Editing International reply coupon (section)

== History ==
The IRC was introduced in 1906 at a Universal Postal Union congress in [[Rome]]. At the time an IRC could be exchanged for a single-rate, ordinary postage stamp for surface delivery to a foreign country, as this was before the introduction of [[airmail]] services. An IRC is exchangeable in a UPU member country for the minimum postage of a priority or unregistered airmail letter to a foreign country.

IRCs are ordered from the UPU headquarters in [[Bern]], [[Switzerland]] by [[Postal administration|postal authorities]]. They are generally available at large [[post office]]s; in the U.S., they were requisitioned along with regular domestic stamps by any post office that had sufficient demand for them.
[[File:British-International-Reply-Coupon.jpg|thumb|right|A British 1 Shilling IRC issued in 1959.]]
Prices for IRCs vary by country. In the [[United States]] in November 2012, the purchase price was $2.20<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/Notice123.pdf |title=International reply coupon cost listed on USPS Extra Service Price List|publisher=[[United States Postal Service]]|access-date=6 November 2012}}</ref> [[USD]]; however, the US Postal Service discontinued sales of IRCs on 27 January 2013 due to declining demand.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2012/pb22352/html/updt_005.htm |title=IMM Revision: Changes to Pricing and Mailing Standards for International Mailing Services |publisher=[[United States Postal Service]] |access-date=27 January 2013 |archive-date=25 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125231831/http://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2012/pb22352/html/updt_005.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Britain's Royal Mail also stopped selling IRCs on 31 December 2011, citing minimal sales and claiming that the average post office sold less than one IRC per year. IRCs purchased in foreign countries may be used in the United States toward the purchase of postage stamps and embossed stamped envelopes at the current one-ounce First Class International rate (US$1.20 as of November 2020) per coupon.<ref name="usps-irc-policy">{{cite journal |url=https://pe.usps.com/text/imm/immc3_020.htm |journal=Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service - International Mail Manual |publisher=[[United States Postal Service]] |title=International Reply Coupons |date=2 November 2020 |access-date=18 November 2020 |archive-date=4 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204053803/https://pe.usps.com/TEXT/IMM/immc3_020.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="usps-prices">{{cite web |title=Notice 123: Price List - First-Class Mail Int'l |url=https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm#_c341 |publisher=[[United States Postal Service]] |access-date=18 November 2020 |date=18 October 2020 |archive-date= 2 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102035024/https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm#_c341}}</ref>

IRCs are often used by [[amateur radio]] operators sending [[QSL card]]s to each other; it has traditionally been considered good practice and common courtesy to include an IRC when writing to a foreign operator and expecting a reply by mail.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.n6hb.org/s-a/irc.htm |title=International reply coupons |publisher=Amateur Radio Station N6HB |date=28 July 2007 |access-date=7 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509073122/http://www.n6hb.org/s-a/irc.htm |archive-date=9 May 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> If the operator's home country does not sell IRCs, then a foreign IRC may be used.

Previous editions of the IRC, the Beijing, Nairobi, Doha and Istanbul Models and all post-2000 versions, bear an expiration date. The current IRC, the Abidjan Model, will be valid until the end of 2026.<ref name="upu-int-2024-11-27">{{cite web|url=https://www.upu.int/en/universal-postal-union/activities/philately-ircs/international-reply-coupons-ircs|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250215194711/https://www.upu.int/en/universal-postal-union/activities/philately-ircs/international-reply-coupons-ircs|title=International Reply Coupons (IRCs)|access-date=9 March 2025|archive-date=15 February 2025 }}</ref>