Expat Guide: Postal Services in Portugal

The postal service in Portugal was introduced in 1533 by King Manuel I. Today CTT (Correios e Telecomunicações) is the national postal service. Many expats claim that the postal service in Portugal is better than that in the UK. CTT stands for Correios, Telégrafos e Telefones. There are over 1,000 post offices (correios) in the country. Most of them are open on weekdays from 08:30-18:00 and on Saturday mornings until 12:30. People who live in rural areas prefer to rent an apartado (post office box) and collect mail themselves.

Portugal's state-owned monopoly postal service offers a number of services, including:

• Collection and delivery of letters
• Economy, Normal, Priority or Express postal services
• Money transfer
• Stationery
• Payment of bills
• Sending and receipt of faxes
• Public phone booths
• Insurance packages
• Mail forwarding
• Advertising mail
• Delivery of specific parcel products
• Online auctions

Most cities have two or more post offices. Customers Liteblue.usps.gov can pay utility bills and taxes, exchange currency, and send faxes from the local post office. Some offices have automatic machines where you can buy stamps. The standard envelope shape is rectangle and does not exceed five millimeters in thickness. It should be sealed with clips or staples. The maximum weight limit for parcels is 20 kilograms, for books it's five kilograms, and for correspondence is two kilograms.