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Here’s how to find your nearest Royal Mail Priority Postbox – and exactly how they work for sending back coronavirus test kits
Distance: nearest first. ER Royal Mail Post Box Post Office Box Red British mailbox with steel back box. A collection of British pillar boxes at the Inkpen Post Box Museum, near. Box — Lamp boxes are the smallest of the post boxes used by the Royal Mail in. If you have any questions about how you can post your mail or any general questions about Royal Mail’s franking services then please get in touch. We are Royal Mail approved suppliers of postal franking equipment and our friendly team is happy to help with any questions you have. Please call us on 90 for more information. After finding your nearest priority postbox on Services Near You or on the Royal Mail app you will be able to further identify it by the NHS/Royal Mail sticker which will be affixed to it. You can still use the priority postbox if there is no sticker but you can let us know on 0345 266 8038 Monday to Friday 8am-6pm and we’ll put it right. Get directions to the mailbox nearest you.Results appear instantly based on your current location, or you may enter an address. We have the locations of over 200,000 mailboxes and post offices throughout the United States and its territories.
© (Photo: Shutterstock)If you’ve ordered a postal test, the process couldn’t be simpler. Your testing kit will arrive with a leaflet of information, which includes clear and detailed information on what exactly you will need to do.
© (Image: Royal Mail)While the test itself is relatively simple, sending your sample back can be tricky as you need to find a ‘priority postbox’.
© (Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)Read more: Royal Mail jobs Scotland: the temporary Christmas positions available in Edinburgh, Glasgow and beyond
So what is a priority postbox, and how can you find your nearest?
Here's everything you need to know.
What is a priority postbox?
The Royal Mail describes itself as a “key partner for the government's coronavirus testing programme.”
'We are collecting completed test kits from priority post boxes or from homes as part of the government programme.”
It’s likely you’ll be asked to post your completed coronavirus test kit to one of Royal Mail’s 30,000 specially selected priority postboxes. These can be identified by the NHS/Royal Mail sticker affixed to them.
If you are expecting your local postbox to carry such a sticker, but you arrive to find it does not, you can still use it, though Royal Mail requests you let them know by calling 0345 266 8038 Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm.
There's nothing else special from a visual standpoint about these post boxes other than their stickers.
How does a priority postbox work?
The idea behind priority postboxes is that the Royal Mail can use them to get completed test kits back to the NHS as quickly as possible.
Designating certain post boxes as priority ones can also help to reduce the number of post boxes that are used to collect coronavirus samples.
This means fewer postboxes come into contact with the virus, thus minimising the risk of spreading the infection.
Royal Mail says it has worked “in partnership with the Chief Medical Officer to ensure that the process is safe for our colleagues.”
How do I find my nearest priority postbox?
Details on how to find your nearest priority postbox are laid out clearly in the instruction booklet that arrives with your test kit.
But if you’re still having trouble, you will also be able to find your nearest priority postbox on the Royal Mail app or the Royal Mail website.
If you’re unable to access a computer or smart device, you can call 0345 266 8038.
This line is open 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
For more information on the Royal Mail’s priority post boxes, head to the website
Use this helpful postbox finder widget to find your nearest postbox (it may take a few seconds to load). It uses your current location and gives you directions to your closest letterbox.
Find Your Nearest Postbox
Royal Mail isn’t the only letter delivery service – you can save up to 35%! of the cost of second class stamps if you post a letter with Whistl instead – click here for more information on how to post a letter with Whistl via Parcel2Go.
For more details about sending a letter including information on the types of letters, what qualifies as a letter, posting options and purchasing stamps, please see our letter guide and for information on envelopes see our envelope guide.
A brief background to the data behind this postbox finder tool
This tool to find your nearest postbox is only possible as Royal Mail was forced to disclose the location of all of its 116,000 postboxes by the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.
In 2007 the Cabinet Office commissioned a report call “The Power of Information” which had the goal of better using the data that the government held to promote both economic and social good. The primary issue was that a lot of the government’s data is held by different departments and spread out amongst various sections of the civil service and public sector bodies.
To try and generate ideas to access and better use this data in 2008 the Cabinet Office launched the “Show Us a Better Way” competition to get the public to submit their ideas so the government could “improve health, education, justice or society at large” using their data.
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The postbox location idea was put forward by a lady called Jenny Ingram, who was one of the six winners of the competition, so we would like to say thank you Jenny! Without you the postcode finder tool would not be possible!
How Do I Find My Nearest Post Box
A series of Freedom of information requests followed, which revealed both the postcodes of the postboxes as well as their collection times. A crowdsourcing effort then pinpointed every postbox in the UK on an openly licensed map.