(, "waiting mail"), also known as general delivery in North American English, is a service where the post office holds the mail until the recipient calls for it. It is a common destination for mail for people who are visiting a particular location and have no need, or no way, of having mail delivered directly to their place of residence at that time.
By country
Argentina The Poste Restante service is run by the national postal company, Correo Argentino.
Letter or parcels can be addressed with either the recipient's full name or their ID card number:
[Recipient's full name or Recipient's ID number] Poste Restante [Post Office's Postal Code] [Office name] [(City)]
There is no specified time period for the recipient to pick up the letter. Upon retiring, the recipient must provide proof of identity and pay a charge equivalent to a simple mail service.
Australia
(Counter Delivery) is a long-established service within Australia run by the national postal service, Australia Post, which allows one's post to be sent to a city-centre holding place. It will be held for up to 1 month and can be collected by providing proof of identity, such as a passport.
For example, for the Adelaide GPO (General Post Office, i.e. the main post office in the city of Adelaide) one would address a letter or parcel thus:
Recipient's Full Name CARE OF POST OFFICE GPO Adelaide SA 5001 Australia
The recipient would then need to go to the Adelaide GPO at 10 Franklin St to collect it when it was due to arrive or shortly afterwards. The approved abbreviation is "CARE PO". For outward bound international mail, the form "POSTE RESTANTE" is recognised. Mail that is not addressed in the approved form may be delayed for hand sorting.
Austria
In Austria, can be used with a name or an agreed passphrase under which the envelope can be collected, followed by the indication (in capitals). A tax of €1 is collected from the addressee.
Belgium Bpost uses the term (French), (Dutch) or (German) which needs to be indicated on the post together with the name, optionally the first name, full name of the post office, postal code and city. The recipient has one month to collect the post, after which it will be sent back to the sender. A special tax applies valued at the price of one stamp of value 2; this price is €1.74. This tax is usually paid by the recipient but can also be paid by the sender.
Name of the recipient Poste Restante Full name of the post office B-1234 City Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina In Bosnia and Herzegovina, mail is addressed to , which is written after the full name of the recipient as shown in their ID document or passport.
Name of recipient POSTE RESTANTE 12345 City
Cambodia In Cambodia, mail is addressed to , which is written after the full name of the recipient. Parcels and letters should contain a phone number, but recipients are more likely to get notified by phone for a parcel.
Name of recipient POSTE RESTANTE City Postcode ##### Province Name Cambodia Tel +855 ### ### ###
Canada Canada Post uses the term general delivery in English, and in French. Travellers may use the service for up to four months, and it is also used in circumstances where other methods of delivery (such as post office boxes) are not available.
Canada Post guidelines for addressing of letter mail stipulate that general delivery mail should be addressed in the following fashion:
MR JOHN JONES GD STN A FREDERICTON NB E3B 1A1
where GD is the abbreviation for general delivery (alternatively "PR" for in French), and STN A is the station or post office (in this case, Station A). When the mail is to be delivered to a retail postal outlet, then the abbreviation RPO is used, and in French the station is indicated by SUCC for , or retail postal outlet by "CSP" for . In the above example, the French version of the address would use "PR SUCC A" for the second line.
Croatia In Croatia, mail is addressed to , which is written after the full name of the recipient (as appears on the identification to be presented ID document or a passport, if abroad).
Name of recipient POSTE RESTANTE 12345 City
In Croatia letters received to address are kept in post office for 30 calendar days.
Czech Republic In the Czech Republic, mail can be addressed to the post office if and the full name of the recipient is included. To retrieve the mail, the recipient has to have a valid ID, passport, or a driving licence. The mail will be retained for only 15 days.
Name of the recipient Details (such as – summer camp etc.), or leave blank POSTE RESTANTE 12345 City
Denmark
Mail is held for 14 days.Poste Restante, from PostNord
Finland is offered widely throughout Finland in 425 post office addresses In Finland, letters received to address are kept in post office for 14 days after arrival.http://posti.fi/english/thepostsservices/faq/#qu10 . [Frequently asked questions]
Before 1 April 2013, it was possible to use a nickname instead of real name and without providing an ID. In 2019, picking up mail from was to become paid service, but the planned fee was cancelled.
France In France, offers the service for letters at an additional cost to be paid by the receiver Letters are kept for 15 days. The service is offered at any post office. The only requirement is to add after the recipient's name and before the full address of the post office.
For the post office of Paris Louvre the address would be :
Recipient's Name Poste Restante 50 rue du Louvre 75001 PARIS +Fare table for mainland French Poste RestanteType of shipmentCostLetters (under 3 cm of height)€1.49Printed press€0.72Parcels5.44
Germany offer the service for all mail items under the (General Delivery) service. Domestic items may make use of a passphrase instead of the recipients name if preferred. As of 2022, the item should be addressed to the (main post office) of the location or certain other post offices designated as offering this service; smaller post offices and post agencies (contractor outlets) do not accept poste restante and may return the item.
