The international language of mail.

From direct mail services to catalog fulfillment to worldwide shipping procedures, the international mailing world has a language all its own. Because most businesses are not fluent in mail, we have provided this extensive listing of important terms and their definitions.

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ACD (Automatic Call Distributor)
Used in call centers to monitor incoming calls.
AD Plate
The portion of the postmark identifying the sender, sometimes bearing a commercial message or return address.
Administration Fee
An administration fee will be charged for the recovery of duties and taxes paid on behalf of the sender, receiver or importer.
Aerogram
Prepaid letter which folds over to form its own envelope.
Airlift
The movement of mail by air taxi operators and air carriers.
Airmail
Any item of mail (letters, printed matter, parcels or packages) conveyed by air at a higher priority and greater speed than surface mail.
Airport of Departure
The airport where air carriage started according to the shipment note.
Airway Bill
A printed, numbered form produced by airlines to authorize movement of cargo. Within DHL Global Mail, it is used as an equivalent term to BOL.
AMF
Acronym for “Airport Mail Facility,” a type of USPS processing facility.
Army Post Office (APO)
Mail addressed to members of the U.S. Army serving overseas. It is considered to be domestic mail, so domestic rates apply.
Article 25
Paragraph #4 of the UPU conventions states that “A member country shall not be bound to accept, forward or deliver to addresses letter post items which senders post or cause to be posted, in large quantities in a country other than the country where they reside. The administration concerned may send back such items to origin or return them to sender without repaying prepaid charges.”
Aspect Ratio
The dimension of a mail piece expressed as a ratio of length (the direction parallel to the address) divided by height.
Automation Discount
A postage reduction offered to mailers who pre-barcode their mail pieces and meet addressing, readability and other requirements for processing on automated equipment.
Autres Objets (AO)
A classification of international mail including printed matter, books, sheet music, matter for the blind, small packets and publishers’ periodicals.