No, post boxes in the United Kingdom are generally not emptied on Sundays.
Royal Mail, the primary postal service, no longer conducts collections from post boxes on Sundays. This means any mail deposited into a post box on a Sunday will typically remain there until the next scheduled collection, which is usually on Monday.
Discontinuation of Sunday Collections
Historically, Royal Mail did offer a Sunday collection service. This service was initially introduced in 1990 and, at its peak, involved collections from approximately 18,000 post boxes across the UK each Sunday. However, the company made the decision to cease these Sunday collections from post boxes and businesses. As a result, Sunday is no longer a collection day for standard post boxes.
Current Post Box Collection Schedule
While Sunday collections have stopped, post boxes are regularly emptied on other days of the week. The exact collection times can vary by location, but the general schedule is as follows:
| Day | Post Box Collection Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Yes | Standard collection day. |
| Tuesday | Yes | Standard collection day. |
| Wednesday | Yes | Standard collection day. |
| Thursday | Yes | Standard collection day. |
| Friday | Yes | Standard collection day. |
| Saturday | Yes | Collections often occur earlier in the day. |
| Sunday | No | Collections have been discontinued. |
| Bank Holidays | No | No collections on public holidays. |
For the most accurate information on specific collection times for a particular post box, it is always advisable to check the collection plate displayed on the post box itself. These plates typically list the days and times of collections.
What Happens If You Post on a Sunday?
If you post a letter or parcel in a post box on a Sunday, it will not begin its journey until the following working day. For most standard services, this means it will be collected on Monday and processed then. If you have urgent mail, consider alternative options such as special delivery services or visiting a Post Office branch that offers Sunday services for direct acceptance, though these are rare for standard mail.
