Also on Bank Holidays UK: Sainsbury’s Bank Holiday Opening Times · Bank Holiday Mondays — Full List 2026 · Are Banks Open on Bank Holidays? UK Branch Hours
Two organisations, two answers. The Post Office runs counters; Royal Mail runs deliveries. On a bank holiday one of them has a handful of branches trading and the other stops completely.
Post Office and Royal Mail are not the same company
They separated in 2012 and have been distinct businesses ever since. The Post Office is a retail network of around 11,500 branches selling postage, banking, travel money, driving licence checks and government services. Royal Mail is the delivery operator. A Post Office counter can be open while the mail network is shut — and on a bank holiday, that is exactly the situation.
So a parcel handed over the counter on a bank holiday will be accepted, receipted and tracked from that moment, but it will sit until the next working day. If the deadline matters, our Royal Mail bank holiday guide sets out what happens to Special Delivery, Tracked 24 and Tracked 48.
Which branches open
It comes down to who runs the branch and where it sits.
| Branch type | On a bank holiday |
|---|---|
| Directly managed branch (main high street office) | Almost always closed |
| Franchise branch inside WHSmith or similar | Follows the host store — often open on reduced hours |
| Post Office inside a convenience store or supermarket | Frequently open, sometimes counter-only reduced hours |
| Sub-postmaster branch in a village shop | Varies entirely — check locally |
| Outreach and mobile services | Usually suspended |
Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year
- Christmas Eve: most branches open with an early close.
- Christmas Day: effectively the whole network closed.
- Boxing Day: almost all branches closed; a few inside large stores may trade.
- The substitute bank holidays in late December: most branches closed.
- New Year’s Day: most branches closed.
- 2 January in Scotland: a Scottish bank holiday, so Scottish branches are commonly closed for a second day while English branches have reopened. See our page on 2 January in Scotland.
What you cannot do on a bank holiday
- Post anything that will move that day — there are no collections from postboxes.
- Collect a “something for you” item from a closed delivery office; Royal Mail customer service points follow the delivery network, not the Post Office.
- Pay in cash or cheques over a counter that is shut — and even where a counter is open, banking cut-offs mean the credit lands on the next working day.
- Rely on same-day passport or document check services, which need the branch and the processing office both open.
Cash withdrawals over the counter, bill payments and card transactions all still work in a branch that is open, but the settlement behind them follows the banking calendar. Our page on banks on bank holidays explains what BACS and cheque clearing do on a non-working day.
Checking before you go
The Post Office branch finder shows opening hours by branch, including special hours for bank holidays. Because roughly 99 per cent of the network is run by independent operators rather than by the Post Office itself, there is no national bank holiday timetable to consult — the branch page is the only accurate source. Phoning the host shop is the fastest check where the listing looks out of date.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Post Office open on bank holidays?
Most branches are closed. The exceptions are counters that sit inside a shop that is itself trading — a convenience store, a supermarket or a WHSmith — which often open on reduced hours. Standalone high street branches are almost always shut.
Can I post a parcel on a bank holiday?
Only if you find an open counter, and it will not travel that day. There are no Royal Mail collections from postboxes and no deliveries on a bank holiday, so anything posted sits until the next working day even if the tracking starts immediately.
Is the Post Office the same as Royal Mail?
No. They have been separate companies since 2012. The Post Office runs the branch counters; Royal Mail runs collections and deliveries. That is why a Post Office branch can be open on a day when no mail is moving.
Are Post Offices open on 2 January in Scotland?
2 January is a bank holiday in Scotland but not in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. Scottish branches are commonly closed on that day while branches elsewhere in the UK have already reopened. Check the individual branch, as practice varies.
- Find a branch — Post Office
- Royal Mail delivery and collection information
- UK bank holidays — gov.uk
- Public and bank holidays — mygov.scot
Checked September 2026. Opening hours and local holiday dates change — always confirm with the operator or council before you travel.