Editing Post office box (section)

==By continent==
{{more sources section|date=January 2025}}
Many countries offer some type of PO Boxes for different uses. There are an increasing number of private companies that provide similar PO Box services to the official postal service privately under the guise of [[mail forwarding]].

===Africa===
[[File:PO-Boxes.jpg|thumb|PO boxes inside the [[NamPost]] main building in [[Windhoek]]]]

==== Cameroon ====
Cameroon uses the PO Boxes in Kumba, Yaoundé, Duoala, Bamenda, and other provinces.

==== Namibia ====
In Namibia, PO boxes are the only form of mail delivery to private individuals. Even small settlements feature a block of PO boxes for rent. In [[Windhoek]], capital and the only large town, blocks of PO boxes are scattered all over the city and not necessarily located at post offices but at shopping malls, in [[pedestrian zone]]s or on public places.

==== South Africa ====
The [[South African Post Office]] has Post Boxes available for rent. These are usually attached to or close to a post office. In urban areas with PO Boxes for rent there also may be home delivery of mail. In rural areas Post Boxes are often compulsory as no street deliveries take place. In the areas for which there is no street delivery, Post Boxes are not charged for. Boxes and Street delivery postal codes may be the same in an area, or may differ. Private Bags are available for recipients of large mail volumes.

===Asia===
[[File:Post Office Boxes in General Post Office, Hong Kong.JPG|thumb|Post office boxes in [[General Post Office, Hong Kong|General Post Office]], Hong Kong]]

==== Hong Kong ====
In Hong Kong, PO boxes are available in two different sizes. They are available in many post offices throughout the territory.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hongkong Post - Post Office Box |url=https://www.hongkongpost.hk/en/receiving_mail/letter_boxes/pobox/index.html |website=www.hongkongpost.hk |publisher=Hong Kong Post |access-date=4 January 2025}}</ref>

==== Japan ====
In Japan, PO boxes are available at most post office locations. There is no cost to rent a post office box as the box is provided to ease the effort in delivering postal items to regular customers. Therefore, renters must receive at least one postal item every day and are expected to visit and retrieve mail regularly (daily, in principle) from the box. The renter must also rent the box for six months or more. Boxes in the metropolitan areas are often full and a new user expects to wait for years or more.<ref>[http://www.jp-network.japanpost.jp/services/post/general/index02.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228044706/http://www.jp-network.japanpost.jp/services/post/general/index02.html|date=28 February 2013}}</ref>

==== Philippines ====
In the Philippines, PO boxes are available for rent in selected post offices. PO boxes, also known as lock boxes, are available in three sizes: small, medium and large.<ref>{{cite web | title = Retail Services | language = en | publisher = [[Philippine Postal Corporation|PHLPost]] | url = https://www.phlpost.gov.ph/page.php?id=36 | access-date = 2016-11-09 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161111093048/https://www.phlpost.gov.ph/page.php?id=36 | archive-date = 11 November 2016 | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

==== South Korea ====
In South Korea, PO boxes are available in one size at selected post offices. There is no charge for renting PO box, but renter must fetch mail at least once in 30 days. Application is only available at post office with valid ID, [[Seal (East Asia)|seal]] for receiving registered mail, and key fee (usually around 10,000 won). Seoul CPO box room is the only PO box in Korea with fully automated mail retrieving system.<ref>{{cite web | title = 우체국 우편사서함 제도~ 그것이 알고싶다!! | language = ko | publisher = [[Korea Post]] | url = http://m.blog.naver.com/kpostbank/220648761091 | access-date = 2017-03-19 }}</ref>

===Europe===
====Austria====
In Austria, PO Boxes come in one size, and four different versions
#Only Post addressed to the PO Box will be delivered to it,
#All mail addressed to the address of the customer and the PO Box will be delivered to the PO Box,
#Same as 1., but for businesses,
#Same as 2., but for businesses, – they are generally available at all post offices throughout the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.post.at/privat_empfangen_brief_postfach.php |title=Postfach |publisher=Post.at |access-date=2013-08-24}}</ref>

Only mail from Austrian Post can be delivered to an Austrian Post PO Box,<ref>Nur Sendungen die von der Österreichischen Post zugestellt werden, gelangen ins Postfach. – English: Only mail from Austrian Post gets in your PO Box</ref> but there are also private companies offering the same services.

====Serbia====
In Serbia, anyone can apply for Post Office Box (in Serbian: Поштански фах) for very small yearly fee (currently, cost is two standard postal stamps). Application contains identification and address information of a user. User may choose what mail should be delivered to postal office Box and what should be delivered to the real address. If not specified otherwise, all mail goes to Post Office Box.

