Editing Letter box (section)

==Letter box standards and construction==
[[File:CIDEX.jpg|thumb|Community letter box station in France]]

===Europe===
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2017}}
The [[European standard]] for letter boxes, EN 13724:2002 "Postal services – Apertures of private letter boxes and letter plates – Requirements and test methods", replaces earlier national standards such as [[British Standard|BS]] 2911:1974 "Specification for letter plates" or [[DIN]] 32617. It specifies among other things:

* [[Envelope size]] C4 (229&nbsp;mm × 324&nbsp;mm) must be deliverable without bending or damage
* The internal volume must able to hold at least a 40&nbsp;mm high bundle of C4 envelopes
* [[wikt:aperture|Aperture]] width of either 230–280&nbsp;mm (> C4 width) or 325–400&nbsp;mm (> C4 height)
* Aperture height of 30–35&nbsp;mm
* Mounting height of between 0.7 and 1.7 m for the aperture
* When positioned externally, the post box should not allow more than 1% total capacity water ingress from natural precipitation or moisture causes.
* Various privacy, theft-protection, vandalism resistance and corrosion-resistance test requirements

This standard is voluntary. It was developed by a German mail boxes manufacturer Burg Wächter.

===Canada===
For those neighbourhoods where mail delivery is to a mail slot, the mail slot must have an opening not less than 17.5&nbsp;cm by 4&nbsp;cm, and must be located in a front door or adjacent panel not more than 125&nbsp;cm and not less than 60&nbsp;cm from the finished floor line.<ref name="CPR">Canada Post, ''Mail Receptacles Regulations SOR/83-743: Regulations Respecting the Delivery of Mail To And the Collection Of Mail From Certain Mail Receiving and Dispatching Facilities'', Canada Post Corporation Act, Department of Justice, 15 September 2006</ref> Wall-mounted mailboxes equipped with a slot must have a slot opening measurement not less than 13.5&nbsp;cm by 4&nbsp;cm and the slot located on or near the top of the box.<ref name="CPR"/>

Curbside mailboxes, known in Canada as rural mailboxes, must be weatherproof, have space for the name of the mailbox owner, and possess a signal device on the right-hand side (when facing the front of the mailbox) for pickup of outgoing mail.<ref name="CPR"/> The signal device must rise above the mailbox and be visible at a distance, and must not obscure the mailbox owner's name or impede vehicular or pedestrian traffic.<ref name="CPR"/> Canada Post requires all rural mailboxes to have a minimum interior dimensions of 45&nbsp;cm in length by 17.5&nbsp;cm in width by 17.5&nbsp;cm in height for a rectangular mailbox, and 45&nbsp;cm in length by 25&nbsp;cm in diameter in the case of a cylindrical mailbox.<ref name="CPR"/>

===United States===
[[File:Mailbox in Jacksonville, Florida.jpg|thumb|upright|A [[plastic]] mailbox in [[Jacksonville]], Florida, US]]

The US Post Office has established guidelines for mail recipients, including mail slot or mailbox size, location, and identification requirements.<ref name="Reference7A"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pe.usps.gov/Archive/HTML/DMMArchive1209/D041.htm#Xbi4678 |title=US Postal Customer guidelines |publisher=Pe.usps.gov |access-date=2012-09-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004024025/http://pe.usps.gov/Archive/HTML/DMMArchive1209/D041.htm |archive-date=2012-10-04 }}</ref> While the Post Office permitted alternative designs for attached mailboxes and mail slots that met basic size and construction requirements, the same was not true for curbside mailboxes, which postal regulations required be in the form of the traditional dome-rectangular or 'tunnel-top' design first established in 1915. In 1978, seven years after the establishment of the restructured US Postal Service, postal authorities at last approved a "contemporary" mailbox specification for alternative designs.

Currently, US curbside mailboxes are classified as (T) Traditional, (C) Contemporary, or (L) Locking.<ref name="USPS-curb">''[http://about.usps.com/publications/engineering-standards-specifications/spusps-std-7b01/welcome.html U.S. Postal Service Standard Mailboxes, Curbside]'', U.S. Postal Service STD-7B01, retrieved 8 February 2012</ref> Traditional or Contemporary non-locking curbside mailboxes are approved in three sizes - No. 1, No. 2, or No. 3, measured by minimum interior dimensions.<ref name="USPS-curb"/> The largest acceptable curbside mailbox is the No. 3, which measures 22.81&nbsp;inches long, 11&nbsp;inches wide, and 15&nbsp;inches in height (58&nbsp;cm x 28&nbsp;cm x 38&nbsp;cm) at the peak.<ref name="USPS-curb"/> Locking mailbox designs that provide security for the recipient's incoming mail have fewer restrictions on shape and size, though designs with a slot for incoming mail must be at least 1.75&nbsp;inches high by 10&nbsp;inches wide.<ref name="USPS-curb"/> Residential locking mailboxes cannot require the postal carrier to have a key, by USPS Specifications.<ref name="Mail Boss FAQ">{{cite web|title=Mailbox FAQ|url=http://www.mailboss.com/faq#key|work=MailBoss.com|publisher=Epoch Design|access-date=14 June 2013}}</ref>  Therefore, no USPS approved residential locking mailbox has secure outgoing mail. Installation requirements vary from standard unlocked mailboxes: with locking mailboxes, the incoming mail slot must be 41"-45" above the roadside surface, and the front of the mailbox must be 6"-8" back from the curb.<ref name="USPS Specifications">{{cite web|title=USPS Specs|url=http://www.mailboss.com/usps-specs|work=MailBoss.com|publisher=Epoch Design|access-date=14 June 2013}}</ref>  USPS specifications for all mailboxes mandate the same, except the placement of the 'incoming mail area' varies with a locking mailbox.<ref name="USPS mailbox guidelines">{{cite web|title=Mailbox Guidelines|url=https://www.usps.com/manage/know-mailbox-guidelines.htm|work=USPS.com|publisher=USPS|access-date=14 June 2013}}</ref>