In this post, we explain everything you need to know about PO Box Addresses in the UK, including what they cost and how to get one.
PO Box Addresses have been a part of the UK’s postal system for over a century. Typically located in a Post Office or one of Royal Mail’s sorting facilities, they let you have an alternative, secure and private mailing address, other than that of your primary residence or business location. PO Boxes are synonymous with privacy as they give the owner protection at their home or office address.
There are many reasons why people and businesses start using a PO Box Address. Having a PO Box address lets you shield your actual location, helping you avoid unwanted visitors and maintain security wherever you are. We’ve listed below some of the top reasons people take out a PO Box:
1. Get an address in the UK regardless of where you are in the world
Our virtual PO Boxes are available to anyone worldwide. They allow you to have a UK based address for receiving mail, even when you live overseas.
2. Retain a UK presence while overseas
If you used to live in the UK and you’re moving overseas, a PO Box helps you keep a presence here for all of the mail needs. You’ll likely continue to receive some mail in the UK, such as pension statements, and having an address based in the UK will make it easier for you to access.
3. Use as your address while moving or changing accommodation
You’ll need to update your address with various suppliers, websites and services as you change addresses. To avoid the hassle each time, you can instead sign up for a PO Box and continue to use your PO Box address as you move between locations.
4. Privacy for victims of abuse
Privacy is of the highest importance to those who are vulnerable. A PO Box can “shield” those who have been victims of abuse, protecting them and their location.
Our UK based team is always on hand to assist those who have suffered abuse in any form. If you want more postal privacy, please contact us to speak to one of the team in the strictest of confidence.
5. Manage your mail online
Signing up for a PO Box will also give you access to online mail management. This means that you’ll have access to the mail you receive at your PO Box from anywhere in the world using our platform. It’s just like having a post office in your pocket.
6. Cost-effective way of getting a UK address
If you need a UK address for any reason, PO Boxes represent one of the cheapest ways to do so. We offer them for free, and you’ll only pay when you receive mail or access additional services.
Royal Mail has been providing PO Boxes to individuals for many years, typically their service gives you a physical address in a sorting office and you can choose to either collect post or have it forwarded to you at a different location. The big difference between UK Postbox’s PO Boxes and Royal Mail’s is flexibility. A UK Postbox PO Box gives you all of the benefits of a normal PO Box but in addition you can read and manage your post online. Where Royal Mail only lets you collect or forward your post to a single location, our advanced mail app (free with all accounts) lets you access your post from anywhere and control it on an item by item basis.
When your UK Postbox PO Box receives mail we’ll let you know, either by email or by notification from the mobile app. You can then login from anywhere in the world; read your post online; have us forward to you; or ask for it to be stored for when you’re ready to receive it.
You can then login and tell us what you’d like us to do with it. Ask us to open and scan so you can read it online; have us forward it onto wherever you are in the world, or ask us to store it for when you’re ready to receive it. It’s a PO Box made smarter.
The cost of a Royal Mail PO Box varies depending on the service you choose and their most current prices. At the time of writing, they’ll set you back around £360.00 per year.
UK Postbox’s PO Box Addresses are FREE. Anyone, regardless of who they are or where they are in the world can have an address in the UK and will only start paying when they receive mail.
We want to make PO Boxes as accessible as possible and by removing the fixed annual fee it opens up the option of having a PO Box to even those that receive just a few letters a month. In fact we have some customers that get only a couple of letters a year, using the service for the odd bits here and there. It costs them next to nothing but they still get all the benefits.
Hopefully by now you understand the difference between our PO Box Addresses and Royal Mail’s. To recap, you get a physical address in the UK, just as you would with Royal Mail but with the added benefit of being able to read and manage your post online, from anywhere in the world.
The value in our service isn’t so much the PO Box address itself, but the ability to access your post from anywhere. So, we charge you based on the volume of post you receive.
If you are expecting thousands of letters and don’t need online access to your post, then head over to the Royal Mail website where you can sign up online.
If however you need extra flexibility, like the idea of reading your post from anywhere and see the benefit of being able to control forwarding on an item by item basis then sign up with us.
The sign up process is quick and easy and typically you’ll have your new address within 24 working hours. First head to our pricing page so you can choose the plan that suits you best, next you’ll head on to our online mail app which we call ipostalmail. You’ll be asked to select your plan, let us know who you are and where you are and then your account will be created.
Finally, because we are money laundering regulated, all of our customers have to go through identity verification. Our identity verification team is here to make the process as smooth as possible, so if you’re having any issues then either use the live chat feature to contact us, or visit the contact us page on the site and choose your preferred method of communication.
You might be looking for an address to redirect your post to, an official address for your business or an actual street address in London. We have various types of addresses to choose from so if a PO Box doesn’t quite fit your requirement then visit the pages below to learn more. All of our addresses come with our Advanced Mail Management App, so you can read and manage your post, at anytime from anywhere.
A virtual PO Box is just like a PO Box, except you can manage your address and mail online from anywhere in the world. Learn more and how to get one in our blog.
In short, no, you can’t receive parcels at a PO Box. You can only use your PO Box to receive letters. However, our free courier point address can be used instead.
PO Box addresses have been around for as long as most of us can remember, but it’s only in the last decade that they’ve become cheaper & more accessible.
The short answer is that PO Boxes aren’t suitable for businesses. However, there is an alternative solution in the form of a virtual business address.
