Postal services and getting mail

The United States Postal Service will redirect hard-copy mail to France by airmail via their international forwarding services, or you can choose from any number of private companies. While you will receive your hard-copy mail in hand, the process can be costly and time-consuming for correspondence to reach you. 

If you maintain a physical US address, you can opt for a virtual mailbox service which provides digital access to hard-copy mail, allowing you to receive, view, and manage your US mail online – they can also forward packages internationally. Global Mail offers a virtual mailbox service as a certified partner of the United States Postal Service.

The postal service in France is generally reliable – normal letters (‘lettre verte’) arrive in three working days, while priority mail (‘e-lettre rouge’ – the modern, digital version of what used to be called ‘lettre prioritaire’) arrives in one working day. La Poste has around 17,000 points of contact including 6,965 post offices and 10,035 local offices and relais poste with shopkeepers. 

Opening times vary, but they are usually open on Saturday mornings with smaller ones shut for lunch (Mon-Fri). There is no letter delivery on Sundays or public holidays, but parcel delivery on these days has been started in several large cities.

There are numerous tariffs and delivery speeds. La Poste had announced price changes from 2025 to 2026. These include:

• Green letter (lettre verte, normal post): €1.39 to €1.52

• Red e-letter (e-lettre rouge, overnight post): €1.49 to €1.60

• International letter (lettre internationale up to 20g): €2.10 to €2.25

• Registered letter (lettre recommandée up to 20g): €5.74 to €6.11

Using a five-digit postcode – introduced in 1972 – is imperative for all letters and parcels being sent within France. It facilitates faster sorting and prompt delivery.

On many envelopes you will find a pre-printed box for the five digits. Unlike the US zip code protocol, the name of the destination village, city or town comes before the postcode.

You can search for a French postcode using a place name, or vice-versa, using La Poste’s tool.

Prêt-à-Poster pre-stamped envelopes and ready-made parcel boxes can be bought at post offices, while both registered (‘recommandée’) and recorded delivery (‘recommandée avec accusé de réception’) services are available. Chronopost is a 24-hour delivery service for letters and parcels.

When sending official correspondence, such as cancelling contracts or dealing with official bodies, using recorded delivery is sometimes a contractual obligation and is often highly recommended. If the postman (facteur) cannot deliver a registered letter or parcel, a note (avis de passage) is left to say it can be picked up at a post office within the next 15 days.

Post boxes (boîtes aux lettres) are yellow and personal mailboxes must conform to an approved type with the addressee’s name (and anyone else who would receive mail, or even an association).

Mail can be redirected to another French address (Réexpédition) for €81.90 a year or to the US for €212.

Like elsewhere, La Poste is open to competition and there are several rivals.