Do you need to send something by snail mail, but you’re not sure where to go or what to do? Fed up with unwanted junk mail? Here’s an outline of how the Dutch postal system works.
Service providers
For a long time the only post provider in the Netherlands was what is now PostNL, until the service was privatised in 1989, the first country in the EU to take this step. “This separation from the state created more commercial opportunities and brought more room for entrepreneurship,” said PostNL. That, along with the liberalisation of the market in 2009, changed the way things work. PostNL remains the go-to place for consumers for regular mail like cards and letters under 50 grams, and they handle parcels too. Sandd delivers business mail only. There are many other providers including UPS owned Kiala, DHL and TNT that deal with the delivery and collection of parcels. With so many different providers post can arrive several times in one day.
Post offices
Separate post office buildings no longer exist. A former Delft post office was situated on the Hippolytusbuurt from 1890 to 2005, but is now a café. The likes of PostNL, DHL and Kiala have service points inside other shops like bookshops, supermarkets and tobacconists instead. The PostNL sites sell stamps, supplies, weigh parcels and more. If you check their individual websites you’ll be able to search for your nearest office. TNT offers home pick-ups and deliveries.
Stamps
There are two main types of post stamps available: Dutch and international. For mail up to 20g you need a ‘1’ rated stamp costing €0.73 for domestic delivery, or an international stamp costing €1.25 for overseas. For larger items up to 50g it costs €1.46 domestically (you can use one ‘2’ rated stamp or two ‘1’ rated stamps) and €2.50 internationally (for which you simply use two international stamps). At postnl.nl, or with their app, you can order or print your own stamps at home. Speciality stamps are available, for example, at Christmas and for announcing the birth of a child and you can even design your very own stamp online.
postnl.nl/en
Post boxes
Post boxes are orange and display the collection time, usually once per day. There are two slots – one for local mail, check the post codes detailed, and one for everything else. They’re sealed for safety during firework season. It was recently announced that PostNL will be removing 10,000 of the country’s 19,000 post boxes over the next few years, the statutory maximum distance to a post box in an urban area having been increased from 500 to 1,000 metres. “PostNL will ensure that we continue to take into account the specific situation in municipalities,” they said in a recent statement. No other companies have post boxes on the streets.
Deliveries
These days PostNL delivers five days a week, Tuesday to Saturday. It’s common to find your parcel left with a neighbour if you’re not home to take receipt of it, and similarly you are likely to be called on to take in packages for your neighbours at some point too.
Costs
The price depends entirely on what you pay for. Online calculators will give you an estimate depending on the size and weight of the item to be sent. The service you choose affects the cost too; options include standard, registered, insured, track and trace, signature upon receipt and expedited delivery.
Unwanted mail
You can get a ‘nee/nee’ sticker for your letterbox at home from the municipality for free to avoid ads and junk mail, or a ‘nee/ja’ sticker if you don’t want the ads but do want the local free newspapers. Letters that are not for you can be marked ‘retour afzender’ and put back in a post box.
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