Postal Issues

Zone Improvement Plan (Z.I.P.) codes

State abbreviations

On this page I will share with you the he claims, the truth (my research results), and actions I've taken with regard to some interesting postal issues. How can postal issues be interesting, you ask? Read on!

Zone Improvement Plan (Z.I.P.) codes

Some years ago I read a research paper prepared by a fellow southeastern Pennsylvania patriot titled White Paper on State Citizenship. It dealt with many topics, but relevant to this page, it included the following statements:

I was born in one of the several states...so why am I not a state Citizen? The answer is that I was born a state Citizen but, I unknowingly gave it up to become a federal citizen so that I could receive benefits from the federal government. Some of the benefits that I received were: ... receiving mail with ZIP Codes... .
Your ZIP Code determines which ZIP Code region you live in. ZIP Code regions are federal areas. The IRS has adopted the ZIP Code regions as IRS regions. If you accept mail that has a ZIP Code on it, you are in a federal territory and thus subject to the IRS and all other municipal laws of the District of Columbia.
The fictional States also use ZIP Codes that are within the municipal, exclusive legislative jurisdiction of Congress. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth is one of the several States. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, also known as PA, is a subdivision of the District of Columbia. If you accept postal matter sent to PA, and/or with a ZIP Code, the Courts say that this is evidence that you are a federal citizen or a resident.
Use of the ZIP Code is voluntary. See Domestic Mail Service Regulations, Section 122.32.
The Postal service cannot discriminate against the non-use of the ZIP Code. See Postal Reorganization Act, Section 403, (Public Law 91-375).
The IRS has adopted the ZIP Code areas as Internal Revenue Districts. See the Federal Register, Volume 51, Number 53, Wednesday March 19, 1986.
The acceptance of mail with a ZIP Code is one of the requirements for the IRS to have jurisdiction to send you notices.

In 1997, I attended a seminar on state citizenship and traffic issues. A page in the seminar handout titled "The Patriot: ZIP Code Use Invokes Federal Jurisdiction" had this to say (I'm not including material already covered above):

"The federal government utilizes the ZIP code to prove that you reside in a 'federal district of the District of Columbia.' This is why the IRS and other government agencies (state and federal) require a ZIP Code when they assert jurisdiction by sending you a letter. They claim that this speeds the mail, but this is a sly and subtle TRICK. It is also PRIMA FACIE evidence that you are a subject of Congress and a 'citizen of the District of Columbia' who is 'resident' in one of the several States.
"The receipt of mail with a ZIP code is one of the requirements for the IRS to have jurisdiction to send you notices. The government cannot bill a Citizen of California, as he is not within the purview of the MUNICIPAL LAWS of the District of Columbia.
"You must remember that the Postal Service is a private corporation, a quasi-governmental agency. It is no longer a full government agency. It is like the Federal Reserve System, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Marshall Service. They are all outside the restrictions of the Federal Constitution, as private corporations. They are all powerful in their respective areas of responsibility to enforce collection for the federal debt. So, if you are using a ZIP code, you are in effect saying openly and notoriously that you do not live in the State of California, but, instead are a resident in the california area of the District of Columbia (a federal district).

This is pretty heavy stuff, no? The suggestion is that simply by accepting mail with a Z.I.P. code on it, I am somehow giving up my superior rights as a state Citizen, and becoming a federal citizen, subject to the jurisdiction of the federal government. As with other issues covered on this Web site, this is one that shocked and amazed me when I was first exposed to it, and it resulted in some research on my part to determine how much truth lay behind the claims. It is now more than six years later, and my research is not complete. But, I have decided to share with you just what I do know, and what actions I have taken in response to my research results.

What does the U.S.P.S. say about this? I found that Domestic Mail Manual, Jan. 1, 1997 (DMM 51) section A010 (General Addressing Standards) subsection 1.2 (Address Elements, clause d says: "ZIP Code (5-digit or ZIP+4) where required. ZIP Codes may be omitted from pieces mailed by the general public at the single-piece rates for First-Class Mail and Standard Mail (A) and from pieces bearing a simplified address."

State abbreviations

Remember the claim above that said "The Pennsylvania Commonwealth is one of the several States. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, also know as PA, is a subdivision of the District of Columbia. If you accept postal matter sent to PA, and/or with a ZIP Code, the Courts say that this is evidence that you are a federal citizen or a resident."? We know that the United States Postal Service would like us to use the two-capital-letter state "abbreviations" on mail, but what are the "real" state abbreviations? I compiled a list, using the Constitution for the united States and Black's Law Dictionary (4th edition, 1968) as sources.

	State name	Abbrev. in Constitution	Abbrev. in Black's 4th

1	Alabama	not yet state	Ala.
2	Alaska	not yet state	Alaska
3	Arizona	not yet state	Ariz.
4	Arkansas	not yet state	Ark.
5	California	not yet state	Cal.
6	Colorado	not yet state	Col.
7	Connecticut	Conn.	Conn.
8	Delaware	Del.	Del.
9	Florida	not yet state	Fla.
10	Georgia	Ga.	Geo.
11	Hawaii	not yet state	Hawaii
12	Idaho	not yet state	Ida., Idaho
13	Illinois	not yet state	Ill.
14	Indiana	not yet state	Ind.
15	Iowa	not yet state	Ia.
16	Kansas	not yet state	Kan., Kans.
17	Kentucky	not yet state	Ken., Ky.
18	Louisiana	not yet state	La., Lou., Louis.
19	Maine	not yet state	Me.
20	Maryland	Md.	Md.
21	Massachusetts	Mass.	Mass.
22	Michigan	not yet state	Mich.
23	Minnesota	not yet state	Minn.
24	Mississippi	not yet state	Miss.
25	Missouri	not yet state	Mo.
26	Montana	not yet state	Mont.
27	Nebraska	not yet state	Nev.
28	Nevada	not yet state	Mo.
29	New Hampshire	N.H.	N.H.
30	New Jersey	N.J.	N.J.
31	New Mexico	not yet state	N.M.
32	New York	N.Y.	N.Y.
33	North Carolina	N.C.	N.C.
34	North Dakota	not yet state	N.D.
35	Ohio	not yet state	Ohio
36	Oklahoma	not yet state	Okl.
37	Oregon	not yet state	Oreg.
38	Pennsylvania	Pa.	Pa., Penn.
39	Rhode Island	R.I.	R.I.
40	South Carolina	S.C.	S.C.
41	South Dakota	not yet state	S.D.
42	Tennessee	not yet state	Tenn.
43	Texas	not yet state	Tex.
44	Utah	not yet state	Utah
45	Vermont	not yet state	Vt., Ver., Verm.
46	Virginia	Va.	Va., Virg.
47	Washington	not yet state	Wash.
48	West Veriginia	not yet state	W. Va.
49	Wisconsin	not yet state	Wis.
50	Wyoming	not yet state	Wy., Wyo.

Note: In older publications, Pennsylvania is also abbreviated Penn^a., with the last letter superscripted.

Another resource I looked to for information about state abbreviations was the Associated Press Style Book, which can be found in libraries. Here's what I found in the abbreviations section.

Abbreviations

Never use an abbreviation for a name or organization unless the name first has been used in full in the story.
The following are abbreviations for the (US) states: Ala., Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., D.C., Del., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Kan., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., Mont., Neb., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.M., N.Y., N.C., N.D., Okla., Ore., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.D., Tenn., Vt., Va., Wash., W. Va., Wis., Wyo.

The following are not abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Utah and Texas.

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This page was last updated at 14:57 on 26 November 2006