Each year, the Postal Service™ designates the third full week of May as Mailbox Improvement Week to encourage customers on city motorized, rural, or contract delivery service routes (formerly highway contract box delivery routes) to examine and, where necessary, improve the appearance of their mailboxes. Neat, attractive mailboxes make a significant contribution to the appearance of the countryside and streets in suburban areas. Mailbox Improvement Week, May 18–24, calls attention to the need for providing mailboxes that are:
1. Approved by the Postmaster General.
3. Designed to protect the mail from weather.
Mailboxes that meet these six important requirements help delivery and collection operations and improve service to the entire route. There are three approved styles of curbside mailboxes:
1. Traditional design (see Exhibit A).
2. Contemporary design (see Exhibit B).
3. Locked, full, or limited service.
USPS-STD-7B governs the design and specifications of curbside mailboxes and includes provisions for improved quality of the product.
Notice 209
Postmasters should send Notice 209, Mailbox Improvement Week, to all rural and highway contract box delivery route customers the week before Mailbox Improvement Week to alert them of the event.