order directly below the amount, and attach money order purchaser's receipt to COD tag.

(8) At second-, third-, and fourthclass offices (1) enter last digit of the COD number on the post office record portion of the money order directly below the amount, and attach money order purchaser's receipt to COD tags; (2) provide 10 separations numbered 0 through 9 for filing COD tags, and file tags daily according to the last digit of the COD number. Close the active part of this file quarterly or when accumulation warrants; (3) file the post office record portions of the money orders with the other money order records.

(b) Remitting to sender. Mail money orders in a P-12 or P-17 penalty envelope on the day of issue or not later than the following workday. If more than five money orders are to be forwarded to one sender, use a larger envelope. Use prepaid (or business reply) envelops when furnished by mailer. Enclose any extra COD tag coupons to be returned.

(c) Missing or illegible name of sender. Deliver to the addressee and collect charges on a COD package received without name and address or with illegible name and address of the sender. Obtain name and address of the sender from the addressee and request the postmaster at the office of mailing to verify name and address. If the mailing records do not show name and address of the sender, the mailing postmaster must obtain a statement from the person named as sender verifying that the package was mailed by him. The mailing postmaster must send this statement to the office of delivery. Attach the statement to the delivery record and issue the money order. Send Form 3833 with the money order. If the sender's name cannot be obtained, carry the amount as a trust item for 1 year. If not claimed, account for it as "Nonpostal Receipts" in A/C 40990 of your postal account.

(d) Returned money orders. Try to obtain the correct address for money orders returned as unclaimed. If the payee cannot be located, forward the money order and a statement of the facts to the Money Order Branch, Accounting Division, General Accounting Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20260. Money orders returned to postmasters endorsed "Refused, Out of Business, or Fictitious" must also be sent to this same address. If money orders are returned to postmasters endorsed "Fraudulent,”

every effort will be made to return the amount thereof to the purchaser; if this cannot be accomplished, such money orders will be forwarded to the Money Order Branch. In each instance, note disposition of money order on the COD tag and file the tag.

§ 171.9 Payments to banks through Federal Reserve System.

(a) Presentation for payment. Banks may present money orders for payment through the Federal Reserve System.

(b) Definitions. (1) "Money order" means a U.S. Postal Money Order.

(2) "Federal Reserve Bank" means a Federal Reserve Bank or branch thereof which presents a money order for payment by the Postmaster General.

(3) "Presenting bank" means a bank which presents a money order to and receives credit therefor from a Federal Reserve Bank.

(4) "Reclamation" means the action taken by the Postmaster General to obtain refund of the amounts of paid money orders.

(5) "Examination" includes examination of money orders for indicia of theft, forged endorsements, forged signatures or initials of issuing personnel, raised amounts, and other material defects by means of electronic methods and also visual inspection for discovery of defects which cannot be electronically discovered.

(6) "Stolen money order" means a U.S. Postal Money Order which has been stolen from a post office, classified or contract station, or branch or postal employee before it has been officially issued by the post office, classified or contract station, or branch or by a postal employee in the course of discharging his official duties.

(c) Payment. The Postmaster General has the usual right of a drawee to examine money orders presented for payment by banks through the Federal Reserve System and to refuse payment of money orders and shall have a reasonable time after presentation to make such examination. Provisional credit shall be given to the Federal Reserve Bank when it furnishes the money orders for payment by the Postmaster General. Money orders shall be deemed to be paid only after examination has been fully completed subject to the right of the Postmaster General to make reclamation as provided for in paragraph (e) of this section.

presenting

(d) Endorsements. The bank and the endorser of a money order presented for payment are deemed to guarantee to the Postmaster General that all prior endorsements are genuine, whether or not an express guarantee to that effect has been placed on the money order. When an endorsement has been made by a person other than the payee personally, the presenting bank and the endorser are deemed to guarantee to the Postmaster General, in addition to other warranties, that the person who so endorsed had unqualified capacity and authority to endorse the money order on behalf of the payee.

