PS Form 1717, “Bid for Preferred Assignment,” is the internal USPS card a postal employee fills out to bid on a specific duty assignment when one opens up at a facility. The assignment goes to the senior qualified bidder under the collective bargaining agreement that covers the position, and the signed card is the employee’s official record that the bid was placed.
What the Form Is
The USPS Directives and Forms Catalog (Publication 223) lists PS Form 1717 as “Bid for Preferred Assignment (card),” with a current edition date of June 2009. It sits under Employee Resource Management, is designated for use at post offices, and carries stock number 7530-02-000-7364. The form is not available to the public; it is sourced internally through USPS channels.1United States Postal Service. Publication 223 – Directives and Forms Catalog – 3 Postal Service Forms
Preferred assignment bidding is governed by the collective bargaining agreements between the Postal Service and its employee unions. When a duty assignment becomes available — a carrier route, a window clerk schedule, or another posted position — eligible employees may bid on it based on seniority. Form 1717 is the standardized card that carries the bid.
What Information Goes on the Card
Because it is a card rather than a multi-page application, the form collects only what is needed to identify the bidder and the position:
- The employee’s name
- Seniority date
- The assignment being bid on
- The date of the bid
- The employee’s signature
Those few fields are the entire record. The signed card matters most if a dispute arises later over whether a senior employee was passed over for the assignment.
How the Bid Process Works
When a preferred assignment opens, management posts a notice describing the position, its hours, and any special requirements. Employees who want the job complete PS Form 1717 and submit it within the posting period set by the notice. Once the period closes, the assignment is awarded to the senior qualified bidder under the terms of the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Fill the card out carefully. An incorrect seniority date, a missing signature, or a bid submitted after the posting window closes can knock a bid out of contention even when the employee would otherwise be the senior qualified applicant.
How Long the Form Is Kept
Under the USPS records retention schedule published in Postal Bulletin 22140, PS Form 1717 is retained for six months.2United States Postal Service. Postal Bulletin 22140 – Records Retention After that, the cards are eligible for destruction. The short window reflects the form’s limited useful life: once the bid cycle is complete and the grievance period has passed, the card no longer has a job to do. If you may need to reference your bid later — for example, in a grievance — keep your own copy.
Not the PO Box Fee Register
Several online sources misidentify PS Form 1717 as the “Post Office Box Fee Register.” That is a different form entirely. The PO Box Fee Register is PS Form 1091-A, retained for two years after the close of the fiscal year.2United States Postal Service. Postal Bulletin 22140 – Records Retention The two forms sit near each other in the USPS catalog’s numbering, but they belong to different departments and serve unrelated purposes. If you were looking for PO Box fee records, 1717 is not the form.