Protecting Revenue for Returned Parcel Select Packages

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Date Issued

Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Submitting OIG

U.S. Postal Service OIG

Agencies Reviewed/Investigated

U.S. Postal Service

Report Number

25-053-R25

Report Description

In fiscal year (FY) 2024, the U.S. Postal Service handled more than 11.6 million undeliverable Parcel Select packages that were scanned as return-to-sender. The Postal Service must process these packages at the post offices that serve the original delivery address and the return address. To receive these returns, the addressee must pay postage, which totaled about $138 million in FY 2024. A U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigation found these packages to be vulnerable to theft.

Report Type

Audit

Agency Wide

Yes

Number of Recommendations

Questioned Costs

Funds for Better Use

Report updated under NDAA 5274

Open Recommendations

This report has 7 open recommendations.

Recommendation Number	Significant Recommendation	Recommended Questioned Costs	Recommended Funds for Better Use
1	Yes	$0	$0
Develop a mechanism to identify all applicable charges when calculating postage due to incorporate into its automated calculations.
2	Yes	$0	$0
Incorporate large and oversized package charges into postage due calculations for return-to-sender packages.
3	Yes	$0	$0
Retroactively invoice return addressees for large package charges that should have been paid.
4	Yes	$0	$0
Electronically link the payment of postage due to the specific packages for which the payments are based.
5	Yes	$0	$0
Further automate the postage due calculation and collection process for undeliverable packages, using weights and dimensions captured by mail processing equipment.
6	Yes	$0	$0
Assess which delivery units need additional equipment, including scales, and provide it to efficiently process return-to-sender packages.
9	Yes	$0	$0
Institute and enforce a policy requiring clerks and managers to restrict access to return packages that exceed the facility's interior capacity or develop other mitigation strategies.