200-15: Mail Services

Questions? Contact Campus Administrative Policies

Overview

Delineates guidelines for the use of centralized campus mail services.

Purpose

This policy delineates guidelines for the use of centralized campus mail services.

Definitions

The corresponding four-digit number assigned to a department that uniquely identifies the department. The box number is not a P.O. Box.

An up to four-digit number used to identify a department's budget authorization account for postage or other mail services.

The single designated mail delivery and collection point that designates the building and room number of the Box number.

Policy

Complete mail services are provided for official University business and include the receipt, distribution, collection, and dispatch of campus, intercampus, commercial carrier, and United States Postal Service (USPS) mail and packages. The University is not responsible for loss or damage to personal mail and packages sent through the campus mail system.

  1. Departmental Mail Locations
    1. Campus units may obtain or change a mailstop by submitting a written request to [email protected]. The mailstop delivery and collection point designations must be the same.

      If your department needs a box number/mailstop, then email the following information to [email protected]:

      • Department Name
      • Address (including room number)
      • Chart of Accounts (COA) Chartstring/Cost Center
      • Contact Person
      • Start Date
         
    2. Mail will only be delivered to and collected from a designated mailstop. Each piece of mail must contain a valid delivery address.
    3. If your individual UCSF campus address or box number/mailstop changes, there are two ways to make an update. An employee can contact their HR generalist or use the Campus Directory “Edit My Record” function. The employee self-serve edit function is fast and easy and allows you to make same day changes to your Campus Address including box number/mailstop, building, floor and room, and phone information.
    4. Departments are responsible for informing correspondents of the forwarding address of persons who have left the department.
       
  2. Mail Preparation
    1. Use inter-campus brown envelopes for department-to-department mailing needs. Addressing inter-campus mail on white envelopes is not recommended because it may be mistaken for U.S. mail and be sent to the Post Office.

      Inter-campus envelopes are used repeatedly for internal mailings, so please make sure that all previous markings have been crossed out. Please print legibly, with the following information:

      • Recipient’s or department name
      • Receiving department’s internal box number/mailstop
         
    2. Mail to VAMC, as well as other UC campuses (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz) and UC Office of the President requires postage. All outgoing mail and packages must include the department's franking number as part of the return address, unless postage is used.
    3. All UCSF locations in San Francisco must use the zip code 94143. UCSF locations outside San Francisco must use the appropriate city and zip code. Be sure to utilize the following format directions from the USPS:

      UCSF
      John Smith
      Department Name, Box XXXX
      550 16th St., Floor 4
      San Francisco, CA 94143 (or appropriate city and zip code if outside San Francisco)

    4. All outgoing mail and small packages are treated as first class mail unless otherwise designated.
       
  3. Postage Metering, Purchase of Postal Materials, and Other Costs
    1. Postage by a metering machine (used with franked mail) and overnight mail are billed at cost.
    2. The installation and use of postal meter machines by campus departments is highly discouraged.
    3. The department’s franking number is charged for the purchase of stamps through Logistics.

Contact [email protected] with any questions.