====United Kingdom====
In the United Kingdom, anyone applying for a Royal Mail PO box must produce documentation to verify their home or business address. Post can be forwarded to the real address or collected by the addressee.<ref name="ONS Geography Guide">{{cite web |url=https://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/a-beginners-guide-to-uk-geography-2023/about |title=A Beginners Guide to UK Geography (2023) |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=24 August 2023 |website=Open Geography Portal |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=9 December 2023 |quote=If individuals or organisations prefer for their mail to be delivered to a non-identifiable postal address, they may opt to set up a PO Box. PO Box addresses do not have a specific geographic location; instead the mail is sent to a local delivery office, from where it can be forwarded to the real address or collected by the addressee.}}</ref>

===North America===
[[File:PO boxes at the historic Chico Post Office (2024)-L1005460.jpg|thumb|PO boxes at the historic U.S. Post Office in downtown [[Chico, California|Chico]], [[California]]]]
In Canada and the United States, Postal Boxes are available in five different sizes (A, B, C, D, and E). They are generally available in all post offices throughout the country.

In the United States, PO Boxes are generally available through the [[United States Postal Service]] (USPS). They are usually arranged from the smallest boxes at the top to the largest boxes at the bottom. The two largest sizes may be configured as drawers. To rent a PO Box, two different forms of identification are required. At least one of them must be a valid photo ID. This also applies to others who wish to share the box with the original subscriber's permission, and are of legal age. The post office will ''not'' forward mail from a PO Box until the box is closed, and then only to one address for all subscribers. As part of the agreement to rent a PO Box, if the PO Box is used for business, the Post Office will provide, upon request, the geographical (street) address of the business.

====Street Addressing====
Until 2012, only items mailed or shipped via USPS could be received at a USPS PO Box. However, a service called ''Street Addressing'' has begun to change this.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PO Boxes {{!}} USPS |url=https://www.usps.com/manage/po-boxes.htm |access-date=2022-04-20 |website=www.usps.com}}</ref> Once a permission form is completed by the box holder, Street Addressing allows private shippers, such as [[United Parcel Service]] (UPS) or [[FedEx]], to ship items to a modification of the actual street address of the Post Office where the PO Box is located. The Post Office accepts the item, and places it in the PO Box or, for larger items, handles them the same way they would a package sent via USPS. (Some have [[Locker (cabinet)|storage lockers]].) Only certain Post Offices offer Street Addressing, and even for ones that do, it may not be available to all of its PO Box customers (e.g., boxes without a fee). Other restrictions also exist, including the same limitations on items that cannot otherwise be mailed by ''ground service'' though USPS. (Not to be confused with items that cannot be shipped by air.) In many cases, the package may require one additional business day for delivery, and the service was never intended for overnight delivery. Also, [[Federal holidays in the United States|federal holidays]] not observed by the private shipper might cause a delay. If an item is shipped using Street Addressing in which the box holder did not properly sign up for, it will be returned to sender.

Street Addressing will have the same street address of the post office, plus a "unit number" that matches the P.O. Box number. As an example, in [[El Centro, California]], the post office is located at 1598 Main Street. Therefore, for P.O. Box 9975 (fictitious), the Street Addressing would be: 1598 Main Street Unit 9975, El Centro, CA. Nationally, the first five digits of the [[ZIP Code]] ''may or may not'' be the same as the P.O. Box address, and the last four digits (Zip + 4) are virtually always different. Except for a few of the largest post offices in the U.S., the 'Street Addressing' (not the P.O. Box address) nine digit Zip + 4 is the same for all boxes at a given location.

===Oceania===
==== Australia ====
In [[Australia]], wall-mounted PO boxes come in five sizes: small, medium, large, jumbo and A4. The different sizes boxes can be mixed almost completely arbitrarily on the wall. There is also an option for [[Private Mail Bag|locked private bag]] which comes in two different sizes as well: small and large.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/poboxes-locked-bags.html|title=Post Office Boxes & bags|last=Post|first=Australia|website=auspost.com.au|access-date=2016-11-09}}</ref>

PO boxes and private [[Private Mail Bag|locked bags]] can be combined.<ref name=":0" />

==== New Zealand ====
In [[New Zealand]], customers have the option to select between two sizes of PO Boxes: small and large. There is also an option to hire a [[Private Mail Bag|Private Bag]] similar to "[[Private Mail Bag|locked bags]]" in other countries. The annual fee is paid annually in advance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nzpost.co.nz/business/receiving-mail/po-box-private-bags|title=PO Box & Private Bags {{!}} New Zealand Post|date=2015-02-03|website=www.nzpost.co.nz|access-date=2016-11-09}}</ref>