Franking

Types of franks include uncanceled and precanceled postage stamps (both adhesive and printed on postal stationery), impressions applied via postage meter (via so-called "postage evidencing systems"), official use "Penalty" franks, Business Reply Mail (BRM), and other permit Imprints (Indicia), manuscript and facsimile "franking privilege" signatures, "soldier's mail" markings, and any other forms authorized by the 192 postal administrations that are members of the Universal Postal Union.

[4][5] The UPU co-ordinates the application of the regulations of postal systems of its member nations, including as they relate to franking, to permit the servicing and exchange of international mail.

[10] Some countries allow senders to purchase one-time codes online that can be hand-written onto the piece of mail, such as the Netherlands' Postzegelcodes introduced in 2013.

In Canada, the monarch, the Governor General, members of the Senate of Canada, members of the House of Commons, the Clerk of the House of Commons, Parliamentary Librarian, Associate Parliamentary Librarian, officers of parliament, and the Senate Ethics Officer all have franking privilege, and mail sent to or from these people are sent free of charge.

[20][21] A limited form of franking privilege originated in the British Parliament in 1660, with the passage of an act authorizing the formation of the General Post Office.

[22] In the 19th century, as use of the post office [23] increased significantly in Britain, it was expected that anybody with a Parliament connection would get his friends' mail franked.

In the United States, the franking privilege predates the establishment of the republic itself, as the Continental Congress bestowed it on its members in 1775.

Congress members would spend much time "inscribing their names on the upper right-hand corner of official letters and packages" until the 1860s for the purpose of sending out postage-free mail.

Within two years, however, Congress began to make exceptions to this ban, including free mailing of the Congressional Record, seeds, and agricultural reports.

Finally, in 1891, noting that its members were the only government officials required to pay postage, Congress restored full franking privileges.

[24] Among the Commission's responsibilities is to establish the "Official Mail Allowance" for each Member based proportionally on the number of constituents they serve.