Royal Mail Slot Size
Royal Mail Letter Size Guide Template
Large letters must again pass through without getting stuck and goes up to 25mm in thickness. If your mail does not fit either slot it is then becomes a small or large parcel. Small parcel is items to be posted up to the size of 2 kg in weight, 35cm in length, 25cm in width and 16cm in length. Any thing bigger is a Large Parcel. The slot in a pillar box is about 25cm x 7.5cm. Slot, thats the word I was looking for, I knew I shouldn't be calling it a mouth. Thanks for the info, should get my package in, saves me having to go to the post office tomorrow morning. The European standard for letter boxes, EN “Postal services – Apertures of private letter boxes and letter plates – Requirements and test methods” specifies among other things: that envelope size C4 (229 mm × 324 mm) must be deliverable without bending or damage; that the internal volume must able to hold at least a 40 mm.
Letter, Large Letter, small parcel or parcel?
In 2006 the Royal Mail decided to follow other country’s postal system by introducing Pricing in Proportion. This was a system of charging different amounts for different size letters and packages.
Up until 2006 the Royal Mail charged by the weight of the item now it was to charge by weight and size. To enable the customers….especially business customers to access the correct size of a letter or package a Letter Size Guide template was introduced.
To begin with these were sent out by the Royal Mail in flimsy paper and if you were lucky you could get a limited cardboard version.
Today several years later there are many different versions of the Royal Mail Letter size guide available. See here for a selection.
Most of the letter size guides are made from perspex and do have ability in some cases to break or split easily. However the Royal Mail have there own modern version made of very strong plastic and you can see these in the Post Offices up and down the country. You can also buy these Royal Mail Letter size guides and in deed the other versions from Ebay and Amazon.
The first slot is for all mail in letter size, usually a DL, not being thicker than 5mm. The letter MUST pass freely through otherwise it may be considered a Large Letter.
Large letters must again pass through without getting stuck and goes up to 25mm in thickness.
If your mail does not fit either slot it is then becomes a small or large parcel.
Small parcel is items to be posted up to the size of 2 kg in weight, 35cm in length, 25cm in width and 16cm in length. Any thing bigger is a Large Parcel.
Letter size guide s are very useful to anyone who send s out post on a regular basis. Especially Offices, Schools, Doctor Surgery’s, Dentists etc. Even if you have a Franking Machine,as they do not have a Letter Size guide supplied with them. Many members of the public have a Letter Size guide so they can make sure the birthday card with a cheeky badge on it is sent with the correct postage on it.
If the letter or package does not have the correct postage on it the recipient can only obtain the letter by paying an extra £1.20plus the difference of postage between what was placed on the package and the next 2nd class price point.
Pricing in proportion only affects mail posted in the UK going to an UK address. This includes the Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Northern Ireland.
The slots on the letter size guide are not required for mail being sent to Europe or Internationally. This includes the Republic of Ireland.
The maximum size is 250 mm x 353 mm and and a maximum weight of 750g so a C4 envelope is a good choice. Recommended envelope sizes for a large letter C4 Envelopes.
| older postbox ; smaller slot |
Royal Mail Slot Size Chart
Answer : It can vary (mostly depending on age). Probably a rule is ; the older the box, the narrower (and probably smaller height) the slot.Central post offices probably have the biggest slots.The biggest slots are pobably in new areas and also at the local main post office.
Note : The slot slopes upwards
The slot tends to slope upwards (e.g. to keep out rain I guess), so if tight, it could be worth trying to push the parcel in slightly upwards (to follow the angle).
Can you put parcels in postboxes :
My understanding is YES. I have put parcels in.
Estimate sizes :
An estimate would be between 8-12 inches wide and maybe 5.5cm high (or smaller).
Width : In old areas, it can be as little as 8 inches wide. But in the newest areas it may be around 12 inches wide. And areas between old and new may vary between these sizes. This rule probably applies to height as well.
Height
Royal Mail Post Box Slot Size
: As mentioned above, the newer the postbox the more likely it has more height. My local postbox made around 1981 is probably around 5.5cm high.Royal Mail Slot Sizes
I use a postbox probably built around 1981 which has a bigger slot than older versions (both in width and height)
Examples for 1980's postbox slot :
Using a circa 1981 postbox, I have found the following :
| UK postbox slot (1981) | width | height |
| 20 cm : fits easily 25 cm : fits quite easily large letter size (exactly) : should fit 1980+ slot easy | 4.8cm high package : fits easily 6 cm high box : does not fit |