republic-os/legal/us/code/title-39/chapter-36/section-3682.md

type, title, description, jurisdiction, corpus, kind, title_number, title_name, chapter_number, chapter_name, section, citation, status, release_point, release_date, source, source_url, source_identifier, source_file, source_hash, raw_snapshot_hash, text_hash, retrieved_at, confidence, tags

type	title	description	jurisdiction	corpus	kind	title_number	title_name	chapter_number	chapter_name	section	citation	status	release_point	release_date	source	source_url	source_identifier	source_file	source_hash	raw_snapshot_hash	text_hash	retrieved_at	confidence	tags
LegalText	39 U.S.C. § 3682	Size and weight limits	us	united_states_code	code_section	39	POSTAL SERVICE	36	POSTAL RATES, CLASSES, AND SERVICES	3682	39 U.S.C. § 3682	current	119-100	2026-06-26	official	https://uscode.house.gov/download/releasepoints/us/pl/119/100/xml_usc39@119-100.zip	/us/usc/t39/s3682	data/legal/raw/us/code/title-39/usc39.xml	63ebd2a74e97f6493174ab4822e7783702e5fba939746457d172348784c601e9	ccea35969be78d053165f1170bf2aa826a68e5b4dea1fe3356d8a09e86e19a65	391343b59e51afa27141a72475e74d787577e4466eab142f43ddf23427a9191c	2026-07-04	official	legal us-code

39 U.S.C. § 3682 - Size and weight limits

Text

The Postal Service may establish size and weight limitations for mail matter in the market-dominant category of mail consistent with regulations the Postal Regulatory Commission may prescribe under section 3622. The Postal Service may establish size and weight limitations for mail matter in the competitive category of mail consistent with its authority under section 3632.

(Pub. L. 91–375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 765; Pub. L. 96–70, title I, § 1331(e)(4), Sept. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 482; Pub. L. 97–242, § 1(a), Aug. 24, 1982, 96 Stat. 300; Pub. L. 109–435, title X, § 1010(b), Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 3261.)

Notes

Editorial Notes

Amendments2006—Pub. L. 109–435 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, section read as follows: “The Postal Service may establish size and weight limitations for mail matter in the same manner as prescribed for changes in mail classification under subchapter II of this chapter.” 1982—Pub. L. 97–242 struck out subsecs. (a) and (b) and designation “(c)” before “The Postal Service” and in resulting undesignated paragraph substituted “mail matter” and “mail classification” for “letter mail” and “classification”, respectively. Former subsecs. (a) and (b) had provided that the maximum weight of mail other than letter mail was 40 pounds, that the maximum size was 78 inches in girth and length combined before July 1, 1971, and 84 inches in girth and length combined on and after July 1, 1971, and that the maximum size on mail, other than letter mail, was 100 inches in girth and length combined and the maximum weight was 70 pounds if the mail (1) was mailed at, or addressed for delivery at, other than first-class post offices or on rural or star routes, (2) contained baby fowl, live plants, trees, shrubs, or agricultural commodities but not the manufactured products of those commodities, (3) would have been entitled to be mailed under former section 4554 of this title, (4) was addressed to or mailed at any Armed Forces post office outside the 50 States, or (5) was addressed to or mailed in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the States of Alaska and Hawaii, or a possession of the United States including the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. 1979—Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 96–70 struck out “the Canal Zone and” after “United States including”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1982 AmendmentPub. L. 97–242, § 1(b), Aug. 24, 1982, 96 Stat. 300, provided that: “The size and weight limitations for other than letter mail established by subsections (a) and (b) of section 3682 of title 39, United States Code, as in effect on the day prior to the effective date of this section [Aug. 24, 1982], shall remain in effect until changed pursuant to section 3682 of such title, as amended, by subsection (a) of this section.”

Effective Date of 1979 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–70 effective Oct. 1, 1979, see section 3304 of Pub. L. 96–70, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3601 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.

Effective DateSection effective Jan. 20, 1971, pursuant to Resolution No. 71–10 of the Board of Governors. See section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91–375, set out as a note preceding section 101 of this title.