Address Format: Recipient Name Kennwort: [passphrase] (optional) Postlagernd Post Office address Post Office postcode/town
The phrase (Password) in front of the passphrase requires the consignee to specify the passphrase at time of collection. Items may be collected from the designated post office upon production of valid identification (e.g. Passport) and the passphrase.
It is important to use the term in preference to, or in conjunction with, to prevent returned mail.
Gibraltar
Royal Gibraltar Post Office allows letters and parcels to be received. ID is required for collection.
The address format is: Name of recipient Poste Restante General Post Office Gibraltar
Greece In Greece you can send small parcels under 2 kg to the Greece post office.
Address Format:
POSTE RESTANTE Recipient's Name Post office address Post office zip code Town Greece
To collect your mail if it is addressed and stamped to you by bring your passport and ID with you.
Hong Kong In Hong Kong, Hongkong Post is responsible for handling the mail and mail can be sent to General Post Office only.
At the address side, mark the mail with or in bold.
The address format is like this: Name of recipient Name of post office (optional) Hong Kong
The name of recipient must be real and in full. No initial or figure is allowed.
Hungary Hungarian post requires () delivery to be addressed to specific post offices. Additionally, the postal service provides a "pick-up" service for web-based businesses where a business can ship to a pick-up point.
India India Post offers a Poste Restante service of up to two months at various post offices throughout the country. Mail is addressed thus:
Mr./Mrs. SURNAME First name Poste Restante C/O POSTMASTER GPO [for General Post Office] City name State name India
Carry a passport or some other form of national identification to pick it up.
In India, letters are said to be held for around a month, up to two in larger GPOs, before being returned; so senders should add their return address, or use the recipient's home address as a return destination.
Ireland
In Ireland, 's "Address Point" service is ″a fixed address for those without a fixed home.″
also offer , as a free service which allows visitors to a town to have their mail addressed to the local Post Office, where it will be held for collection.
Italy In Italy, writing together with the full name of the addressee and postal code will activate general delivery at the relevant post office. Letter post is retained for 30 days; parcel post is normally retained for 15 days, with an exceptional period of 1 month.
Japan In Japan, the term indicates a mail.
The Japan Post Service guidelines for addressing stipulate that general delivery domestic mail should be addressed in the following fashion: 163-8799
(TEL 090-xxxx-xxxx)
For international mail, Mr. Taro Yamada Shinjuku-Yuubinkyoku-dome Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo-to 163–8799 JAPAN (TEL 090-xxxx-xxxx)
where "163-8799" is the postcode of the post office, "Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo-to" is the address of the post office, "Shinjuku-Yuubinkyoku" is the name of the post office, and "-dome" means "keep it there".
A mail will be kept in the post office for 10 days, identification is required for pickup.
Lithuania In Lithuania, the words or (used locally in Lithuania) should be made bold.
For local mail:
Name of recipient (in dative case)
Name of post office 12345 City Mob. tel.: 86xxxxxxx and/or (optional mobile number for notifying with SMS message about received registered mail) [email protected] (optional e-mail address for notifying about received registered mail)
Luxembourg The Luxembourg Post has discontinued the service and is not possible anymore.
Macau CTT (Macau) offers Poste Restante service (Posta Restante) to Macau's visitors or those who do not have a fixed residence in Macau. Upon collection, the addressee needs to pay MOP 6.50 as the administration fee (additional charges may apply). The recipient's address must include the words (in Chinese) or (in Portuguese). The addressee's name must be real name, in conformity to his/her name shown on an identity card or passport. The address format is as follows:
Name of addressee POSTA RESTANTE Name of post office or branch office Locality (e.g. Macau, Taipa, etc.) Macau Special Administrative Region
Malta MaltaPost offers service from a post office in the capital Valletta for up to three months, after which mail is returned to sender. Prior to using the service, the person must inform MaltaPost via email, and a means of identification needs to be provided when picking up the mail. Mail should be addressed as follows:
Name of recipient Poste Restante Valletta Boxes 75, Old Bakery Str IL-BELT VALLETTA VLT 1000 MALTA
Netherlands PostNL offers service for up to one month, after which the mail will be returned to the original sender (if provided). This service is provided by all Dutch post offices. Mail should be addressed thus:Post NL.
Last name of recipient First name of recipient Poste Restante Name and address of post office The Netherlands
New Zealand New Zealand Post offers a service of up to two months at various post offices throughout the country. Mail is addressed thus:
Name of Recipient Poste Restante Name of post office Post office's address Town and postcode
Norway In Norway, Norway Post provides the service in all post offices. Ordinary mail is returned to sender three weeks after arrival. Parcels and registered letters are returned to sender after two weeks. Valid foreign identification for obtaining mail is limited to passports and European Identity cards. Mail is addressed according to the following format: Name of recipient POSTE RESTANTE Name of post office Post office's address Post office's postcode and place
Poland Mail should be addressed according to the following format: