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Post office

PostOffice20040124CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg

The main post office in Oxford, UK

A post office is a facility (in most countries, a government one) where the public can purchase postage stamps for mailing correspondence or merchandise, and also drop off or pick up packages or other special-delivery items.

Post offices also rent post-office boxes to people and businesses who prefer not to have mail delivered to their home or office.

In many countries, post offices include other functions, such as a place to pick up various government forms, to apply for passports, to send money to others, etc. In some countries, the post office functions as a financial bank and/or a central place to use public telephones.

The back rooms of a post office are where mail is processed for delivery. Mail may also be processed in other post offices that are not open to the general public.

The Post Office is a retail company in the United Kingdom; formerly part of the postal service Royal Mail, it became a separate entity in 1981.

See also

General postal concepts

* Freepost (also known as business reply mail)
* mail
* Military mail
* Post Office box
* postal code, ZIP Code
* "going postal"
* Poste restante (also known as general delivery)
* Drop letter

Examples of operators of post offices from around the world

* An Post (Ireland)
* Post Office Ltd (UK)
* United States Postal Service
* Canada Post
* Deutsche Post
* Universal Postal Union
* Australia Post
* New Zealand Post

Miscellaneous

* Post offices abroad
* London Post Office Railway
* Post Office Rifles
* Pony Express
* Cabinet noir

External links

*United States Postal Service Guide
*United Kingdom Post Office site
*GRC Database Information: worldwide post office website links
*Photos of post offices around the world

See Timeline of postal history



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