The Postmaster

(e) Reclamation. General shall have the right to demand refund from the presenting bank of the amount of a paid money order, if, after payment, the money order is found to have been stolen, or to bear a forged or unauthorized endorsement, or to contain any material defect or alteration which was not discovered upon examination. Such right includes, but is not limited to, the right to make reclamation of the amount by which a genuine money order bearing a proper and an authorized endorsement has been raised. Such right shall be exercised within a reasonable time after the Postmaster General discovers that the money order has been stolen, or bears a forged or unauthorized endorsement, or is otherwise defective. If refund is not made by the presenting bank within 60 days after demand, the Postmaster General shall take such action as may be necessary to protect the interests of the United States.

(c) Instructions on administration of the law. Postal employees must not instruct purchasers of migratory-bird hunting stamps on matters relating to the administration of the law. Refer them to the Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington DC 20240, or to the local game warden.

(d) Redemption from public. Stamps shall not be redeemed from the public except unsold stamps returned, within 30 days after close of season, from persons regularly engaged in retailing hunting or fishing equipment or from persons authorized to sell State or county hunting or fishing licenses. Stamps validated by signature or stamps that appear to have been removed from a hunting license or identification card shall not be accepted.

(e) Accounting for stamps. Receipt to evidence payment shall not be issued if no stamps are available. Money from sales shall be treated as postal funds. Refunds shall be made from postal funds, and redeemed stock shall be treated as nonsalable.

(a) Redemption from public. U.S. savings stamps are not sold at post offices. Savings stamps may be redeemed for cash at post offices when stuck in an album of the appropriate denomination, either full or partially completed. Postmasters should maintain a small supply of savings stamp albums for possible use by customers having loose stamps to redeem. Postmasters will not furnish business concerns with savings-stamp albums in any quantity. The 10-cent albums may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The albums sell for 5 cents per single album or at a special quantity price of $1.50 for 100 albums. Postal savings stamps formerly sold shall also be redeemed if mounted in an album or on cards.

(b) Cancellation of redeemed stamps. Postal employees shall enter the value of savings stamps in each album on the back cover of the album in the space provided, or near the top if no specific space, and place a clear impression of the post office dating stamp nearby. They shall cancel redeemed stamps promptly after acceptance. The stamps shall not be defaced or mutilated.

(c) Disposition of redeemed stamps. Postal employees shall submit redeemed savings stamps to main office with Form 1412 or 1412-A, Daily Cash Report, where used.

(d) Mutilated stamps. (1) The postmaster will accept at face value any savings stamp that has been torn, burned, or badly mutilated, when one or more fragments can be identified as constituting clearly more than one half of the same stamp. If the fragment or fragments are not so identifiable, the owner should send them (with the entire album, if the stamp had been stuck in an album before it was mutilated) to the Treasurer of the United States, Washington, DC 20220.

(2) If stamps have adhered to each other so that they cannot be separated and their value determined (which can usually be done by soaking the stamps in warm water), the owner should forward them to the Treasurer of the United States.

§ 172.3 U.S. savings bonds.

(a) Availability. The Postal Service acts as agent of the Treasury Department for the sale of Series E U.S. savings bonds at post offices in communities where no banks sell the bonds or where there are no other issuing agents. At any such office where there is a demand for bonds, the postmaster may request authority from the director, regional finance division, to sell them. Savings bonds are available in the following denominations:

be accepted the same as for money orders. (See § 171.1(b) (3).) If the postal employee does not want to accept a check, he shall advise the customer that a check will be accepted by the Treasury Department or a Federal Reserve bank in the purchase of bonds by mail. If a check is accepted and it fails to clear, the purchaser must either make the check good or return the bond. If neither the money or the bond can be recovered, the post office shall notify the postal data center. No money may be accepted for bonds unless they are available for immediate delivery. Funds received shall be treated as postal funds.

