August 11, 2006

Mark your calendars now; effective January 2009, the 4-state barcode (aka 4-CB, aka OneCode) will be the official barcode for automation compatible letters and flats mail handled by the United States Postal Service®. This barcode will replace the Postnet code, Planet Code®, and Address Change Service codes currently used today.

Charlie Bravo, SVP of Intelligent Mail and Address Quality, made this important announcement at the August Mailers Technical Advisory Committee meetings and effectively drew a line between the optional and mandatory usage of this new barcode. This also validated what many in the industry knew all along; that the USPS wasn’t going to really let this barcode be optional forever.

So what does this mean for the industry? For many, really nothing other than a different looking barcode. For others, it could mean significant costs as well as opportunities. This is because the 4-CB code has the potential of storing 31 bytes of information (20 more than today’s code) and thus the key to improved mail tracking, address updating, and improved readability.

I’ve blogged about this code before (http://postalsoftblog.businessobjects.com/lien/2006/1/31/one-code-a-vision-for-address-quality.html) and there is a wealth of information about the code posted out on RIBBS (http://ribbs.usps.gov/onecodesolution/), so I would suggest starting at either of these links to become better acquainted with this new technology and all that it offers.

As far as a rollout plan, the USPS will be phasing in support for their OneCode solutions. This is due to necessary software updates to their automation and redirection (PARS) systems. Here is a timeline of support for the new barcode.

Support for letters:

With OneCode Confirm -- all letter mail classes: September 1, 2006

With OneCode ACS -- First Class letters only: September 1, 2006

With OneCode ACS -- Standard Mail: Fall 2007

All letter mail without services: March 1, 2007

Support for flats:

With OneCode Confirm -- all flat mail classes: Spring 2007

With OneCode ACS -- First Class and Periodical flat mail: Spring 2007

With OneCode ACS -- Standard Mail: Fall 2007

Fortunately for Postalsoft® users, we’ve been working with the USPS on 4-state codes for a long time now. In fact, many of our customers have been using our technology to test readability of the code. So you can rest assured that your software will be ready when you are to move over to this new technology and the many opportunities it offers.