RIBBS - USPS National Customer Support Center

A cost effective, secure, and convenient way to manage mail with personal protected information.

Secure Destruction is a part of the USPS^® BlueEarth sustainability initiatives. The program securely shreds and recycles letter-size pieces of Undeliverable-As-Addressed (UAA) First-Class Mail^® with personal protected information that would otherwise be returned to the sender (RTS). Secure Destruction is an opt-in service that operates under the protection and supervision of the United States Postal Service.

Undeliverable Letter-size First-Class Mail

Important Links

requesting Secure Destruction is processed using Postal Automated Redirection System (PARS) software on our Combined Input-Output Sub-System (CIOSS) mail processing equipment. UAA First-Class Mail identified by PARS is labeled and isolated the CIOSS. The SD mail is then trayed and sent for individual piece verification by USPS employees. Once verified, the mail is fed into an industrial cross-cut shredder at the USPS facility. The destroyed and shredded paper material is then recycled.

Mailers that enroll in the program will receive Daily Electronic Notice of the mailpieces sorted for Secure Destruction is generated and provided to registered mailers through the USPS Electronic Product Fulfillment website. ACS notices are also generated and provided separately. The Secure Destruction Electronic Notification documentation will guide you through the Secure Destruction process, mailer requirements; data file formats, and sample data. A link to this document is in the Important Links section of this page, and also here: https://ribbs.usps.gov/securedestruction/documents/tech_guides/SDeNotification.pdf

Mailing Industry Benefits

Reduces carbon emissions (i.e. greenhouse gases). The USPS estimates that for every 25,000 pieces of carrier delivered Return To Sender (RTS) mail that is destroyed, carbon emissions are reduced by an average of 1 metric ton of CO2 equivalent.
The process takes place within secure USPS facilities by Postal employees, reducing risks of information exposure.
All securely destroyed mail will be recycled, thus reducing the demand on natural resources.

Benefits for Registered Mailers

Reduction of in-house costs for handling and destroying Return to Sender (RTS) mail.
Visibility into the process through daily automated notifications on the USPS Electronic Product Fulfillment (EPF) website.
Improvements in privacy protection for customers.

Mailers interested in the Secure Destruction Program must complete these steps to register:

Use of the Intelligent Mail^® barcode (IMb™) for letter-sized Full Service or Basic First-Class Mail is required. Not currently using the IMb? Information and resources can be found at: https://ribbs.usps.gov/index.cfm?page=intellmailmailpieces
An ACS account is required to receive the secure destruction notices. You may use an existing Traditional ACS™, OneCode ACS^®, or SingleSource ACS™ account, or you may open a new ACS account. Don't currently have an ACS account? Complete and submit the ACS Enrollment Form at: https://ribbs.usps.gov/acs/documents/tech_guides/eACS001.PDF
Access to Electronic Product Fulfillment (EPF) website is required, because that's how the secure destruction notices will be provided. If you already have an ACS account or subscribe to other Address Management products, then you probably already have EPF access. Don't currently have EPF access? Complete the Electronic Product Fulfillment Web Access Request Form: https://ribbs.usps.gov/forms/documents/tech_guides/ps5116.pdf
Complete and submit the Secure Destruction Enrollment form. This will enable the flow of secured destruction notices to your ACS account. The form can be found in the Secure Destruction Electronic Notification guide or you can get a copy of the form here:https://ribbs.usps.gov/securedestruction/documents/tech_guides/
SDEnrollmentForm.pdf
Determine which Secure Destruction Service Type ID (STID) you will use in the IMb. Information on the options available can be found in the Secure Destruction Electronic Notification documentation. You will be provided with a list of the STIDs as soon as you are registered.