Latvian Post is the national communications operator of the Republic of Latvia. This is an open joint stock company of state ownership, which specializes in the provision of postal, philatelic, financial services, and retail sale of the press. The company works with individuals and legal entities (government and commercial).
Brief historical background
The state enterprise Latvijas Pasts was founded on January 2, 1992. After the state gained independence, the Latvian Post was entrusted with the function of ensuring postal deliveries of all categories within the country and abroad.
- In 1994, the Law "On Post" appeared in Latvia, which dealt with the assignment of a different status to a postal state enterprise - a state institution.
- 1997 was marked by new innovations: the post office of the country became a non-profit organization - a state joint stock company. From 2004 to the present day, it functions as an open joint stock company.
- In 2004, Latvian Post was issued a universal license for the provision of postal services, which meets the requirements of the European Union.
- In 2021, an agreement was signed with the Universal Postal Union, thanks to which the tracking of postal items by identifier (track number) became available to clients of the Latvian postal service.
Latvian Post has two subsidiaries: AS IT Latvia and SIA Mailmaster. In general, it contains 620 branches, where about 4.2 thousand employees work.
Sending parcels from Latvia and to its territory
The Post of the Republic of Latvia provides its customers with the opportunity to send items of several types:
- Unregistered - those that cannot be traced and which are delivered to the mailboxes of addressees: postcards, letters, parcels and packages marked "M" containing printed materials.
- Registered - those that are subject to tracking and for which a receipt is issued: postcards, letters, parcels and packages marked "M" with printed materials, postal parcels with industrial, household and other goods with / without commercial value.
- The insured are those that can be tracked and for which a special document has been issued about insurance against losses, damages, thefts: letters, small packages and postal parcels with items that have / have no commercial value.
Latvian Post provides for the ability to make items at any of the post offices. Anyone who plans to send a parcel abroad must fill out the CP71 form (if the addressee is in one of the EU countries) or the CP72 form (if the addressee is outside the EU).
To speed up the passage of customs control, each of the forms must be filled out in three languages: English, French and the official language of the state where the parcel is sent.
To register a shipment, you must have an identity card with you: passport, driver's license.
To speed up the processing of international parcels, each sender has the opportunity to use the free self-service system Mans Pasts. On this site, by registering, you can:
- find in electronic form the documents that are necessary for processing a parcel abroad, fill out and print them;
- enter and save personal data about yourself, which will be used when processing subsequent mailings;
- make a payment online.
Documents for registration of international shipments should be printed on white A4 paper. Completed forms and self-packed parcels must be handed over out of turn to the operator of any post office.
Many are interested in the question of how long a parcel takes from Latvia to Russia or any other country. Senders have the opportunity to issue a class A (priority) or class B (economy) parcel.
Domestic priority packages are delivered within 1-3 business days. It may take about 7-11 business days for international priority shipments. They are transported mainly by air carriers. Economy shipments take longer.
The management of Latvian Post offers its customers the opportunity to use express delivery services. This is a paid service that provides the fastest delivery of parcels to more than 56 countries of the world within 4-7 business days.
You can find out more about the work of express mail by clicking on the link.
You can send a parcel to Riga (or another Latvian city) from the Russian Federation (for example, from Moscow) through the "Russian Post". The sender will need to fill out the customs declaration in triplicate in Latin letters.
If the value of the parcel is up to SDR 300 (Special Drawing Rights) Form CN22 shall be completed, and if above SDR 300, Form CN23 shall be completed. The form indicates the category of the shipment, lists the names of the items contained in the parcel, their value. You can register your shipment either directly at the post office or online.
To send a letter to Latvia, you need to fill in the envelope correctly. The front side contains the data of the recipient in Latvian:
- name and surname;
- Street, house, flat;
- city, zip code;
- country.
On the reverse side, enter the sender's data (see a sample of a filled envelope).
Many foreign senders are faced with a situation where the index of the Latvian recipient is unknown. The post management of the Republic of Latvia solved the problem by posting on the company's website an electronic version of the book containing the current postal codes in Latvia. You can watch it here.
How to send a parcel to Latvia
As in the post offices of Latvia, in other countries, including the Russian Federation, you can choose several delivery methods for parcels and other items. So, for example, "Russian Post" allows you to make regular, expedited and courier (express) items.
You can calculate the cost and find out how many days it will take to deliver the parcel to Latvia from Russia here. Regular delivery often takes from 12 to 18 business days, and expedited delivery takes from 7 to 11.
Express courier shipments are considered the most convenient way of delivery abroad. Couriers pick up the parcels at convenient places for the senders and deliver to the recipients at the specified addresses. Such parcels are registered, they can be tracked, knowing the track number. Express delivery to Latvia often lasts from 4 to 7 working days.
Unregistered items in the Republic of Latvia are delivered to the address indicated in the column "Recipient". If they cannot fit in the mailboxes, the postal employees leave the addressees notifications about the parcels with information about where they can be picked up.
If the recipient does not apply for the shipment within 5 working days, he will be sent a second notification. If no one comes for the parcel within 30 days from the date of the first notification to the addressee, it is returned to the sender.
Registered and insured items are delivered to the specified addresses and delivered personally to the recipients. If the addressee was absent at the time of the arrival of the postman, he will be left with a notice of the parcel, with which you need to contact the specified post office.
If the recipient does not pick up the parcel after 7 working days, he will be sent a second notification, and 30 working days after the first notification was sent, they will issue a return to the sender's address.
