New postage rules have gone into effect in Solano County as of Dec. 24. Photo courtesy of iStock

DIXON, CA (MPG) - Effective Dec. 24, USPS will treat the machine-applied postmark date as: “The date of the first automated processing operation at a USPS processing facility.”

This is not the same as the date the taxpayer dropped the item at the post office, a lobby/retail acceptance date, or the stamped date on metered mail or postage labels applied by the sender.

For example, if mail is dropped off at the USPS on Day 1, it may not receive its first processing scan until Day 2 (or later) -- so the official "postmark date" under the new rule could be later than the actual mailing date.

The postmark delay is expected to become more common with the USPS’s implementation of its Regional Transportation Optimization initiative, which shifts mail movement into regional legs rather than routing it from local post offices to local processing plans, i.e., mail will move through regional hubs.

The new USPS rule outlines these methods to ensure a postmark is on the date of delivery.

USPS customers may request a manual postmark by presenting a mail piece at a retail counter and request a "manual (local) postmark". This postmark is applied at the time of acceptance, so the date aligns with the date the USPS took possession.

Another option for customers is a Postage Validation Imprint (PVI). When a customer pays for postage at a retail counter, the postage validation imprint (PVI) label applied by the employee also indicates the date of acceptance.

Additionally, customers may purchase a Certificate of Mailing, or use Registered or Certified Mail, to obtain a receipt that serves as evidence of the date the item was presented for mailing.

For more information, visit solanocounty.gov.