Last Update: 9/2/05 (Transmittal I-2-63)
When the Post Office returns a claimant's Notice of Decision and Decision as undeliverable (e.g., the claimant moved and left no forwarding address), the Lead Case Technician, Senior Case Technician, Case Technician, or other designated person will:
telephone the claimant's representative, if any, or send a brief memorandum to the field office servicing the claimant's last known address requesting the claimant's new address;
query CPMS and PCOMS to make sure the systems have the correct new address;
query Lexis/Nexis or other public databases and records, to the extent practicable, to find the claimant's new address;
prepare a new Notice of Decision, when the new address is known. Use the current date and language that informs the claimant the decision previously was undeliverable and that the time period for appeal begins with receipt of the new notice; and
transmit the decision, using the new notice, following the usual procedures.
If all attempts to obtain the claimant's new address are unsuccessful, forward the original undelivered envelope, the Notice of Decision and Decision with documentation of all attempts to obtain the new address (e.g., copies of correspondence and reports of telephone contacts) to the appropriate location for association with the claim file. These documents may be helpful in determining the action to take if the claimant later inquires about the case.
If the Post Office returns the representative's copies of the Notice of Decision and Decision, send the copies to the claimant with a cover letter explaining that the Post Office returned the representative's copies as undeliverable.
Forward the original undelivered envelope and a copy of the cover letter to the appropriate location for association with the claim file. These documents may be helpful in determining the action to take if the representative later inquires about the case.