Key:post_box:type
 post_box:type
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The physical style (size/shape) of the post box, and how it is mounted. 
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| Group: Properties |
| Used on these elements |
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| Requires |
| Status: de facto |
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| Tools for this tag |
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| Wikidata |
| Search Wikidata |
The physical style (size/shape) of the post box, and how it is mounted.
Usage
This is a properties tag and should be used in combination with post box:
For other tags that can be used in combination with post box see Extended Usage.
Values in use in Canada
| Value | Description | Example picture |
|---|---|---|
| pillar | A freestanding box, square in shape. | |
| community | Community mailboxes contain individual mailboxes, plus an outbound mailslot. See Canadian tagging guidelines#Community mailboxes. |
Values in use in United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland
| Value | Description | Example picture |
|---|---|---|
| pillar | A freestanding box, taking the form of a column. Usually cylindrical in shape in the UK, but rectangular forms can also be seen. | |
| lamp | A self-contained box, smaller than a pillar box, and designed to be mounted above ground level. Usually attached to a pole, slim pedestal, lamp post, or telegraph pole in the UK, but can be mounted on (or very rarely within) a wall. | |
| wall | A box designed to be set into a wall. Can be found mounted in walls, walls of buildings, and also in free-standing brick pillars. | |
| meter | A special type of post box that was originally designed to only accept pre-paid business mail (known as "meter mail" or "franked mail" in the UK). The special adaptations may include a larger aperture and/or mechanisms to prevent unauthorised persons from using the box.
While this value is about the physical appearance/design of the box rather than the mail types accepted, it was normally used on boxes that only accepted this special type of mail. In the UK these "meter" boxes are normally larger square pillar boxes with a larger mechanical aperture that is locked outside specified opening hours. Since 2019 Royal Mail has changed the role of these meter boxes to also accept parcels, they added a "P" to the end of the reference, extended the opening hours of the box and stuck decorations on the to advertise that they now accepted parcels. Since this classification is distinct from, and in some sense orthogonal to, the other post_box:type=* values, it has been suggested that a different key should be used for this attribute, leaving post_box:type=* to tag the box with the best fit from pillar, lamp, and wall. |
In Other Countries
Pillar Boxes:
| Type | France | Poland | Japan |
|---|---|---|---|
| pillar |
See also
- amenity=post_box - A box to deposit outgoing postal items.
- post_box:design=* - more specific designs of post boxes
- post_box:mounting=* - Type of support for certain features
- The proposal page for this tag: Proposed features/Extend post box