The United States Postal Service have introduced a new labeling system with effect from August 26th 2013 to make it easier to identify parcels contained cremated remains. Before the introduction of label 139, customers would generally just mark a package as “containing human cremated remains” to ensure postal workers handled the package with care.
Using Label 139 to identify cremated remains
Label 139 is a non-trackable adhesive label that can be attached to a package if the sender identifies the contents as human cremated remains. The label is not required, but its introduction will make it easier for USPS to identify cremated remains within their system. Handling cremated remains is something of a sensitive nature, and the United States Postal Service is the only carrier service by which you can mail cremated remains. As the cremation rate continues to increase and more families use USPS to ship remains, the introduction of improved labeling should help improve the careful handling of these ‘sensitive’ packages.
Mailing services for cremated remains
Cremated remains can be mailed through the United States Postal Service using Priority Mail Express and Registered Mail. This includes Priority Mail (excluding Critical Mail), First-Class Package Service and First-Class Mail Parcels. For more detailed information about mailing cremated remains within the continental United States or internationally, read our post about how to mail cremated remains.