Letter Carrier Presort

Amendment/Revision

Customers should ensure they are using the most current version of the Mail Preparation and Presortation Guide, including all amendments and other applicable documents, which are posted on the Canada Post website. See in particular, www.canadapost.ca/postalservices for key documents.

Significant changes appear in red in the electronic version.

In addition, when there is an amendment or a revision to the document, the version number will be modified as follows:

• an amendment increases the first digit in the version (e.g., version 2.0, 3.0).
• a revision increases the second digit in the version (e.g., version 1.1, 1.2, 1.3).
• the version number restarts at 1.0 every January.

Table of Contents

Customers should ensure they are using the most current version of the Mail Preparation and Presortation Guide and other applicable documents, which are posted on the Canada Post website. See in particular, www.canadapost.ca/postalservices for key documents.

It is the Customer’s obligation to meet all the requirements outlined in the Agreement.

Notice for Developers of Presortation Software: If there is any discrepancy between this Guide and the Presortation Technical Specifications (PTS), the PTS takes precedence.

1

Overview

to top of page

1.1	Who Should Use This Guide?

This Guide has been designed to explain how to prepare Letter Carrier Presort (LCP) mail items using presortation software for the following services:

• Addressed Admail™, including Dimensional Addressed Admail; and
• Publications Mail™.

Visit www.canadapost.ca/postalservices for a list of support documents detailing the requirements, qualifications, terms and conditions and pricing.

1.1.1

What is Mail Presortation and Preparation?

Mail preparation is the process of facing and containerizing the items and labelling the containers. It helps ensure machineability of mail (where applicable), protection of mail, identification of the type of mail and ease of handling.

Mail presortation is the process of sequencing, grouping and containerizing the items and labelling the containers to allow Canada Post to bypass various processing steps and facilities within its mail distribution network.

1.1.2

What is Letter Carrier Presort (LCP)?

The LCP option allows the presortation of items to specific letter carrier walks (or other delivery routes) using Delivery Mode Codes and presortation software recognized by Canada Post, allowing Canada Post to bypass various processing steps and facilities within its mail distribution network.

1.2	Requirements for Letter Carrier Presort

To qualify for LCP presortation:

• the mailing must consist of at least 1,000 items
• the mail items must be mailed in Canada for delivery in Canada
• the mail items must meet all Canada Post requirements for service and type of mail such as size and weight. Consult the appropriate Customer Guide (see section 1.3 “Information Sources”)
• the mail items must meet any requirement specified in the Agreement, the Presort Technical Specifications and the Canada Postal Guide, and
• the mailing must use presortation software recognized by Canada Post.

Commingling of Letter Carrier Presort items is not permitted. Commingling occurs when a number of separate and notably different mailings are combined to achieve the minimum deposit requirement or sufficient densities to achieve discount prices.

1.3	Information Sources

This Mail Preparation and Presortation Guide forms part of the Agreement, and all references to the Agreement shall be deemed to include the documents referenced in section 13 “Entire Agreement and Alterations”of the General Terms and Conditions.

2

What You Need to Know Before You Start

to top of page

This section explains basic information on postal codes, Delivery Mode Codes, alphanumeric sequencing and the National Presortation Schematic (NPS) is required for preparing Letter Carrier Presort (LCP) mailings.

2.1	The Postal Code

The postal code is an integral part of every postal address in Canada. It was designed to aid in sorting mail by both mechanized and manual methods.

The postal code is a six-character, alphanumeric code in the form of ANA NAN in which “A” represents a letter of the alphabet and “N” represents a number.

For example, the postal code M4B 1G5 is made up of two segments (as shown in Figure 1).

The first segment (the first three characters) represents a Forward Sortation Area (FSA). The first letter indicates the major geographical region (as shown in Table 3).

The last three characters represent a Local Delivery Unit (LDU). It identifies the smallest delivery unit within a FSA. In urban areas, the LDU may indicate a specific city block (one side of a street between two intersecting streets), a single building or, in some cases, a large-volume mail receiver. In rural areas (as indicated by the zero in the FSA), the LDU combines with the FSA to identify a specific rural community.

For more information on postal codes, visit www.canadapost.ca/postalguide under Addressing Guidelines.

