Can La Poste forward my letters to me outside France?
The French postal service offers several useful options if you will be away from home for extended periods
Letters – and small items – can be forwarded to international addresses from France
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Reader Question: I live full-time in France, but am going back to my house in the US for a few months. Can my French mail be forwarded here?
When spending time away from home in France or when moving home, La Poste offers a service where it can re-route your mail, allowing you to not miss any important letters.
The good news is that La Poste’s réexpédition service allows you to forward your mail to an international address.
There are two options for this depending on whether you are moving permanently or just staying abroad for a limited time, as in your case.
The service for moving house can be viewed at this link, while the service of réexpédition temporaire can be booked here.
You can enter your new address and La Poste will forward your mail and small items (up to 2kg in weight) as part of the agreement.
You can include both your name and the names of other members of your household as part of the forwarding service.
There are no restrictions on the forwarding address so the rules are the same if the mail is being forwarded to Belgium, the UK, the US, or Japan etc.
How much does it cost?
The cost depends on how long you want your mail to be forwarded:
- For anything between 15 days and one month it costs €50
- For one month to six months - €109
- For six months to one year - €177
Once the booked period expires you cannot just renew it. However it is possible to subscribe again to the service for a new period.
If your move becomes permanent you would be able to keep the service running until such time as you have informed all the relevant companies and / or authorities of your new address.
Note that it is also possible to ask La Poste to hold your mail and larger parcels for up to two months at a time if you know you will be back sooner than this period or if you do not have a stable non-French forwarding address for them to.
The Garde du courrier service starts from €28 or €89 for one year, allowing you to pick up your mail and items from the office when it is most convenient for you.
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