When you receive incorrect mail and you want to return it.

If you have received mail that was not meant for you, you can return it using our Return to Sender service.

Simply write ‘return to sender’ on the front of the envelope and post as normal. It will be returned to sender if there is a sender's address.

If there is no sender’s address then it will be sent to NZ Post’s Returned Letters Office and will be dealt with in accordance with the Postal Services Act 1998.

There are a few things you need to know about items being returned overseas:

• Letters, small parcels and all registered mail are returned to the country they were sent from.
• Parcels that are insured or over 2kg, and courier items, are dealt with according to the instructions on the customs declaration or consignment note.
• Printed papers are only returned to the country they were sent from if specifically requested by the sender. This must be marked on the item in the language of the destination country.

Terms and conditions apply.

Mailbox specifications

Every day each of our Posties delivers to around 1,000 mailboxes, some positioned in difficult places with hard to reach slots.

If you are a Rural Delivery Service customer, we have different mailbox requirements. To find out more see Rural Delivery Service.

Designing your mailbox

Illustration only – mailboxes are not available for purchase.

• Ensure the main mail slot is big enough to take several A4 size magazines without needing to fold them. If you receive parcels, you should consider having a separate parcel area in your mailbox.
• Your mailbox should be deep enough (from front to back) to take the length of an A4 size item so that mail can be pushed in far enough to drop out of sight securely.
• Your mailbox should be large enough to hold all of the mail you receive. If you frequently receive parcels, ensure your mailbox is large enough to accommodate them, out of sight from the street.
• Ideally, your mailbox will have a separate area to take newspapers.
• You can still have fun with your mailbox design - just allow for the minimum internal dimensions shown in the diagram below to make mail delivery easy and safe.
• Spring loaded flaps must not be fitted on mailboxes as they may cause injury to your Postie.

Setting up your mailbox

• Make sure your street number is clearly visible.
• Position your mailbox on the property boundary, close to the footpath on the nearest flat area, in a position that is easy and safe for your Postie to access. Where your Postie delivers by cycle the terrain before and after your mailbox needs to be flat and free of obstructions.
• Avoid locating your mailbox on a hill, slope, bank or up steps.
• Maintain safe and clear access to your mailbox, with no shrubbery or obstacles in the way.
• The height of your mailbox must be between 900mm – 1200mm from the ground to the mail slot.

Mailboxes for flats or apartments

Outside mailboxes

Groups of outside mailboxes for flats or apartments should be at right angles to the footpath or road way. The height from the ground to the mail slot must be 900mm-1200mm.

Inside mailboxes

If you have mailboxes located inside a block of five or more apartments, they should be lockable, on the ground floor and with a common entrance.

When is mail considered undeliverable?

Mail is considered undeliverable if:

• it does not display a complete and valid postal address
• it is addressed to a non-existent postal address
• the addressee has moved without providing a Mail redirection request or the request has expired
• the item has insufficient postage for delivery
• the item is prohibited by law

What happens to undeliverable mail?

Mail without a return address that can’t be delivered is dealt with in accordance with the Postal Services Act 1998.

Mail sent within New Zealand

• Items sent within New Zealand that we can’t deliver and that have a sender’s address will be returned to the sender.
• If the item does not have a visible sender address it is sent to the Returned Letter Office where the item is held in safe custody and opened to see if the contents identify the return address.
• After 3 months at the Returned Letter Office, if the postal item remains unclaimed and the sender has not been identified, NZ Post may destroy or otherwise dispose of the item.

Mail sent from overseas

• Undelivered letters, small parcels and all registered mail are returned to the country they were sent from. Parcels that are insured or over 2kg, and courier items, are dealt with according to the instructions on the customs declaration or consignment note.
• Printed papers are only returned to the country they were sent from if specifically requested by the sender. This information must be marked on the item in the language of the destination country.