Title 39 — Postal ServiceRelease 119-73not60
§602 Foreign Letters Out of the Mails
Title 39 › Part I— GENERAL › Chapter 6— PRIVATE CARRIAGE OF LETTERS › § 602
Summary
Captains leaving the United States for foreign ports may not carry letters that started in the U.S., unless section 601 of this title allows it. This rule covers mail not sent through a U.S. post office and mail not about the ship’s cargo. The port official who clears the ship must make the captain swear he will not carry such mail. If such letters are on a ship when it arrives, the captain must turn them in at the port post office, except as provided in section 1699 of title 18.
Full Legal Text
Title 39, §602
Postal Service — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Except as provided in section 601 of this title, the master of a vessel departing from the United States for foreign ports may not receive on board or transport any letter which originated in the United States that—
(1)has not been regularly received from a United States post office; or
(2)does not relate to the cargo of the vessel.
(b)The officer of the port empowered to grant clearances shall require from the master of such a vessel, as a condition of clearance, an oath that he does not have under his care or control, and will not receive or transport, any letter contrary to the provisions of this section.
(c)Except as provided in section 1699 of title 18, the master of a vessel arriving at a port of the United States carrying letters not regularly in the mails shall deposit them in the post office at the port of arrival.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
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. § 602
Title 39 — Postal Service
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60