(d) Issuance of bonds-(1) Authority to issue. Bonds may be issued at post offices in the names of natural persons in their own right only. Persons desiring to purchase them in other forms of registration authorized by Treasury Department Circular 530 may obtain them from Federal Reserve banks and branches and from the Treasury Department, Washington, DC 20220.

(2) Accepting applications. The postal employee shall check Form 920, Application for U.S. Savings Bonds, to see that inscription requested is in a form authorized by the latest edition of Treasury Department Circular 530 (circular may be obtained from the regional f.nance division); write serial number of issued bond on Form 920; initial; and file alphabetically.

(3) Filling out bonds. The postal employee shall:

(i) Issue bonds in the names of individuals only, as follows:

(a) One person: "John A. Jones." (b) Two persons-coownership form: "John A. Jones or Mrs. Ellen S. Jones." (c) Two persons-beneficiary form: "John A. Jones, payable on death to Miss Mary L. Jones." Payable on death may be abbreviated as p.o.d.

(ii) Use a typewriter if available and fill out the bond and stub in one operation.

(iii) Enter the full names on the bond and stub. Men's names may be preceded by any applicable title. Women's names must be preceded by Mrs. or Miss. A married woman's own given name must be used, not that of her husband.

(iv) Enter the full address of the owner on the bond. The address of the coowner or beneficiary is not necessary.

(v) Enter the month and year in the upper right corner of both the bond and the stub. Stamp the date of issue with

the post office dating stamp in the circles provided on the bond and its stub.

(vi) Be sure that all entries are legible and exactly the same on the bond and its stub.

(vii) Detach stub from bond. Deliver bond to purchaser and retain stub for submission by postmaster with his accounting period bond report.

(4) Errors on bonds. (i) If an error is discovered on a bond after it is issued, it should be returned to the postmaster for correction. If returned during the accounting period of issue, and if the error was made by the postmaster, he shall spoil the bond and stub, write the name of the office on them, and issue a new bond in its stead. He shall correct his records if necessary.

(ii) If an error is discovered after the accounting period of issue, or if the error was not the fault of the postmaster, the postmaster shall prepare a receipt for the bond in triplicate; give a copy to the owner; keep a copy; and send the original with the bond to the postal data center for reissue. The reissued bond will be mailed direct to the owner.

(5) Errors on stubs. If an error is on the stub only and the bond is correct, or if an inscription needs explaining (as when a feminine owner's given name is one generally accepted as masculine), an explanation shall be made on the stub. The postmaster or a designated supervisory official must initial the notation. If the address or date is omitted from a stub, the postmaster must find out from the purchaser whether the bond is complete and, if the bond is complete, insert the missing data on the stub. If the bond is not complete, the address or date must be filled in on the bond and stub. The addition shall not be initialed.

(e) Undeliverable bonds. Bonds issued and mailed by other agents, which are undeliverable by mail, shall be handled in the following manner:

(1) Bond shall be forwarded to the addressee if change of address is on file. If no change of address is on file or if addressee is deceased, bonds shall be returned to issuing agent without further action.

(2) Bonds that cannot be delivered or returned to issuing agent and unclaimed bonds found loose in the mail shall be held for 60 days. After 60 days, they shall be sent to the Treasury Department, Division of Loans and Currency, 536 South Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60605.

(f) Examination of stock of bonds. Clerks who issue bonds shall check each bond and stub to see that the denomination and serial number agree. If the stubs are attached to the wrong bonds, they must be reassembled so that the two parts of each assembly agree. The postmaster shall hold bonds that cannot be reassembled, report the discrepancy to the postal data center, and await instructions.

(g) Certification for payment—(1) What to certify. Postmasters shall not cash savings bonds but will certify them for payment if sufficient identification is furnished and if the bonds are to be forwarded by the owner to a Federal Reserve bank or to the Treasurer of the United States for payment. The certification may be made on the bond itself or on a detached request for payment, Treasury Department Form TD 1522. Bonds that are to be presented to banks or trust companies for payment shall not be certified.

