Residential delivery in Canada

With more than 6,600 Post Offices and thousands of delivery personnel serving urban and rural Canada, we deliver the mail to millions of households across Canada every business day.

We reliably deliver your parcels and documents to every residential mailing address in Canada including:

• Houses, apartments, condominiums, etc.
• Rural routes
• Post Office Boxes and General Delivery addresses

Delivery details—how your customers receive your shipments

Your customers' regular method of mail delivery will also be used for delivery of their packages or courier items.

Delivery to the door

If residents receive home delivery of their daily mail their parcels will also be delivered to the door.

Delivery to a community mailbox

• More than 3 million residential addresses receive their mail and parcel deliveries at community mailboxes, which are conveniently located near their residence.
• Each residential address has a key to its own compartment.
• If an item is too large to fit in the compartment, we place the item in a parcel delivery compartment and leave the resident a key to open the compartment.
• If the item is too large for the parcel delivery compartment or we need a signature or to collect funds, we leave a Delivery Notice Card indicating the pickup location at the nearest Canada Post retail outlet.

Delivery to Rural Routes

• We deliver the item to the door if it's within 0.5 km from the rural route line of travel.
• We leave a Delivery Notice Card telling the resident where to pick up the package if:
  • The door is farther than 0.5 km.
  • No one is home.
  • Collection of funds is more than $500 in cash.

Delivery to Post Office Boxes and General Delivery addresses

Flexible delivery options

Exercise even more control over the residential delivery of your packages by selecting one of the following flexible delivery options:

Leave at door (do not card)—for small, low value items

• If the resident is not at home, we will leave the item in a safe location such as between doors, at a side door or with a neighbour.
• We will leave a safe drop card in the mailbox indicating where the parcel is.

Do not safe drop—for high value or temperature sensitive items

• If the resident is not home, we will deliver the item to the nearest Post Office for pickup.
• We will leave a Delivery Notice Card indicating the location for pickup.

Card (hold) for pickup—for items containing sensitive or private information

• We will not attempt delivery to the home, but deliver the item directly to a Post Office for pickup.
• We will leave the resident a Delivery Notice Card indicating the location for pickup.
• The resident is required to show identification when picking up the item.

Pick up at the Post Office

Whether your customers live in rural or urban Canada, they will find Post Offices are always conveniently located. In the city, they're often within host businesses such as pharmacies or convenience stores, allowing us to offer service outside of standard business hours. In rural areas, they are usually in central locations near other retail stores and services.

When picking up an item at a Post Office, residents will be required to show their Delivery Notice Card and personal identification. Please note:

• We hold items at the Post Office for 15 days.
• If an item is not picked up within the first 5 days, we send a Final Delivery Notice to the addressee, indicating that 10 days remain to pick up the item.
• After 15 days, we return the item to sender.

Read the details about personal identification requirements.

Return to sender

Parcels you send to your customers that cannot be delivered will be returned to you at your expense if:

• Your recipient's address is incomplete or inaccurate.
• The addressee has moved without providing a forwarding address.
• The item is refused by the addressee.
• The item is unclaimed.

A return to sender item will automatically be sent to the return address on the shipping label. The shipping cost for the return will equal the original shipment cost.

Find out how we can help you manage your Anticipated Returns and Authorized Returns.

Redirection

If your customer has filed a Change of Address Notification, and where reasonably possible, we will redirect the item to the new address at no additional charge—for deliveries in Canada only.

Delivery updates by email

Keep your customers informed of the delivery status of their shipments by having delivery updates sent directly to their email. Simply enter your customer's email address in the required field when shipping with Electronic Shipping Tools.

Read more about delivery updates by email.

Rates & Prices

Shipping rates are based on the origin, destination, weight and dimensions of your item, and the service and options you choose. We do not add on charges for delivery to rural areas or residential addresses. Find a rate for your item now.

Use our Electronic Shipping Tools or visit any local Post Office to start shipping.

Discounts

• Save 5% when you join our VentureOne™ program for small businesses.
• Get volume discounts if you regularly ship large quantities. Call 1-866-757-5480 for more information.
• Get an additional 3% discount when you use our Electronic Shipping Tools to prepare and pay for your shipments.

Support

Need help? Call us at 1-866-757-5480 and we'll gladly answer your questions about shipping and residential delivery in Canada.