United States Postal Service

United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as U.S. Mail and the Post Office, independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government charged with processing and delivering mail and with protecting the mail from loss, theft, or abuse in accordance with U.S. postal laws. Besides providing mail processing and delivery services, it oversees the application of postal rates and fees as determined by its board of governors and the independent Postal Regulatory Commission. Created by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970, the United States Postal Service went into operation on July 1, 1971, replacing the Post Office Department, which was one of the few government agencies explicitly authorized by the United States Constitution. The United States maintains the largest postal system in the world.