Publication 91 - Confirmation Services Technical Guide

Detail Record 2
File Transmission
Confirmation Services Technical Guide
Detail Record 2 contains address information that will be used for
accountable mail and international mail in the future. Mailers have the option
of including consignee address information.
Files can be transmitted to the Postal Service using one of the following
methods:
FTP (file transfer protocol) by dialing our server toll-free (domestic and
Canadian mailers only), or using the Internet
EDI (electronic data interchange)
PKZip ® software may be used to compress the file before transmitting to the
Postal Service host computer. This is the only approved compression
software and can be used only in conjunction with point-to-point protocol
(PPP) transfers. Multiple zipped files cannot be sent in a single transmission.
You may not send self-extracting files (self-extracting files have an .exe
extension) or files that require a password to decompress. See Appendix C
for more information.
The file containing all confirmation services items
in a mailing must be transmitted to the Postal
Service prior to or at the time the mail is tendered
to the Postal Service. A file includes a Header
Record, Detail Record 1, and the optional Detail
Record 2. Multiple electronic files may be
combined and sent together in one transmission.
There is no limit to the number of electronic files
that may be sent in any single file transmission. An
electronic file is defined as a Header Record with
any number of Detail Records. There is a limit of
30 separate file transmissions within any
20-minute period.
A separate file is required for mail tendered to each different Postal Service
entry facility. The file must contain the unique entry ZIP Code represented by
that facility. The entry facility ZIP Code is part of the Header Record.
Mailers are required to maintain file quality of 95 percent or better. File quality
is measured as the percentage of total mailpieces containing a Manifest
Acknowledgment (MA) record in the Postal Service database. Examples of
why a mailpiece would not have an MA are:
No electronic file transmitted or transmission failed.
NOTE
If, after taking the
appropriate actions, you
are still unable to
transmit the file, call
Distributed System
Service Support toll free
at 877-245-1659.
Error(s) detected in the Header Record of the electronic file caused the
entire file to be rejected. See “Manifest Data Edit/Warning Listing
(Error/Warning Report)” below.
12 Publication 91, September 2002