Cyprus Postal Services, or Cyprus Post, is the

postal operator This is a list of postal entities by country. It includes: *The governmental authority responsible for postal matters. *The regulatory authority for the postal sector. Postal regulation may include the establishment of postal policies, postal rate ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

and operates the government-operated Post Office. A legacy of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

rule is the use of

pillar box A pillar box is a type of free-standing post box. They are found in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories, and, less commonly, in many members of the Commonwealth of Nations such as Cyprus, India, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Malta, New ...

es (mail boxes) with the initials of the

British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government by which a hereditary monarchy, hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United ...

, although after independence they were painted yellow.

History

Modern postal services in Cyprus began with the takeover of the island by Britain in 1878. Almost immediately the British colonial administration under first British High Commissioner and Governor of Cyprus, Sir Garnet Wolseley, set about establishing a British-style postal service on the island, with S.R. French being dispatched from the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state mail, postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II of En ...

in London.Northwich Guardian (UK newspaper), 17 July 1878, p.7 In 1994 Cyprus adopted a new

postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal ...

. The alphanumerical code precedes the name of the town or city, hence: CY-1900 NICOSIA
CYPRUS
The 'CY' prefix is only required for mail originating from abroad. The postcode number ranges for the administrative areas are: *

Nicosia District Nicosia District ( Greek: Eπαρχία Λευκωσίας) is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is the island country's capital city, Nicosia. The TRNC-controlled northern part of the district is the Lefkoşa District of the ...

: 1000–2999 *

Limassol District Limassol District () or Lemesos ( el, Λεμεσός) is one of the six districts of Cyprus. , it had a population of 239,842, 77% of which was urban. Its main city is Limassol. Part of the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia for ...

: 3000–4999 *

Famagusta District Famagusta District ( gr, Επαρχία Αμμοχώστου, Eparchia Ammochostu; tr, Mağusa kazası) is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is the island's most important port, Famagusta. History Most of the district has bee ...

: 5000–5999 *

Larnaca District Larnaca District ( el, Επαρχία Λάρνακας, tr, Larnaka kazası) is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its capital is Larnaca. It is bordered on the east by Famagusta District, on the north by Nicosia District and on the west by L ...

: 6000–7999 *

Paphos District Paphos District ( el, Επαρχία Πάφου, tr, Baf kazası) is one of the six districts of Cyprus and it is situated in the western part of Cyprus. Its main town and capital is Paphos. The entire district is controlled by the internationa ...

: 8000–8999 *

Kyrenia District Kyrenia District is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια; tr, Girne). It is the smallest of Cyprus' districts, and is the only one controlled in its entirety by the unrecognised de facto state o ...

: 9000–9999 The system covers the entire island, including the disputed area under

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities ...

occupation known as the '

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Reco ...

', but only a few have been allocated. Mail to that part of the island must be sent via 'MERSIN 10, TURKEY', as it is not recognised by the

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to ...

References

External links

*
Department of Postal Services

Communications in Cyprus Postal system of Cyprus {{Cyprus-stub