To receive an unregistered item, you only need a postal notification.To pick up a registered or insured shipment, you need to show the post office employee a notification (or say the tracking number of the shipment) and your passport.
With a driver's license, you can only receive a parcel valued at less than 150 euros.
If the parcel is sent to a legal entity, one of its representatives can receive it. You will need to present your passport and a power of attorney to receive mail, certified by the head of the organization.
How to track the parcel
Tracking postal items is a convenient tool for controlling their movement. To do this, you need to know the tracking number of the parcel. It is assigned to each registered and insured item during its registration by the sender at the post office.
You can track a parcel from Latvia in several ways:
- on the website of "Latvian Post";
- on the Mans Pasts website;
- on specialized intermediary electronic resources: Where is the parcel, Postal Ninja, 1trak.ru and others;
- via the “Parcels” application installed on your smartphone (you can download it from the AppStore and GooglePlay).
To find out the current status of a postal item, you must enter its track number in the appropriate column.
Some marketplaces provide their customers with the ability to track parcels with items purchased from them directly on their websites. For example, the tracking of packages from China that contain products from AliExpress is available here.
Varieties of track numbers
The format of track numbers for international postal items from Latvia is the same. Each number consists of 13 characters:
- if the shipment weighs up to 2 kg, the track number starts with the letter R: for example, RA123456785LV;
- for parcels weighing from 2 to 20 kg, track numbers start with the letter C: CD123456785LV;
- express delivery is indicated by the first letter E in the track number: EE123456785LV.
The numbers for each shipment are unique. The track number of “Latvian Post” at the end contains two Latin letters - LV. They indicate the country from which the parcel was sent.
Tracking parcels: statuses
The table shows examples of postal items statuses with translation into Russian.
| Statuses | Russian translation |
|---|---|
| Item sent to Sorting center - Riga | The parcel has been sent to the sorting center in Riga |
| Item received at Sorting center - St. Petersburg | Departure was accepted by the sorting center in St. Petersburg (SPb) |
| Russian Federation - Item delivered | Russian Federation - Parcel delivered |
| Latvia - Item sent abroad | Latvia - Parcel sent abroad |
| China - Item sent to Latvia | China - Parcel sent to Latvia |
| Latvia - Item sent to the customs office | Latvia - The parcel has been sent to the customs authority |
| Information notice delivered | Info message delivered |
| Latvia - Item received from customer | Latvia - Shipment received from customer |
| Russian Federation - Item issued to station / courier / customer service hall | Russian Federation - Consignment issued to the station / courier / customer service hall |
| Latvia - Item sent to Delivery point: PP-3601 | Latvia - Parcel has been sent to delivery point: PP-3601 |
| China - Failed delivery attempt | China - Unsuccessful delivery attempt |
| Russian Federation - Item returned from customs office | Russian Federation - Consignment returned from the customs authority |
| Latvia - Item placed in the bag | Latvia - Cargo placed in a bag |
Latvia LV1000: what is this post office
The main branch of "Latvian Post" is located at:
Ziemeļu iela 10,
Riga airport, Marupe region
LV-1000.
The central office of Latvian Post is also located here. All postal items that are transported through the country, that is, for which the Republic of Latvia acts as a transit state, fall into the Latvia LV1000 branch.
Why parcels are sometimes delayed in Latvia
The reasons that postal items addressed to other countries enter the territory of Latvia may be the following circumstances:
- The Republic of Latvia plays the role of an intermediate (i.e. transit) country. In the near future, the departure should leave the territory of Latvia and go to its destination.
- The sender specified the country incorrectly when registering the parcel. For this reason, parcels often come to the offices of the "Latvian Post" from "Aliexpress".
If a parcel with goods purchased on AliExpress is delayed at a postal warehouse in Latvia (stays in the country from 2 to 3 weeks), you need to contact the seller to find out if he made a mistake in the recipient's address. If the seller does not respond to messages or constantly extends the protection period for the parcel and asks to wait, you can contact the support service of the trading platform. To do this, you should:
- Scroll through the main page of the site "Aliexpress", reaching the menu located at the bottom.
- Select the item "Support".
- Press the button "Online chat".
- Indicate "My orders" in the item "Select the type of question".
- Select "Check orders" in the "Question category" column.
- Mark the question "Why is my order frozen" in the item "Your question".
- Click on the button "Online chat" that appears.
- Describe the essence of your problem in the dialog box that opens.
If the seller ignores the buyer's messages, they will most likely have to open a dispute over their order.
Contacts
Most post offices in Latvian cities are open from 08.00 to 19.00 from Monday to Friday, and from 10.00 to 15.00 on Saturday. Sunday is a day off.
Some branches are open until 20:00 on weekdays and until 16:00 on Saturdays. The exact work schedule should be checked at the post office itself.
You can get information about the services provided by Latvian Post by calling:
- +37127008001;
- +37167008001.
You can also send a letter to the address of the main office of the company, indicated above, or an email to email: [email protected]
You can learn about the work of "Latvian Post" in all details by visiting its official website
Output
The services of Latvian Post - the national telecom operator of the Republic of Latvia - are actively used by both individuals and legal entities who are faced with the need to send / receive domestic / international letters and parcels. The management of the Latvian Post is constantly improving the service, providing customers with the opportunity to register parcels online, pay for services by bank transfer, track the movement of items on the Internet using track codes, order express delivery of international parcels and letters by couriers.
Services provided by modern post of the Republic of Latvia meet the range of requirements set by the European Union.
