt at the time of mailing.

Note: Publication 51, International Postal Rates and Fees, is available at all post offices or online here. This booklet contains general mailing information and current postal rates and fees for postal services from the United States to foreign countries.

Parcels and Publications Sent to Military Bases

Parcel airlift (PAL) mail and space available mail (SAM) are only for personal parcels and publications mailed to military personnel overseas at the Standard Mail rates.

Packages up to 30 pounds and 60 inches in combined length and girth may be sent by PAL. This mail is flown to a military mail dispatch center where it is sent on a space available basis overseas by air transportation. You pay the regular parcel post rate, depending on weight, plus a small fee for the air service to the military mail dispatch center. Parcels of any class marked "SAM" that weigh up to 15 pounds and are not more than 60 inches in combined length and girth also are airlifted overseas on a space available basis to military post offices. However, this mail is transported by surface within the United States to a military mail dispatch center. There is no additional fee for space available mail.

Express Mail Military Service (EMMS) is available for sending urgent letters, documents, and packages to select overseas military APO and FPO addresses. We deliver to more than 300 military post offices. Postage for EMMS is the same as domestic Express Mail.

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