2.2	Delivery Mode Code

The Delivery Mode Code (DMC) appears to the right of an address (as shown in Figure 2) and identifies a specific type of delivery and a specific delivery route for urban mail. The DMC is required on each item of urban mail for LCP presortation.

2.2.1

Delivery Mode Audit Code

The Delivery Mode Audit Code is required on all urban and rural mail for LCP.

The Delivery Mode Audit Code identifies which version of the Delivery Mode Data was used to prepare a mailing. The Delivery Mode Audit Code is a code that appears on the mail item and changes every five to six weeks. It allows a Receipt Verification Unit (RVU) to identify if the current presort tape is being used. The Delivery Mode Audit Code must be placed in parentheses (as shown in Figure 2).

The DMC consists of the Delivery Mode Audit Code (DMAC), the Delivery Mode Details (DMDs) and the Delivery Mode Code (DMC).

2.2.2

Delivery Mode Details

The DMDs are a combination of alphabetical and/or numerical characters representing a particular type of mail delivery in an urban area. The DMDs include the Delivery Mode type (e.g., H) and the Delivery Mode Detail (as shown in Figure 2). There is no DMD for rural postal codes.

The purpose of the DMD is to establish how to group items, that is, items with the same DMD will be grouped together. For LCP groupings that have fewer than the minimum required number of items bearing the same DMD (as shown in Figure 3), the software will print two Xs (XX) immediately to the left of the DMD. The two Xs indicate that the grouping contains items for more than one DMD.

The alphabetic characters of the DMDs denote the Delivery Mode type. Delivery Mode types are indicated by the following letters:

A = Delivery to a block face address

B = Delivery to an apartment building

E = Delivery to a business building

G = Delivery to a large-volume receiver

H = Delivery via a rural route

J = General Delivery

K = Delivery to a Post Office box (PO Box), not a community mail box (CMB)

M = Delivery to a large-volume receiver (PO Box)

T = Delivery via a suburban service

X = Delivery via a mobile route

Z = Postal code is retired (No further delivery to this code. The Customer needs to segregate this mail in Residue and pay a higher rate.)

The letter denoting Delivery Mode type is not always required. For instance, it is possible that the same Letter Carrier can serve A, B, E and G. In this case, because the software groups the four Delivery Mode types together to the same Letter Carrier Route – that is, the numeric characters – it will not print the alphabetic character denoting the Delivery Mode type (as shown in Figure 4).

2.2.3

Placement of Delivery Mode Code (DMC)

The DMC can appear on any line in the address block but not on any of the lines containing the delivery information. The Delivery Address Information lines are all the lines in an address block that make up the physical destination of the mail item, usually the bottom two (2) or three (3) lines. This excludes the recipient’s name, company name, building name and option lines above the recipient’s name.

Examples of placement are shown in Figure 5, Figure 6, and Figure 7.

2.3	Alphanumeric Sequencing

2.3.1

Alphanumeric Sequencing by Delivery Mode Details

At a minimum, Canada Post requires that groupings be sequenced by the DMDs in alphanumeric order. Within DMDs, they can then be sorted by FSA, and then LDU.

The software first sorts records with DMDs that have numeric characters only in numerical, ascending order (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.). It then sorts records with DMDs that have alphabetical characters in the left-most positions alphabetically, in ascending order and then by any numerical characters in numeric, ascending order (e.g., CF, DIR, GD, H1, H10, H11, etc.).

For overall sequencing of DMDs, ascending order is preferred. Descending order can be used, provided it is consistently used throughout the entire mailing (as shown in Table 4).

2.3.2

Sequencing by Postal Code

This type of sequencing is done after sortation by DMD. This is usually done by the software.

When sequencing by postal code, first sequence by the FSA (the first three characters) according to the NPS (as shown in Figure 8).

Then, within each FSA, sequence by LDU (the last three characters of the postal code; as shown in Table 5).

2.4	National Presortation Schematic (Non-Lettermail)

The National Presortation Schematic (NPS) has two schematics: for Lettermail and for Non-Lettermail. The correct NPS must be used, depending on the type of mail being sorted.

The NPS is a set of tables that indicates how to consolidate mail through Canada Post’s mail distribution network, beginning with the FSA.

