NASA Procedural Requirements

NPR 1450.10D Effective Date: March 24, 2006 Expiration Date: March 24, 2026

Subject: NASA Correspondence Management and Communications Standards and Style Revalidated (6/21/2021)

Responsible Office: Office of the Chief of Staff

Chapter 7: Envelopes And Mailing

7.1 General

7.1.1 This chapter explains how to address letter-sized envelopes and other mailers for unclassified correspondence

7.1.2 Use only Government-approved envelopes and mailers. All official Government mail is placed in approved mailers and processed by a NASA Mail Center.

7.1.3 Do not use U.S. Postal Service (USPS) deposit boxes or USPS Centers to transmit official Government mail.

7.1.4 Obtain information for bulk or mass mailings and use of the NASA mailing permit indicia from your Center's Mail Manager.

7.1.5 Consult your Center's Mail Manager or mail handbook about types, costs, and restrictions for special mail services, including registered, certified, and express and expedited mailing or shipping requirements, bulk and mass mailings, and messenger services.

7.2 Envelopes

7.2.1 Use NASA-printed envelopes to send official mail through the USPS (via the NASA Mail Center) and to other NASA Centers.

7.2.2 Use preprinted NASA mailing labels on plain business and flat-sized envelopes and other mailers.

7.2.3 Use the smallest sized envelope necessary to reduce postage costs.

a. Letter-sized envelopes (4 1/8 x 9 1/2 inches). Fold from one to five pages of correspondence to a 1/4 inch maximum thickness.

b. Flat envelopes. Flat envelopes are rectangular in shape and exceed one or more of the maximum dimensions for letter-sized envelopes but do not exceed 15 inches in length, 12 inches in height, or 3/4 inches in thickness. The NASA standard flat-sized envelopes are brown, 9 1/2 x 12 inches, and brown, 10 x 12 inches. Use flat envelopes for communications that cannot be folded or, if folded, will exceed the

c. 1/4-inch maximum thickness permitted for letter-sized envelopes.

7.2.4 Do not use any other envelopes or mailers other than those described above. Consult with your Center's Mail Manager before using any other envelope or mailer to ensure they comply with NASA policy and USPS restrictions.

7.2.5 Do not use window envelopes to mail general correspondence. Window envelopes cannot be used to mail material that:

a. contains national security information.

b. is highly confidential to NASA or the addressee.

c. is being sent registered mail via the USPS.

d. is being sent to international addresses.

e. is being sent to high-level officials in the Government or private sector.

7.2.6 Do not use staples to secure any size mailer, including padded mailers.

7.3 Address Information And Placement

7.3.1 Addresses will include, at a minimum, the five-digit ZIP Code and, when available, ZIP Code + four digits.

7.3.2 Place the address information on standard letter-sized envelopes within the automatic machine reading zone.

7.3.3 Type, stamp, or machine print the address. Avoid script or other fancy font styles.

7.3.4 Use all uppercase letters. The USPS prefers no punctuation (except the hyphen in the nine-digit ZIP Code).

7.3.5 Use only the approved two-letter State abbreviations in addresses. Do not use these abbreviations in the body of the correspondence.

7.3.6 International Destinations: Place the name of the country on the last line in all- capital letters.

7.3.7 The mail code of the originating office (suite number for HQ mail) is placed in the top left corner of the envelope or mailing label. This is a mandatory requirement and is used to identify items returned for nondelivery.

7.3.8 Avoid attention lines if possible. If one is necessary, placement is on the first line of the address information.

7.3.9 The address information should be in proper sequence. Address information should be limited to five lines if possible. Examples:

NASA

DR DONALD HENRY
DIRECTOR
NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER
MAIL STOP 200
MOFFETT FIELD CA 94035-1000

Industry

MR JOHN DOE
MGR ADVANCED PROGRAMS, ASTRONAUTICS DIV
LOCKHEED MISSILES AND SPACE COMPANY INC
1111 LOCKHEED HWY
SUNNYVALE CA 94089-3504

University

DR JOHN DOE
DEPARTMENT OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
CAMBRIDGE MA 02139

Military

NAVAL AIR STATION
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
PATUXENT RIVER MD 20670-5304

Foreign

MR THOMAS CLARK
117 RUSSELL DRIVE
LONDON WIP6HQ
ENGLAND

DISTRIBUTION:
NODIS

This document does not bind the public, except as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract. This document is uncontrolled when printed. Check the NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS) Library to verify that this is the correct version before use: https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov.