Postal Guide
- Canada Postal Guide

Last updated: 2006-09-18

Section D – Chapter 9

International Incentive Letter-post™

Table of Contents

• What is it?
• Unacceptable Items
• Enclosures
• Size and Weight
• Payment Options
• Service Standards
• Features
• Options
• Labels and Documentation Required
• Format
• Addressing
• Mail Preparation and Presortation
• Prior to Deposit of International Incentive Letter-post
• Deposit of International Incentive Letter-post
• General Terms and Conditions
• Pricing Information

What is it?  to top of page

International Incentive Letter-post provides Canadian-based mailers with a competitive, incentive-based premium, per item or standard service for mail destined to the United States and other international destinations. In order to access International Incentive Letter-post service and prices, a customer must enter into an appropriate agreement with Canada Post.

International Incentive Letter-post items are composed of paper or other material with the general characteristics of paper. These items must meet the requirements for International Incentive Letter-post, including size and weight.

International Incentive Letter-post must be posted in Canada for delivery outside of Canada.

There are three categories of International Incentive Letter-post. International Premium Incentive, International Per Item Incentive and International Standard Incentive.

International Premium Incentive and International Per Item Incentive include:

• letters, cards and postcards
• receipts, invoices and financial documents
• other printed matter that meets the service requirements

NOTE:
Customers can access either International Premium Incentive or International Per Item Incentive, but not both services. Customers should choose the service that best accommodates their billing requirements.

International Standard Incentive includes printed matter that has been reproduced in several identical copies by means of a mechanical or photographic process such as:

• magazines
• newspapers and newsletters
• pamphlets and other promotional literature
• advertising and promotional postcards

NOTE:
International Standard Incentive must include content other than information specific or relevant to the addressee.

Unacceptable Items  to top of page

The following items may not be sent as International Incentive Letter-post:

• small packets
• goods
• film, audio or video recordings (diskettes, CD, DVD)
• items that do not meet the specifications for International Incentive Letter-post
• items prohibited by law or defined as dangerous goods in Canada. Go to Section B – Chapter 7, Non-mailable Matter
• items prohibited by law or defined as dangerous goods in the destination country. Go to Section H, International Destination Listing

NOTE:
Transparent envelopes cannot be sent to the U.S.A.

Enclosures  to top of page

Only enclosures which meet the requirements for International Incentive Letter-post are acceptable.

Size and Weight  to top of page

NOTE:

1. All Short and Long items and postcards must be rectangular in shape. If a postcard is not in a rectangular shape, it must be enclosed in a rectangular envelope.
2. All Short and Long items or postcards that exceed any one of the applicable maximum dimensions become Oversize.

Payment Options  to top of page

Proofs of Payment

The following proof of payment is acceptable for International Incentive Letter-post items. Some restrictions or conditions may apply.

• Postal Indicia

Methods of Payment

The following methods of payment are acceptable for International Incentive Letter-post items. Some restrictions or conditions may apply.

• Account (Billing or Payment on Account)*
• Business cheque
• Cash**
• Credit card (where available)
• Debit card (where available)**
• Money Order**
• Traveller’s cheque*

*When Payment on Account is used, the customer must have sufficient funds on deposit to cover any payment required for a mailing, or must provide full payment at the time of deposit.

**Traveller’s cheque, cash, Money Order and debit card payments are only available at the counter.

For more information on payment options, Go to Section B – Chapter 5, Paying for a Mailing.

Service Standards  to top of page

Canada Post does not provide service standards for International Incentive Letter-post.

Features  to top of page

A feature is provided automatically as part of the basic service.

Return to Sender: This feature applies to International Premium Incentive and International Per Item Incentive. All items that cannot be delivered or redirected will be returned to sender free of charge provided there is a Canadian return address on the outside of the mail item.

Redirection: All International Incentive Letter-post items will be redirected to the addressee based on the practices and requirements of the destination country’s postal administration.

Options  to top of page

An option is a service enhancement which is not provided automatically as part of the basic service.

Pick-up: Pick-up is available to International Incentive Letter-post (Premium, Per Item and Standard) customers at no additional charge, in certain locations.

Labels and Documentation Required  to top of page

A completed Order (Statement of Mailing) produced by the Electronic Shipping Tools, or a manually-prepared Order (Statement of Mailing), is required for each single deposit of International Incentive Letter-post. A fee applies to manually prepared Orders (Statements of Mailing).

Two paper copies of the electronic Order, or the original hard copy Order (Statement of Mailing), must be given at the time of mailing to an authorized Canada Post employee at the Receipt Verification Unit (RVU) or at the postal facility approved by Canada Post.

International Premium Incentive, International Per Item Incentive and International Standard Incentive may not be combined on the same Order.

Format  to top of page

Each item must bear the approved Canada Post Letter-post indicia, including the customer’s Account Number. Each item must also bear on the front of the mail item in an area specified by Canada Post, the applicable service indicator as follows:

International Premium Incentive and International Per Item Incentive: AIR MAIL/PAR AVION

International Standard Incentive: NON-PRIORITY.

Transparent envelopes can be mailed to all international destinations, except the U.S.A.

The maximum length to height ratio is 2.6 : 1 and the minimum is 1.3 : 1.

Window envelopes must be rectangular. The window must include a transparent cover and must run parallel to the envelope’s length. The address window must not interfere with the date-stamping process.

For more information on window envelopes, Go to Canadian Postal Standards.

Sealing

International Premium Incentive and International Per Item Incentive items must be enclosed in a completely sealed envelope, with the exception of rectangular promotional postcards and self-mailers (without an attached pin-feed strip).

International Standard Incentive items should be securely closed (e.g., tabbed, spot-sealed or wrapped), but must be easy to open and reclose to allow for inspection.

Addressing  to top of page

All items must be addressed to a specific person or company name, and bear the complete address, including the country of destination spelled in full in English or French, and printed alone on the last line, in capital letters. Go to Section B – Chapter 3, Addressing.

NOTE:
Only one return address is permitted on International Incentive Letter-post items, and that return address must be Canadian.

Mail Preparation and Presortation  to top of page

In locations where pick-up is available, the sender must separate the mail by destination and service category:

• U.S.A. Premium Incentive
• International Premium Incentive
• U.S.A. Per Item Incentive
• International Per Item Incentive
• U.S.A. Standard Incentive
• International Standard Incentive

Prior to Deposit of International Incentive Letter-post  to top of page

Scheduling

Canada Post requires a twenty-four hour notice for deposits of 20,000 items or more. This will help efficient and processing of customer mailings.

Deposit of International Incentive Letter-post  to top of page

• at a Receipt Verification Unit
• at a Canada Post approved postal facility

General Terms and Conditions  to top of page

Go to General Terms and Conditions.

Pricing Information  to top of page

For pricing information, contact a Canada Post Sales Representative.

Manual Order Processing Fee

Contract customers may prepare the Order (Statement of Mailing) electronically, using the Electronic Shipping Tools software, or manually, using a hard-copy form. A processing fee applies to all manually-prepared Orders (Statements of Mailing) deposited under the customer’s Agreement Number.

Price per manual order: $5.00