If you want to send or receive mail, you must have a PO Box number in Hong Kong to which your mail is addressed. The service may be used either for collecting mail from or for depositing it at a nominated post office. It may be used for both purposes; if it is, the user is charged twice the regular rental fee.
Getting a PO Box number in Hong Kong is a straightforward thing anyone can do. In this guide, we share everything you need to know about getting one as an expat.
Guide to Applying for a PO Box Number in Hong Kong
If you have business dealings in Hong Kong and need a mailing address, you may want to consider applying for a private post office box. This is a service offered by the Hong Kong Post. You will receive a post office box address to use for any mail you want to receive at that location. A post office box is more private than giving out your home or apartment address, so it’s useful for anyone with business dealings in Hong Kong.
What is a PO Box in Hong Kong?
Post Office Boxes are used for the reception of postal packets to be collected by the renter or his agent as an alternative to delivery at the place of address. Post Office Boxes may be rented to Hong Kong residents of the age of eighteen and over, or locally registered businesses or organizations. These boxes come with an individual PO Box number in Hong Kong.
The first posting boxes in Hong Kong were installed at the height of the Victorian era. The boxes bore the royal cypher “VR” (for Victoria Regina). The surviving Victorian-era boxes are now on display at the Hong Kong Museum of History and the Postal Gallery in the General Post Office.
Rental Period: The boxes are rented on a yearly basis, with a one-year minimum rental length during the initial leasing period. The Postmaster-General has the authority to extend the rental duration at his or her discretion.
Free shared use: It is customary for “free” shared use of a box to be permitted in the following circumstances:
- For companies: This includes the proprietor and subsidiary firms that share the same company registration number (a necessary document, such as a copy of the business registration certificate verifying the relationship, must be submitted);
- For individuals: the user’s immediate family members (i.e. natural mother or father, wife or husband recognized by law, natural son or natural daughter) (relevant document such as birth or marriage certificate copy verifying the relationship must be submitted).
- Shared usage of a box is available to box renters who request for and are granted access to a shared box. In accordance with the Terms and Conditions of Rental application form, each person who shares a box is responsible for paying 75% of the total rental amount.
Lock Bag service
- It is recommended that you rent a private post office box from your local post office in order to send and receive mail in a more convenient manner. While your letter is in route, this service prevents it from being examined by others who may be interested in it. The fee for this service is HKD 370 per year.
- You’ll need two bags, each with a lock and two keys. The bags must be of a type that has been approved by the Postal Service. In order for your mail to be delivered, you must have a Post Office Box number.
- It is only necessary to make a single payment at the post office when you obtain a postal box or mailbox. It can be used for a variety of tasks including mail collection, mail posting, and a combination of the two.
What is the Purpose of a PO Box in Hong Kong?
The ease of picking up your mail at the local post office, along with some of the privacy afforded by having a PO Box, is something that many people desire.
You can have your mail delivered to your personal box and then pick it up whenever you want—you’ll still be able to receive and sign for private documents when you go to the mailbox, and you’ll be able to have your mail forwarded to another address if that’s what you need.
Apart from postal services, Hong Kong Post also provides a variety of additional services, such as:
Mail Delivery
Mail is delivered between Monday and Saturday. No mail is delivered on Sunday or public holidays unless it is announced that it will be delivered.
Except in the case of express delivery, all mail is delivered just once. Attempting door delivery is the first option for things that require a signature upon delivery or that are too large to fit via letterboxes.
In the event of a failed door delivery attempt, a postman will leave a mail collection notification card, which the recipient can use to pick up their mail from a designated post office location.
Deliveries of mail items are made to the address specified on the mail item (i.e., delivery to the address), rather than to the designated addressee listed on the mail item.
Postal items having a complete and deliverable address are the only ones that are delivered by Hong Kong Post. In addition, senders should specify their return addresses in case their packages are not delivered successfully.
Track and Trace
Registering your credentials at a Post Office branch or logging onto the Hong Kong Post’s website will allow you to receive online tracking information on the delivery status of registered mail, parcels, and Speedpost mail.
Change of Mail Collection Office (unsuccessful delivery with notification card)
If you’ve received a notification card for a missing mail item and would like to pick up the mail item at a different post office, fill out the form through this link with the Item Number and Reference Number that were printed on the notification card, as well as the location where you’d like to pick up the mail item.
Pre-delivery Notification
Customers can now receive pre-delivery SMS notifications for their incoming mail from Hong Kong Post. Customers can also choose to have their mail redirected for collection or to have the date of delivery changed.
