The Postal Regulatory Commission
Summary
USPS's regulator ran on a $28.8 million FY2025 budget requirement and 101 planned staff -- funded not by Congress but by USPS's own Board of Governors -- and its own compliance audit found 20 of 27 Market Dominant mail categories missed their delivery-speed targets.
What is this organization?
What does it do?
In FY2025 the Commission evaluated nearly 1,800 negotiated service agreements⧉ between and mailers, adjudicated Market Dominant and Competitive rate cases, and fielded over 6,400 public inquiries⧉ about mail service. Its sharpest act was a January 31, 2025 advisory opinion⧉ rejecting 's Delivering for America network overhaul as resting on "overly optimistic and unsubstantiated financial projections" that shortchanged the plan's hit to rural service. The Commission also dismissed three formal complaints⧉ against that year.
What does it cost to run — money and people?
The Commission hasn't gone through Congress for money since the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 stripped it from the annual appropriations process⧉ -- it now submits its budget straight to 's own Governors, funded from postal revenue, not taxes. Its FY2025 budget requirement was $28.8 million⧉, of which it executed $27.9 million, a 97 percent rate; that funded a planned 101 full-time staff⧉, up from 92 the year before. Against the Census Bureau's 341.8 million U.S. residents⧉, running the Postal Service's regulator costs about 8 cents per person.
View data as table
| USPS Governors' annual funding | 25.4 | approved by the postal governors from the Postal Service Fund, not tax revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Technology Modernization Fund award | 2 | final year drawing on the Commission's TMF award; fully obligated as of Sept. 30, 2025 |
| Cumulative carryover balances | 1.4 | unspent no-year funds from prior years |
Why is it good for society?
The Commission's FY2025 Annual Compliance Determination found⧉ that 20 of 27 Market Dominant mail categories -- 74 percent -- missed their delivery-speed targets, even after had already lowered the bar on 19 of them, and ordered corrective reporting through FY2026. It also found $711.6 million in losses⧉ on products still prices below cost, and directed fixes in the next rate case. Without this annual audit, a government-sanctioned mail monopoly's rates and on-time record would answer to no one outside the agency itself.
- PRC's FY2025 $28.8 million budget requirement (97% executed) and 101 planned staff work out to about 8 cents per U.S. resident -- funded entirely by 's own Board of Governors, not Congress, since a 2022 law removed the Commission from the appropriations process.
- The Commission's own FY2025 compliance audit found 20 of 27 Market Dominant mail categories (74%) missed their delivery-speed targets -- even after had already lowered the bar for 19 of them -- plus $711.6 million in losses on underpriced products, both directed toward correction in FY2026.
Your handles.* File a formal complaint about rates or service, or comment on an open rate docket, through the Commission's eDockets online filing system -- the Commission itself warns that complaint proceedings are complex legal proceedings⧉ best pursued with an attorney's help. Every fall, the Commission opens a public-comment window on 's Annual Compliance Report (the filing behind the ACD) -- watch for the new ACR docket at prc.gov. Or write directly: Postal Regulatory Commission, 901 New York Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20268 (202-789-6800).
Sources(8) ▾
- U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo.gov), Office of the Law Revision Counsel -- United States Code, 2023 Edition, 39 U.S.C. Chapter 5 -- Postal Regulatory Commission (Sections 501-502, Establishment; Commissioners) (2024) — The official codified U.S. Code (govinfo.gov's 2023 edition PDF of Title 39, Chapter 5), giving the exact enacted text of Sections 501 (Establishment) and 502 (Commissioners) with Public Law/Statutes-at-Large source-credit notes. Used for the Commission's statutory establishment, its 'independent establishment of the executive branch' status, and the five-Commissioner/six-year-term/party-balance structure. Read directly with pdftotext -layout. govinfo.gov · original document
- Congressional Research Service, Postal Primer: Overview of the Postal Regulatory Commission (CRS In Focus IF13055) (2025-07-03) — Congress's own nonpartisan research service, hosted on congress.gov, summarizing the PRC's founding (Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, PAEA 2006), its rate-regulation and oversight functions, and -- critically -- the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022's change removing the PRC from the annual congressional appropriations process. Table 2 gives the PRC's FY2024/FY2025 budget by source (request, governors-approved, other sources, total), cross-checked against the Commission's own FY2025 Annual Report figures. Read directly with pdftotext -layout. congress.gov · original document
- Postal Regulatory Commission, Postal Regulatory Commission Annual Report to the President & Congress, Fiscal Year 2025 (2026-01-28) — The Commission's own statutorily required (PAEA) annual report to the President and Congress, filed with the Commission's eDockets system January 28, 2026. Source for FY2025 workload counts (NSAs evaluated, complaints dismissed, public inquiries fielded), the January 31, 2025 Delivering for America advisory opinion findings, and Chapter VI's FY2025 budget requirement/execution figures and funding-source breakdown. Read directly with pdftotext -layout. prc.gov · original document
- Postal Regulatory Commission, Annual Compliance Determination Report, Fiscal Year 2025 (Docket No. ACR2025) (2026-03-27) — The Commission's own statutorily required (39 U.S.C. 3653) determination of whether 's FY2025 rates and service standards complied with law -- the Commission's central annual accountability act. Source for the Executive Summary's mission description (170 million addresses), the FY2025 service-performance non-compliance finding (20 of 27 Market Dominant categories missed targets), and the $711.6 million non-compensatory-product losses finding. Read directly with pdftotext -layout. prc.gov · original document
- Postal Regulatory Commission, Office of Budget and Finance, Postal Regulatory Commission Budget Request, Fiscal Year 2025 (2024-08-29) — The Commission's own formal FY2025 budget submission (filed under prc.gov's Congressional Submissions/testimonies archive), the only document giving Full-Time Equivalent staffing by year. Table 1 gives FY2024 (92) and FY2025-requested (101) side by side, and the accompanying text confirms the planned increase. Read directly with pdftotext -layout. prc.gov · original document
- U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Population Growth Slows Due to Historic Decline in Net International Migration (Vintage 2025 national population estimate) (2026-01-27) — The Census Bureau's own Vintage 2025 national population estimate release, giving the U.S. resident population as of July 1, 2025 -- the per-resident denominator for this entry's cost-per-person KPI, per better_metrics.md's sourced-denominator discipline (same document and figure other good-citizen entries in FY2025 use). census.gov · original document
- Postal Regulatory Commission, About the Postal Regulatory Commission (2026-07-16) — The Commission's own official 'About' page, giving the headquarters mailing address (901 New York Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20268) used for this entry's geo pin, and confirming the five-office staff structure. prc.gov · original document
- Postal Regulatory Commission, Consumer Assistance / Filing a Complaint (2026-06-25) — The Commission's own consumer-assistance page describing how a member of the public files a formal complaint about rates or service, and giving the Commission's direct mailing address and phone line -- used for this entry's 'Your handles' block. prc.gov · original document
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The Postal Regulatory Commission traces to the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970⧉ (P.L. 91-375), which created it as the Postal Rate Commission; the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006⧉ re-established it, at 39 U.S.C. § 501, as "an independent establishment of the executive branch," with five Senate-confirmed Commissioners⧉ -- no more than three from one party -- serving six-year terms. It regulates the mail monopoly that reaches 170 million addresses nationwide⧉.