Does the USPS Now Require SCAN Forms for Online Postage?

Some postal employees have been incorrectly telling online sellers that they must use SCAN Forms when dropping off packages with prepaid online postage. SCAN Form (PS Form 5630) is a useful service that allows sellers to prove their packages have entered the mail stream - the SCAN Form contains a master barcode that represents all the packages in a shipment, and a single scan enters all of the associated packages into the USPS database as "Shipment Accepted."
USPS PR Representative Dave Lewin confirmed last week that, while it is preferred, SCAN Form is not required. "The Postal Service does not require a SCAN form," he said. "We do prefer that a SCAN form is used since it is more efficient for shippers and expedites transactions at retail."
SCAN Form is available with most online postage services, including USPS Click-N-Ship, ShipRush, Endicia and Stamps.com. However, SCAN Form is not available in the recently launched Amazon Marketplace Shipping Label program, and the incorrect message that some Amazon.com sellers are receiving at their post office is causing them concern, as documented in this online discussion thread.
Some sellers surmise that the misunderstanding is caused by a supposed memo to postmasters recently that all packages be scanned.
ShipRush Product Manager Rafael Zimberoff said online sellers should be using the SCAN Form, required or not. "All ecommerce sellers should use SCAN forms, without exception. A merchant who uses a system that does not provide SCAN forms is saving pennies to spend dollars lost in lower buyer satisfaction and more complicated customer service."
While sellers who use online postage should use SCAN Forms when possible, since it shows their customers they've mailed their orders, for right now, at least, the post office is not making it mandatory.

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