How the Luxembourg postal system works: a complete guide

Brief history of the postal service in Luxembourg

Before getting into the technical details of how to send or receive a letter or parcel, let's briefly examine the interesting history of postal services in Luxembourg. If you are not too eager you will probably enjoy learning about how postal services emerged and how they have evolved. 

Postal services in Luxembourg have a long history dating back to 1842 when the first postal administration was created, marking the beginning of an organized system for handling mail delivery in the Grand Duchy. Since then the Posts have been managed by the State and have evolved over the years. Below we will briefly review some of the main moments that have marked this evolution:

• 1842 - Creation of the post office administration: the Grand Duchy founds its first official organization to manage postal services by initiating a structured network in the country.
• 1852 - Issuance of the first postage stamps: the first postage stamps, the “William III stamps”, are issued, consolidating the postal system and its national identity.
• 1874 - Luxembourg, founding member of the UPU: Luxembourg is one of the founders of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a crucial step towards integration into the international postal system.
• 1902 - Installation of the first public mailboxes: the first public mailboxes (boîtes aux lettres) are installed throughout the country to facilitate mail delivery.
• 1910 - Introduction of vehicles for postal delivery: the use of motorized vehicles improves logistics and makes deliveries faster and more efficient than before.
• 1928 - First air postcard: the first airmail service is introduced to connect Luxembourg with other countries more quickly.
• 1932 - Construction of the central postal building: the Poste Centrale is inaugurated in Luxembourg City and becomes the country's main postal operations center.
• 1992 - Creation of Post Luxembourg: the Post and Telecommunications Administration is reformed and becomes Post Luxembourg, a public company owned by the State.
• 2012 - Liberalization of the postal market: with the Postal Services Law, other operators are allowed to compete in the market, although Post Luxembourg remains the universal service provider.
• 2020 - Digitization of services: Post Luxembourg expands its digital services, incorporating tools such as mobile applications and advanced tracking systems to optimize delivery in the age of e-commerce.

The postal service today: Post Luxembourg

The postal service in Luxembourg is mainly managed by Post Luxembourg, a state-owned public company that guarantees universal postal service for domestic and international letters and parcels. However, the postal market has been liberalized since 2012 and other operators such as DHL, UPS, and FedEx are also present in the country.

In this first section we will explore the services offered by Post Luxembourg, the details for sending and receiving parcels and essential aspects such as rates or the method for tracking a letter or parcel. In the next section we will take a look at the other courier services with a Luxembourg presence.

Main services

Post Luxembourg has evolved over time to offer more and more services and improve the traditional services of parcel and letter delivery and reception to make them much more accessible and user-friendly while improving efficiency and environmental impact. 

Below we present the main services but please note that this is not an exhaustive list, if you are looking for a specific product or service and you do not find it here does not mean that it is not offered by them, we recommend in this case to visit directly their website or to contact them directly. 

National and international letter and parcel delivery: allows standard, express or registered delivery both within Luxembourg and abroad.

Delivery with acknowledgement of receipt: it is possible to make a delivery by confirming that the addressee has received the shipment through a delivery in person with verification of identity and signature of the sender. 

Online recommended letters: users can send recommended letters electronically through Post Luxembourg's digital platform.

Shipment tracking service: customers can track their parcels and letters in real-time using a tracking number provided at the time of shipment.

Smart Postcard: is an innovative service that allows personalized photos to be sent as physical postcards from a smartphone or tablet. Cards can include text, filters and even videos, and are sent directly to the recipient.

Mail forwarding and retention: Ideal for those moving or on vacation. This service ensures that letters and newspapers are redirected to a new address or held temporarily according to the customer's needs.

Postage and mailing from home: Postal workers can perform services such as postage and mail registration directly at the customer's home, eliminating the need to visit a post office.

Packup import: if the merchant's site where a purchase is to be made does not deliver in Luxembourg, the service offers the possibility of having the mail delivered to an address in France or Germany and then retrieved at a PackUp station 24/24 or at a PackUp Point.

SecurPack: this is a supplementary all-risk insurance covering loss and damage to domestic and international mail items.

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Sending letters or parcels

Sending a letter or parcel with Post Luxembourg is a fairly straightforward process, however, there are many options and possibilities that are worth knowing about. Here are the main steps with the various options available:

Rates

Below you will find two recapitulative tables with Luxembourg post prices from 2025 onwards.

FollowMe (tracking)

+4,00 euros

Registered mail

+5,50 euros

Acknowledgement of receipt

+2,10 euros

SecurPack (insurance up to 10.000 €)

from 10 euros

FollowMe (tracking)

included in all packages by default.

SecurPack (insurance up to 10.000 €)

from 10 euros

Tracking letters and parcels

Tracking a letter or parcel is one of the easiest procedures, just enter the tracking number on the dedicated page and the system will return all the tracking information of the parcel.

Other courier services with a presence in Luxembourg

As mentioned at the beginning, Post Luxembourg is not the only postal operator in Luxembourg, there are other companies that also operate in the country, many of which are large multinational groups. Here are some of the main ones:

Speaking of packages and shipping, if you like everything related to this topic to such an extent that you would like to work on it, you should take a look at some of our related articles.

Postal services have evolved over time, in the beginning there were very few options, now as we have seen there are a lot of mail-related services such as mail redirection, arrangement of addresses abroad with pickup in Luxembourg or online postage. Since it is worth being aware of these options as they can simplify our life enormously, in this guide we wanted to mention the main services offered as well as a brief guide for sending letters and parcels.