At An Post, we're here to help with all your delivery needs. Check out the information below for all your questions on receiving post.
Manage your delivery
If you are not sure how to trace your item or have missed a delivery, this is the right place to find answers to those and many other common questions around managing your post.
Standard post items are normally delivered by An Post one to two days after posting. Most often, delays occur due to incomplete, illegible or incorrect addresses.
Other reasons for late or delayed delivery include:
- Items posted after the final collection of the day
- Difficulty accessing the property
- International post being handled by multiple postal services and customs agents
- Handling of prohibited items
If we have left a 'sorry we missed you' notice indicating that delivery was attempted at your address, please follow the instructions on the notice.
If you have not received your standard post within five working days from the date of posting, or 15 days in the case of international post, we suggest you use our contact form or pick up an enquiry form at your local post office or delivery office.
Some retailers will provide us with your contact details and we will get in touch by email or text to let you know when we will be delivering your parcel. You can expect to hear from us a few days in advance of your delivery if your contact details have been provided. If you know you're not going to be at home you can set your safe spot to have your item delivered to. This can be a safe, dry place out of view or a neighbour. Sign up now at
anpost.com/signup to set a safe spot.
An Post holds missed deliveries for the following periods:
- 5 working days for Standard Post and Express Post.
- 3 working days for registered post.
- 16 working days if it is received from abroad.
After that, we will try to return the item to the person who sent it, if there’s a legible address on the outside. If anything has to be returned to the sender, we will attach a sticker explaining why we couldn’t deliver it. In order to avoid missing a delivery you can sign up
anpost.com and set up a delivery safe spot. This can be a safe, dry place out of view or a neighbour.
We’ll always attempt to deliver your post to your address at least once. After a failed delivery we will return your item to your local Delivery Service Unit. Find out how to collect your post or have it redelivered from the Delivery Service Unit.
If
your online tracking shows that we attempted to deliver your post, but you didn’t receive a ‘Sorry we missed you’ notice, this means we’ll try again in the next delivery slot, which is usually the following day.
If your online tracking shows that we attempted to deliver your post, but you didn’t receive a ‘Sorry we missed you’ notice, this means we’ll try again in the next delivery slot, which is usually the following day.
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If you have found a ‘Sorry we missed you’ notice in your letterbox (also called a ‘Docket In Box’ or ‘DIB’ notice). This gives you information on what we tried to deliver and how to collect it.
Once we have left this in your letterbox, we’ll return your post to your local Delivery Service Unit and won’t attempt another delivery unless you arrange a redelivery online.
If you miss the final delivery, there are a still a number of ways you can collect your post:
We make every effort to ensure your post arrives safely, unopened and in good condition, but you should keep any damaged or opened post for inspection. There are a number of reasons why post may sometimes be damaged:
- Incorrectly-sized or poor quality packaging
- We may place damaged items in a plastic bag to prevent further damage
- Envelopes may occasionally be damaged during the machine sorting process
- We use waterproof delivery equipment but we can’t guarantee that post will never be wet in bad weather conditions
If your post is missing, damaged or opened, get in touch using our contact form. If you prefer, you can pick up the form at your local post office or delivery office.
Once we receive your parcel and it is scanned into our network system, we will deliver it to you as quickly as possible.
Customs and deliveries
Due to stringent EU Customs rules governing non-EU goods, which came into effect on 1st July 2021, VAT and customs charges now apply when you buy goods outside of the EU.