When you contact us with a mail service issue, your inquiry is documented at the Commission, and may be forwarded to the U.S. Postal Service for additional resolution. The Postal Service will then look into your issue and respond directly to you within 45 days with their findings. The Commission will receive a copy of the Postal Service’s response so that we can verify that the problem was handled appropriately.

APPEALING A POST OFFICE CLOSURE

Postal customers may appeal the closing of their post office or its consolidation with another post office by petitioning the Commission to review the Postal Service’s determination. Appeals may be submitted only after the Postal Service makes a final determination. The Commission’s role is not to decide whether a facility will be closed or consolidated. The Commission’s role is to determine whether the Postal Service’s closure or consolidation is consistent with the legal requirements and whether the Postal Service has followed all applicable procedures. Customers of an affected post office may assist the Commission in its consideration of an appeal by sending a written statement explaining why they believe the Postal Service has failed to comply with the law or has failed to follow proper procedures.

Under the law, appeals must be submitted within 30 days of the Postal Service’s notification to the community of its final determination. If an appeal is sent to the Commission by mail, it must be postmarked not later than 30 days after the Postal Service’s notification of its determination. All other appeals, including appeals submitted on the Commission’s Online Filing System, must be received by the Commission within 30 days of the Postal Service’s notification of its determination. Rules for appealing a Post Office closure are located here.

FILING A COMPLAINT

A complaint proceeding is a complex legal proceeding that typically requires an attorney’s assistance. The Commission accepts complaints on matters involving allegations that the Postal Service is not complying with certain laws or regulations. The scope of the Commission’s complaint authority is found here. The Commission also has specific detailed rules and procedures on what a person must do before filing a complaint, what information must be included in a complaint, and how the complaint should be submitted and argued.

LOCATING A PUBLIC REPRESENTATIVE

The Office of the General Counsel appoints a staff member for each case it establishes to represent the interests of the general public in that case, acting independently from the Commission. This person is called the Public Representative (PR). The PR represents the interests of the general public as a whole, and, in particular, those groups or segments of the population who do not have or cannot feasibly acquire representation. The PR is able to give weight to various and sometimes disparate voices and can help add information to the Commission’s record about the impact of a particular decision on the general public. Click below to find a list of all PRs assigned to active cases.