A private mail bag (PMB), locked bag or caller service is a term for a special form of
post
Post or POST commonly refers to:
*Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries
**An Post, the Irish national postal service
**Canada Post, Canadian postal service
**Deutsche Post, German postal service
**Iraqi Post, Ira ...
al delivery in some countries, usually a government department or large private company, which receive large volumes of mail. Private mail bag addresses are often used in countries in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
where there may be no street delivery service.
Examples and variants
Like
PO Box
A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office.
In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door to door delivery ...
addresses, private mail bag addresses omit the name of the building and street, and include only the number allocated to the user.
:Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited
:Private Mail Bag 6
:Campbellfield Vic 3061
:AUSTRALIA
In some cases, a private mail bag may not have a number:
:University of Sierra Leone
:Private Mail Bag
:Freetown
:SIERRA LEONE
It differs from PO box delivery in that whereas the holder of a PO box has to go to the
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
in order to collect mail, the mail sent to a private bag is dispatched to the holder by a mail contractor.
Private Bag
In other countries, particularly
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, the term private bag is used.
:University of Auckland
:Private Bag 92019
:AUCKLAND 1142
In Fiji the usage is similar to New Zealand
:FSC Limited
:Private Mail Bag,
:Lautoka
:Fiji
In South Africa, the private bag number may also contain letters.
:Department of Home Affairs
:Private Bag X114
:PRETORIA 0001
Locked Bag and Caller Service
In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, there are also locked bag addresses:
:Special Broadcasting Service
:Locked Bag 028
:Crows Nest NSW 1585
In
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, the term locked bag service is used:
:Singapore Press Holdings Limited
:Robinson Road Post Office
:Locked Bag Service 10
:Singapore 908186
These are similar to a private mail bag, but the holder must collect the mail at the post office, like a PO box.
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, this service is called caller service.
[Domestic Mail Manual, Recipient Services, Caller Service](_blank)
/ref> However, mail to a caller number is, with limited exceptions, addressed as though the caller number were a physical PO box,
/ref>
See also
* Commercial mail receiving agency
* Post-office box
A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office.
In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door to door delivery ...
Notes
{{reflist
Philatelic terminology
Postal history
Postal services
Postal systems
Bags