If you are looking for a post office in Amsterdam, you will not find a standalone one: the city’s post offices are PostNL counters inside ordinary shops, such as bookshops, supermarkets and newsagents, plus a growing number of parcel lockers.
This guide explains what each kind of point can do, how to find the nearest one, how long a parcel waits for you, and what postage costs in 2026.
How post offices work in Amsterdam
PostNL runs its counter services through partner shops, which it calls PostNL points.
Not every point offers the same services, and PostNL itself says that at the smallest points you can only buy stamps.
The larger points, which PostNL calls Postkantoor in its rate book, sell every postal product at the basic rates and can frank your parcels, letters and letterbox parcels for you.
A Pakketpunt is a point focused on parcels: you can hand in and collect parcels there, and have a parcel franked.
Primera is one of the chains that hosts these counters, and its own site lists 16 Amsterdam shops with PostNL services, from Primera Waterlooplein in the centre to Primera Amsterdamse Poort on Bijlmerplein and Primera Waterlandplein in Noord.
Our directory lists 23 shops of the Primera, Bruna and The Read Shop chains, among them Primera Bos en Lommer and Primera Admiraal de Ruijterweg, which are both on Primera’s list of Amsterdam shops with PostNL services.
Primera also warns that its shops do not all offer exactly the same postal services, so it is worth checking the specific shop before you carry a heavy box across town.
What you can do at a PostNL point
Depending on the point, you can:
- buy stamps;
- hand in a parcel you already franked online;
- have a parcel, letter or letterbox parcel franked at the counter;
- collect a parcel or registered letter that could not be delivered;
- send registered mail, which the recipient signs for.
If you bought a label online but have no printer, you can show the barcode on your phone at a PostNL point and they will print the label for you.
Priority letters, which arrive within one delivery day, are only sold at a PostNL point.
How to find the nearest PostNL point
PostNL’s own location finder, the locatiewijzer, is the reliable way to find a point near you.
You enter your postcode and it shows nearby points, which services each one offers and its opening hours.
The same finder shows parcel lockers and the orange street post boxes, including the time each box is emptied.
Parcel lockers
PostNL’s parcel lockers, the pakket- en briefautomaat, let you collect and send parcels without queuing at a counter.
PostNL says almost all lockers that stand outdoors can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
A parcel sent through a locker can be at most 61 x 52.5 x 41 cm and weigh at most 23 kg.
To collect, you need the PIN code PostNL sends you by email; if it does not arrive, check your spam folder.
A parcel stays in the locker for 72 hours, and if you do not collect it, PostNL moves it to a nearby PostNL point, where it waits another five days.
How long a parcel waits for pickup
PostNL keeps a parcel at a PostNL point for a maximum of five days, after which it goes back to the sender.
Registered mail is different: PostNL’s 2026 rate book says you can collect it at a PostNL point within two weeks.
Bring a valid ID, not a copy, such as an ID card or driving licence.
Someone else can collect a parcel for you, but they need their own valid ID and must be able to give your address, and they should bring the notice card if you got one.
Postage prices in 2026
These are PostNL’s basic consumer rates from its rate book valid from 12 July 2026.
- Standard letter in the Netherlands up to 20 g: 1.40 euro, one stamp; up to 50 g: 2.80 euro.
- Letter up to 350 g or up to 2 kg: 4.35 euro.
- Priority letter, delivered within one delivery day: 3.95 euro.
- Registered letter: 11.00 euro franked online, 12.30 euro franked at a PostNL point.
- Letterbox parcel plus (brievenbuspakje+, up to 2 kg, with tracking): 4.55 euro online, 5.85 euro at a PostNL point.
- Parcel up to 10 kg, delivered to a home address: 7.45 euro online, 8.75 euro franked at a PostNL point.
- Parcel up to 10 kg, delivered to a PostNL point (online franking only): 6.95 euro.
- International letter up to 20 g: 2.11 euro.
From 12 July 2026, PostNL delivers standard letters within two delivery days, Tuesday to Saturday.
For letters up to 50 g you can also buy a postzegelcode online or in the PostNL app, write the code where the stamp would go, and post the letter straight away.
Post boxes: the orange brievenbus
The orange street post boxes take letters, cards and letterbox parcels.
The time a box is emptied differs from box to box, and PostNL says you can check each one in the locatiewijzer.
Since February 2025 PostNL has emptied about three quarters of its post boxes during the day rather than in the evening.
Boxes emptied after 17:00 are in busy places such as shopping centres and stations, and the collection time is shown on the box.
PostNL does not deliver on Sundays or public holidays.
DHL, DPD, UPS and GLS pickup points
Other carriers use their own networks of shops and lockers, and your parcel goes wherever the carrier, not the shop, decides.
DHL ServicePoints are in shops such as supermarkets and petrol stations, and DHL says it returns a parcel to the sender if it has not been collected after five days; take a valid ID.
DHL also has lockers, and it says most of them are accessible 24/7.
GLS says it has more than 1,000 Parcel Shops in the Netherlands, most of them open on weekdays from 9:00 to 18:00, and that you can identify yourself with a GLS ID code, passport, driving licence or ID card.
DPD runs Pickup parcelshops and UPS runs Access Points; the delivery message from the carrier tells you which shop holds your parcel and how long it will wait.
Practical tips for newcomers
Set your delivery preferences in the PostNL app or on postnl.nl, and PostNL says you can change where a parcel goes via the app or website up to 22:00.
If you have just arrived, our moving to Amsterdam checklist and the address change checklist cover the other paperwork that comes with a new address.
Many PostNL points sit inside supermarkets, so our guide to Amsterdam supermarkets is a useful companion.
Need a shop that is still open after the post counters close?
See our guide to night shops in Amsterdam.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a main post office in Amsterdam?
No. PostNL runs its counter services through PostNL points inside shops, and the larger ones offer the full range of postal products.
Use the PostNL locatiewijzer to find one near you.
How much is a stamp in the Netherlands in 2026?
A stamp for a standard letter up to 20 g within the Netherlands costs 1.40 euro, and the price stayed the same when the new rates started on 12 July 2026.
A letter up to 50 g needs two stamps.
How long does PostNL keep a parcel at a PostNL point?
Five days, after which it goes back to the sender.
A registered letter can be collected within two weeks, and a parcel in a locker stays there for 72 hours before moving to a nearby point for another five days.
Can someone else pick up my parcel?
Yes.
They need their own valid ID, must know your address, and should bring the notice card if you received one.
When is the post box emptied?
It differs per box.
The collection time is shown on the box and in the PostNL locatiewijzer, and boxes emptied after 17:00 are mostly in shopping centres and stations.
Are PostNL parcel lockers open at night?
PostNL says almost all lockers that stand outdoors can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Sources
- PostNL rates and the rate book valid from 12 July 2026
- PostNL: new stamp tariffs from 12 July 2026
- PostNL: collecting a parcel at a PostNL point
- PostNL: parcel and letter lockers
- PostNL: the orange post box
- Primera: PostNL services in Amsterdam
- DHL: collecting at a ServicePoint
- GLS: pick up at a Parcel Shop
Photo: An orange PostNL post box by Donald Trung Quoc Don, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