(2) How to certify. The certifying officer must require positive identification that the person presenting the bond is the person whose name is inscribed on the bond and must be sure there is no alteration or erasure on the bond. If the registered owner signs by mark, his mark must be witnessed by at least one disinterested person besides the certifying officer. All certificates must be in the name and title of the postmaster, followed by the certifying officer's signature and official title. The specially designated clerk or carrier must sign as designated clerk or designated carrier.

(3) Who may certify. The following persons may certify to requests for payment on bonds: Postmaster; assistant postmaster; any postal inspector; supervisor; or clerk temporarily in charge of the office, branch, or station; or any clerk or carrier specially designated by the postmaster.

The Postal Savings System was discontinued by Public Law 89-377, approved March 28, 1966. The effective date for closing the system was April 27, 1966. After that date no postal savings deposits were accepted. In accordance with the law, all funds remaining on deposit July 1, 1967, were transferred to the Treasury Department to be held there subject to proper claims. Interest ceased to accrue on postal savings certificates on the interest anniversary dates of the individual certificates occurring before April 26, 1967. No interest accrues after that date, but the face value of a certificate and the interest due to anniversary date will be paid whenever the certificate is surrendered.

§ 173.2 Records of accounts.

The records of accounts with outstanding balances, Form PS 600, Record of Postal Savings Account, which were established when the accounts were opened, have been transferred to the Treasury Department. They will be maintained there as the official records of the accounts. § 173.3

Withdrawals.

All withdrawals will be paid by the Treasury Department. Postmasters will

Sec.

keep on hand a supply of Form 315. Depositor's Application to Withdraw Postal Savings, and other forms which have been used by the Postal Service in connection with the accounts of deceased depositors. They will supply applicants with Form 315 and any other necessary forms, assist them in completing them, and tell them to mail them with the endorsed certificates to the Treasury Department, Bureau of Accounts, Division of Financial Management, Postal Savings Section, Washington, DC 20226. A legal representative of a depositor should be advised to include a copy of his appointment with his application for payment on Form 315. If uncertain as to the requirements to be met for the Treasury Department to pay an account, the postmaster should advise the claimant to write the Treasury Department, Bureau of Accounts, for information.

§ 173.4 Inquiries from depositors and claimants.

If a person claims to have a postal savings account, but does not have any certificates evidencing deposits, or requests information about an account as an entitled claimant, the postmaster will tell the person inquiring to write the Treasury Department at the above address for information and assistance.

PART 211-APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS

211.1 Disposition of former title 39, United States Code.

211.2

211.3

Regulations of the Postal Service. Executive orders and other executive circulars, bulpronouncements; letins and other issuances of the Office of Management and Budget. 211.4 Interim personnel regulations.

AUTHORITY: 39 U.S.C. 201, 202, 401(2), 402, 403, 404, 410, 1001, 1005, 1209; Pub. L. 91–375, §§ 3-5, 84 Stat. 773-75.

SOURCE: 38 FR 20402, July 31, 1973, unless otherwise noted.

§ 211.1 Disposition of former title 39, United States Code.

Except as otherwise continued in effect as postal regulations, all provisions of former title 39, United States Code, which were continued in effect as regulations of the Postal Service by section 5(f) of the Postal Reorganization Act, are revoked. This revocation does not apply to

postal regulations which embody or are derived from provisions of former title 39.

§ 211.2 Regulations of the Postal Service.

(a) The regulations of the Postal Service consist of:

(1) The resolutions of the Governors and the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service and the bylaws of the Board of Governors;

(2) The Postal Service Manual and those portions of the former Postal Manual retained in force on a temporary basis;

(3) The Headquarters Manual, Regional Instructions, handbooks, delegations of authority, and other regulatory issuances and directives of the Postal Service or the former Post Office Department. Any of the foregoing may be published in the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations.