§ 601. — Letters carried out of the mail.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 39USC601]
TITLE 39--POSTAL SERVICE
PART I--GENERAL
CHAPTER 6--PRIVATE CARRIAGE OF LETTERS
Sec. 601. Letters carried out of the mail
(a) A letter may be carried out of the mails when--
(1) it is enclosed in an envelope;
(2) the amount of postage which would have been charged on the
letter if it had been sent by mail is paid by stamps, or postage
meter stamps, on the envelope;
(3) the envelope is properly addressed;
(4) the envelope is so sealed that the letter cannot be taken
from it without defacing the envelope;
(5) any stamps on the envelope are canceled in ink by the
sender; and
(6) the date of the letter, of its transmission or receipt by
the carrier is endorsed on the envelope in ink.
(b) The Postal Service may suspend the operation of any part of this
section upon any mail route where the public interest requires the
suspension.
(Pub. L. 91-375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 727.)
Effective Date
Chapter effective July 1, 1971, pursuant to Resolution No. 71-9 of
the Board of Governors. See section 15(a) of Pub. L. 91-375, set out as
a note preceding section 101 of this title.
Study of Private Carriage of Mail: Reports to President and Congress
Section 7 of Pub. L. 91-375 required the Board of Governors of the
United States Postal Service to make a study of the restrictions on the
private carriage of letters and packets and to submit a report and
recommendations for modernization to the President and to the Congress
within 2 years after the effective date of this section.
Provisions of section 7 of Pub. L. 91-375 effective within 1 year
after Aug. 12, 1970, on date established therefor by the Board of
Governors and published by it in the Federal Register, see section 15(a)
of Pub. L. 91-375, set out as an Effective Date note preceding section
101 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 602 of this title; title 18
section 1696.