The NPS is used for all Canada Post presortation processes, including Letter Carrier Presort. The NPS has four levels of access:

• Level 1 – Delivery Facility;
• Level 2 – City;
• Level 3 – Distribution Centre Facility (DCF); and
• Level 4 – Forward Consolidation Point (FCP).

Following the NPS levels of access is key to sequencing, grouping, containerizing and labelling mail for presortation (as shown in Figure 9).

To avoid delays and extra handling charges, the current version of the National Presortation Schematic (NPS) must be used. It is available at www.canadapost.ca/nps on the Canada Post website.

2.4.1

Levels of Access for Groupings

Figure 10 shows the NPS levels of access for grouping mail for LCP presortation. Addressed Admail and Dimensional Addressed Admail require a minimum of eight items to create a grouping. Publications Mail requires a minimum of six items to create a grouping. If there are not enough items for a DMD grouping, consolidate to Level 1; if there are not enough items for that level, consolidate to Level 3; if there are not enough items for that level, consolidate to Level 4; if there are still not enough items for that level, consolidate to Residue.

2.4.2

Using Containers

Consolidate groupings in containers. The NPS groupings that are placed in a container determine the containers’ NPS access level. For example, when there are not enough groupings for Level 1 consolidation, consider preparing a container for a Level 2 consolidation. Figure 11 shows the NPS access levels for containerization of mail [see section 5 “Place Groupings in Containers (Step 3)” for more information].

2.5	Electronic Shipping Tools

Electronic Shipping Tools (EST) is a free, fast and flexible way to prepare Orders (Statements of Mailing). Two user platforms have been developed: the Online and the Desktop versions.

Electronic Shipping Tools (EST) is an application designed to eliminate the need for manual paperwork and save valuable time for Customers who are using Canada Post’s shipping and/or mailing services.

Sign up for EST free of charge at www.canadapost.ca/obc by registering for a user ID and password. Visit www.canadapost.ca/offerings/eship_tools/can/default-e.asp to learn more about the different Electronic Shipping solutions offered to suit the needs of their business. For technical enquiries regarding EST, please call the EST Help Desk at 1-866-511-0546.

2.6	Steps for Letter Carrier Presort

The essential steps for LCP presortation are:

1. Sequence the Mail (Step 1) – The software will generate address labels in order by postal codes, delivery mode codes and alphanumeric sequencing.
2. Group the Mail (Step 2) – This involves segregating the mail, including labelling for some groupings. This step prepares the mail for placing it in containers. Some software does this task.
3. Place Groupings in Containers (Step 3) – Proper facing will ensure efficient handling of the mailing.
4. Label the Containers (Step 4) – Correct labelling ensures that mail is directed to the appropriate work centre within a Canada Post facility and/or downstream destination.
5. Make Up Monotainers and Pallets (Step 5) – Monotainers and pallets make it much easier to move the mail and maintain the integrity of the presortation, ensuring efficient handling by Canada Post.
6. Prepare the Mailing Summary (Step 6) – If not completed properly, the deposit will be refused.

3

Sequence the Mail (Step 1)

to top of page

The first step in presortation of mail is called sequencing. Sequencing is the process of placing the mail in order to prepare for grouping the mail. The software should already sort the mail by NPS level:

• NPS Level 1 Urban
• NPS Level 1 Rural
• NPS Level 3 Distribution Centre Facility (DCF)
• NPS Level 4 Forward Consolidation Point (FCP)

For all levels of sortation, Canada Post prefers sequencing in ascending order (i.e., from lowest to highest numerically or alphabetically; as shown in Figure 12). Descending order can be used, provided it is used consistently throughout the entire mailing.

3.1	Sequencing Urban Mail (Level 1)

If the software has not already done so, sequence NPS Level 1 urban mail items by the following information:

1. Sort by Urban Delivery Facility in NPS order.
2. Within each Urban Delivery Facility, sequence in alphanumeric order by Delivery Mode Detail (DMD) (as shown in Figure 13).
3. Within each DMD, sequence in order by Forward Sortation Area (FSA) (as shown in Figure 13).
4. Within each FSA, sequence in alphanumeric order by Local Delivery Unit (LDU) (as shown in Figure 13) or by Delivery Address Information (DAI) (as shown in Table 6). Sequencing by DAI is an option, not a requirement.