3151 ANNUAL CORRECTION
(Reviewed 9/04)
Section 14911 of the Government Code requires you to check and correct your mailing lists each year. You must do this to every mailing list and to all people on your mailing lists. The only exception is for those lists that are made up for distribution of a publication that has been specifically defined by a different law. You must carefully review each case where a name on a mailing list is at the request of the person or organization that receives the publication. This Section of the Government Code does not apply to depository libraries.
You must use the same method to check your mailing lists that you use to send your publications to State agencies and officials, even if you do not use the U.S. mail to send the publications.
Each agency must provide its own forms and procedures to comply with the Government Code. A sample post card design that you can use to check your mailing lists is shown in the Appendix at the end of this SAM Chapter. When designing your own forms and publications, you must comply with the following rules.
- The publication must contain a notice to the Postmaster that return and forwarding postage is guaranteed.
- The publication must contain within it a separate verification card. You should bind the card with the publication by use of a tear-off stub. Since cards that are printed as part of a page are often overlooked, do not use this method. Due to the high cost of postage, do not separately mail individual cards.
- The verification card must state that the mailing list will be purged once a year as required by state law. The card must also have a place for the person to place a stamp when returning the card. This will help ensure that only those really interested in receiving the publication will stay on the mailing list.
