The United States Postal Regulatory Commission is an independent regulatory agency charged with ensuring the transparency and accountability of the United States Postal Service. The PRC is small (about 100 people, including Commissioners and staff), but it protects every American mail customer. American households, businesses and nonprofits depend in some way – large or small – on reliable mail service. The Post Office has existed since the establishment of our country, and we rely on it for essential functions like paying bills, correspondence, staying informed, receiving medicine, and voting in elections, among others. 

Why did Congress create the PRC?

The Commission monitors Postal Service compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act and the 2006 Postal Enhancement and Accountability Act. We monitor Postal Service performance in multiple areas: How fast and reliably the Postal Service delivers mail, its financial performance, and how efficiently it’s doing its job. The Commission reviews requests by the Postal Service to change the rates that it charges customers. 

Uniquely, the Postal Service operates as an independent government agency and is self-funding, relying on revenue from the sale of its products and services to finance its operations rather than tax revenue.

The Postal Service has two monopolies. First is its access to mailboxes; it’s the only organization in the U.S. that can deliver straight to your mailbox. The other monopoly the Postal Service enjoys is on letter mail (except for expedited letters, which other delivery services offer as well). 

The Commission regulates the Postal Service's rates for monopolistic or otherwise “market-dominant” products and oversees compliance with laws and regulations aiming to prevent monopolistic abuse.

Who leads the PRC? 

The PRC has five commissioners, each appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The President selects one of those commissioners to serve as Chairman. Law mandates that the Commission is bipartisan, with no more than three commissioners from any one political party. Commissioners serve six-year terms and can be re-confirmed for consecutive terms after that. 

The commissioners vote to approve orders on rates, service, and other postal issues as they arise.

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Who leads the Postal Service?

Many organizations answer to a board of directors, and the Postal Service has a similar setup. As required by postal law,  oversees Postal Service practices, sets its policies, and controls its spending. 

By law, the Board has 11 members. Nine of those seats are for presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed Governors. In addition, a Postmaster General and a Deputy Postmaster General sit on the Board. The Governors select the Postmaster General, who serves as the Postal Service's chief executive. The Governors work with the Postmaster General to select the Deputy. 

The Postal Service's Office of Inspector General oversees both the PRC and the Postal Service 

The Commission’s mission

To “ensure transparency and accountability of the United States Postal Service and foster a vital and efficient universal mail system.”