About Firm Books

If you ship COD, Certified Mail, or Registered Mail mailpieces, you can prepare a daily Firm Book to present to the USPS representative who physically accepts your shipments.

The Firm Book:

• Contains a list of all packages prepared for induction, the destination addresses, and the IMpb tracking barcode number.
• Eliminates the need for separate receipts for each package.
• Saves time at the Post Office, particularly if you have lots of shipments.
• Provides legal proof of acceptance by the USPS to show that you sent a mailpiece or if you need to file a COD or insurance claim.

You use receipts or Firm Books when you make a claim, such as for a lost COD or registered package.

• Note: When you select the date range for the Firm Book, the mailpiece date is the postmark date—not the print date.

Verify with your local USPS representative to see if he or she requires a Firm Book. For instance, if you are using the Endicia integrated COD printing service (which prints the shipping label and 3816 forms with a common IMpb tracking barcode), you do not need a receipt to submit a claim. Your proof of induction is based on operational scans of the IMpb barcode!

When you create the Firm Book, you would usually print two copies:

• One for you to keep, which the accepting USPS representative has round-stamped.
• One for the inducting Post Office.

See Also

Create a Firm Book

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