Requirements
To rent a PO Box, you will only need to submit an application form at any designated Hong Kong Post Office.
Procedure: How to Get a PO Box in Hong Kong
When renting a PO Box in Hong Kong, you’ll need to accomplish a few easy steps:
1. Get a postal box rental application form.
It’s possible to get the form (Pos 807A) at a post office in Hong Kong or online. If you want to rent a box at a smaller post office branch, you can do that for less money. The Hong Kong Post has three main locations: the Kowloon Central Post Office, the Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office, and the General Post Office.
If you obtain the application from a Hong Kong Post branch, their office hours generally run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Sunday.
2. Fill out the application form in accordance with the rules and regulations outlined in the Hong Kong Post’s advisory.
Hong Kong Post says that private boxes can’t be rented under a false name or with a fake ID.
Besides your name and address, your mail at the post office must also include a correct postal box address. This address includes your box number, the name and address of the post office, and a phone number. You can use the same form for both applications, written in both English and Chinese, so you only need to fill out one form.
3. Go to a Hong Kong Post branch during business hours and pay the fee for a year to rent the mailbox.
It’s up to you whether you want to rent a small or a big box. Rentals must be for at least 12 months. You can renew the box at the discretion of the Postmaster-General.
PO Box Fees
Each year, you’ll have to pay a rental fee that ranges from about HKD 270 to HKD 650 ($35 to $45), depending on how big the box you get is.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How to post a registered mail item? What is the delivery time? How to collect it? How to get proof of delivery?
In this service, you can get a record of when your mail was sent and when it was delivered. It is possible for someone to keep track of his or her mail by using the system.
To send letters and small packages, you can use registered mail. But parcels can’t be sent this way. It already comes with the postage on parcels.
2. By what time do I need to post a mail item so that it will be stamped a postmark on the day it is posted? When is the cut off time of mailing? When will a mail item reach the recipient?
It will arrive on the same day if it is mailed before the cut-off time. Otherwise, the item will be delivered by the standard set by the Post Office.
3. Are there any prohibitions on mail items?
Some mail items are not allowed if they are flammable, very fragile, or dangerous to mail processing machines. Most of the time, these items are sent in “dangerous” and “erotic” mail groups.
When you send mail to another country, be sure to check the country’s import and export laws and regulations.
Your mail item could be deported or returned if you don’t follow the rules and laws. You might also get a fine on top of the customs duties you’ll have to pay if your package is sent again.
4. What is Local Bulk Mail? Is there any discount?
Hongkong Post gives discounts to mail items that can be sent through its sorting machines and that can also be delivered in a long time.
Mechanized letter sorting system-compliant mail and bulk economy mail are the two types of mail that these items fall into.
5. How does Hongkong Post handle underpaid mails?
When Hongkong Post finds out that someone hasn’t paid for their mail, it will charge them for any mail that has an address. Items that don’t have an address or don’t have the correct postage will be sent by surface mail.
For mail that hasn’t been paid for, the sender will get a letter with the amount owed in it. The sender can pay online with a credit card or other electronic payment method on the Hongkong Post website, or he or she can pay at any post office with the notification. After payment is made, the mail will be delivered. For mail that hasn’t been paid for, the sender will get a letter with the amount owed in it. The sender can pay online with a credit card or other electronic payment method on the Hongkong Post website, or he or she can pay at any post office with the notification. After payment is made, the mail will be delivered.
Because postage was not paid, mail could not be delivered. The need to pay for postage is explained, and a 14-day payment window is given. If you don’t pay by then, the mail will be thrown away or sent back to the postal service where it came from.
Summary
As we all know, it’s hard to adapt to a new way of life when you miss the little things that remind you of home. It’s important to send mail or parcels to people you care about and have them delivered to you in Hong Kong. This way, you can at least know that the people you care about are doing well in other parts of the world. If you need things delivered to you, you don’t have to look very far. This is because you can get and have everything delivered to a single place by using a PO Box number in Hong Kong.
It’s because of Hong Kong Post’s quick and reliable mail delivery service that many businesses use it to help their clients and customers in a timely way.
The process of getting a post office box with Hong Kong Post can be hard for people who are new in the country. This guide is meant to help ease some of the stress and worry that comes with the process as much as possible. Please share this information with your friends and family who might be interested in setting up a PO Box at home.
READ NEXT: List of MoneyGram Locations in Hong Kong
Contact Information
Hong Kong Post Headquarters
Address:2 Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong
Hotline: (852) 2921 2222
Fax: (852) 2868 0094
Website: https://www.hongkongpost.hk/en/
Email: hkpo@hkpo.gov.hk