Stamp Collecting with GS

Propose a New United States Stamp

Every year the United States Postal Service issues dozens of new stamps to remember and celebrate a multitude of places, events, and people important to the USA, and have you ever wondered why and how someone or something gets their very own postage stamp?

It's a very simple process and every year the USPS's Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee reviews hundreds of recommendations for new stamp issues. Though thousands are dismissed outright because they don't meet the basic requirements for suitable stamp subjects, hundreds of prospective stamp issues are always in the pipeline in one stage or another of development.

Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee

If you're interested in seeing your favorite person, place or event commemorated as a United State postage stamp, your first stop is the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee.

The Committee recommends an interesting and educational mix of approximately 25 stamp subjects to the Postmaster General each year. They're looking for stamp design subjects that will stand the test of time, and that are also in line with general public opinion.

The Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee was established in 1957 to evaluate the merits of all stamp proposals and to give USPS the "breadth of judgment and depth of experience in various areas that influence subject matter, character and beauty of postage stamps."

The Committee is made up of 15 members who share an interest in philately and the needs of the postal system public. They review all the proposals received when they meet four times a year in Washington, D.C. They also review and comment on the designs of stamps in production.

The Committee meets four times yearly in Washington, D.C. At the meetings, the members review all proposals that have been received since the previous meeting. No in-person appeals by stamp proponents are permitted. The members also review and provide guidance on artwork and designs for stamp subjects that are scheduled to be issued.

As of March 2001, these are the Committee's Stamp Subject Selection Criteria

It is a general policy that U.S. postage stamps and stationery primarily will feature American or American-related subjects.

No living person shall be honored by portrayal on U.S. postage.

Commemorative stamps or postal stationery items honoring individuals usually will be issued on or in conjunction with significant anniversaries of their birth, but no postal item will be issued sooner than ten years after the individual's death. The only exception to the ten-year rule is the issuance of stamps honoring deceased U.S. presidents. They may be honored with a memorial stamp on the first birth anniversary following death.

Events of historical significance shall be considered for commemoration only on anniversaries in multiples of 50 years.

Only events and themes of widespread national appeal and significance will be considered for commemoration. Events or themes of local or regional significance may be recognized by a philatelic or special postal cancellation, which may be arranged through the local postmaster.

Stamps or stationery items shall not be issued to honor fraternal, political, sectarian, or service/charitable organizations. Stamps or stationery shall not be issued to promote or advertise commercial enterprises or products. Commercial products or enterprises might be used to illustrate more general concepts related to American culture.

Stamps or stationery items shall not be issued to honor cities, towns, municipalities, counties, primary or secondary schools, hospitals, libraries, or similar institutions. Due to the limitations placed on annual postal programs and the vast number of such locales, organizations and institutions in existence, it would be difficult to single out any one for commemoration.

Requests for observance of statehood anniversaries will be considered for commemorative postage stamps only at intervals of 50 years from the date of the state's first entry into the Union. Requests for observance of other state-related or regional anniversaries will be considered only as subjects for postal stationery, and again only at intervals of 50 years from the date of the event.

Stamps or stationery items shall not be issued to honor religious institutions or individuals whose principal achievements are associated with religious undertakings or beliefs.

Stamps or postal stationery items with added values, referred to as "semi-postals," shall be issued every two years in accordance with Public Law 106253. Semi-postals will not be considered as part of the commemorative program and separate criteria will apply.

Requests for commemoration of universities and other institutions of higher education shall be considered only for stamped cards and only in connection with the 200th anniversaries of their founding.

No stamp shall be considered for issuance if one treating the same subject has been issued in the past 50 years. The only exceptions to this rule are traditional themes such as national symbols and holidays.

If you'd like to submit an idea to the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee you can write to:

Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee
c/o Stamp Development
U.S. Postal Service
475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW
Room 5670
Washington, D.C. 20260-2437

Submit your proposal in writing, and if there's a definite proposed date of issue, at least three years before that date to allow sufficient time for consideration, design, and production.

After it's received, the stamp proposal is reviewed, and if the suggested subject does not violate any of the 12 criteria above, the CSAC researches the topic and that subject is listed on the Committee's next meeting agenda.

At the next meeting, the CSAC reviews the research and will reject the stamp idea or place it in its "under consideration" file.

The Committee will make a final recommendation to the Postmaster General of the U.S. for new stamp issues based on the subjects in its "under consideration" file, but no announcements are made about approved issues, until the Postmaster General releases the USPS's list of new postage stamps issues in late fall of the year.

If you'd like to see someone or something honored, all you need do is write to the Committee and demonstrate that your idea has merit and the wide support of the general American public.