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Title 39, Postal ServiceRelease 119-102

§3206 Reimbursement for Penalty Mail Service

Title 39 › PART IV — MAIL MATTER › CHAPTER 32 — PENALTY AND FRANKED MAIL › § 3206

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Federal executive departments, agencies, independent establishments, and government corporations must pay the Postal Service from their appropriated funds for any penalty mail they send or receive. The Postal Service decides how much postage is owed, and agencies must transfer that amount. The Department of Agriculture must make these transfers for penalty mail under section 3202(a)(1)(F) and (4). The Department of State must do the same for penalty mail under section 3202(a)(1)(C) and (D).

Full Legal Text

Title 39, §3206

Postal Service, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, executive departments and agencies, independent establishments of the Government of the United States, and Government corporations concerned, shall transfer to the Postal Service as postal revenue out of any appropriations or funds available to them, as a necessary expense of the appropriations or funds and of the activities concerned, the equivalent amount of postage due, as determined by the Postal Service, for matter sent in the mails by or to them as penalty mail under authority of section 3202 of this title.
(b)The Department of Agriculture shall transfer to the Postal Service as postal revenues out of any appropriations made to it for that purpose the equivalent amount of postage, as determined by the Postal Service, for penalty mailings under clauses (1)(F) and (4) of section 3202(a) of this title.
(c)The Department of State shall transfer to the Postal Service as postal revenues out of any appropriations made to it for that purpose the equivalent amount of postage, as determined by the Postal Service, for penalty mailings under clause (1)(C) and (D) of section 3202(a) of this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–553 substituted “subsection (b)” for “subsections (b) and (c)”. Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 94–553 redesignated subsec. (d) as (c). Former subsec. (c), directing the Library of Congress to transfer to the Postal Service as postal revenues out of any appropriations made to the Library for that purpose the equivalent amount of postage, as determined by the Postal Service, for penalty mailings under clause (5) of section 3202(a) of this title, was struck out. 1973—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 93–191 added subsec. (d).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1976 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 94–553 effective Jan. 1, 1978, see section 102 of Pub. L. 94–553, set out as an

Effective Date

note preceding section 101 of Title 17, Copyrights.

Effective Date

of 1973 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 93–191 effective Dec. 18, 1973, see section 14 of Pub. L. 93–191, set out as a note under section 3210 of this title.

Effective Date

Section 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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

39 U.S.C. § 3206

Title 39, Postal Service

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102