Postal services in Cayman are fast and efficient with the turnaround time for local mail usually being 24 hours. There is no mail delivery to houses and businesses, so PO Boxes are used instead.
This needs to be stated again: there is not, and has never been, home delivery of mail. If you want to receive mail you have to have a post office box number and a corresponding postal code. You can then collect the mail from your mail box. Employees often use the mail box number of their employer.
There are 16 post offices and numerous blue mailboxes located throughout the Islands. The largest post office branches are the Airport (APO), General Post Office (GPO) and Seven Mile Beach (SMB), but there are also post offices in Savannah, Bodden Town, North Side, East End, Hell and West Bay.
The GPO is open Monday-Friday from 8.15am to 5pm. Opening times for all other post offices vary, but most operate Monday-Friday from 8.30am to 5pm, except for the APO, which is open Monday-Friday from 8am to 6pm. For more information, email: cipscustomercare@gov.ky.
Some offices are open on Saturday from 9am to 12.30pm (including the APO), except for the post offices in Hell, Bodden Town, North Side, East End and the GPO, which are closed on weekends. All post offices are closed on Sundays.
Postage Costs
Airmail is zoned according to its destination and is charged by weight. A postage calculator is available on the Cayman Islands Postal Service website.
Local mail: CI$0.25 per ounce
US, Canada or Central America: CI$0.75 per half ounce
UK and South America: CI$0.80 per half ounce
Asia, South Africa, Australia: CI$1 per half ounce
There is also a ‘printed matter only’ rate available for overseas mail. Mail is dispatched daily but must be in the mailbox by 3pm. The Post Office also offers an Express Mail Service (EMS) that delivers packages to over 140 countries. Call (345) 949 6777 for more information.
All incoming parcels are subject to duty, and you will receive a notice in your mailbox when a parcel has arrived. If you prefer, you can request that the notice be sent to you by email by sending the tracking number and invoice to parcelpost@gov.ky. The CIPS can deliver trackable items to street addresses upon request for an additional fee. For more information, visit www.caymanpost.gov.ky.
Courier Services
International courier services to and from the Cayman Islands are extremely good. A CI$2 Government tax is charged on all packages leaving via courier.
When packages arrive, a CI$5 package tax and a CI$5 warehouse fee are applied. Some couriers also charge a CI$8 clearance fee.
Post Office Boxes
Since there is no mail delivery to homes and businesses, PO Boxes are always in demand. The cost of renting a small box that can be accessed at any time is CI$75, a medium sized box is CI$100 and a large box is CI$250 per year.
You can also rent a small box inside the George Town post office for CI$30, but bear in mind they are only available when the post office is open. For private mail box services, see below.
Many people use their employer's PO Box number to receive mail. An alternative to renting a mailbox from the post office is to rent with a private company such as Mail Boxes Etc.
Mail boxes must be emptied regularly or the mail will be sent back to the sender. Post to Cayman must have a PO Box number and a postal code written on the envelope. You can look up the correct postal code at www.caymanpost.gov.ky.
An example of the correct way to address mail or a parcel to Cayman is listed below. Please note it is a requirement that a PO Box number, as well as a postal code is always used on a letter mailed to the Cayman Islands unless coming by courier.
Mr. Cayman Resident
PO Box 31403
Grand Cayman KY1-1206
CAYMAN ISLAND
Note: do not solely write George Town on the envelope, as there are dozens of ‘George Towns’ and ‘Georgetowns’ around the world and its use can cause confusion.
Private Mailbox Services
Other than the Cayman Islands Government-run mail box and postal service, there is one private mailbox service: Mail Boxes Etc. in Camana Bay. Having a mailbox with a private mailbox company works exactly the same as going through the Government mailbox system with a few added benefits.
Your mailbox can also act as your street address, which is very useful when you need to receive courier deliveries from FedEx, DHL and UPS. Couriers will not deliver to a PO Box in the Cayman Islands.
Mail Boxes Etc. offers two types of mailboxes: physical mailboxes that you access with a key and virtual mailboxes where they will scan the envelope for you so you can view it on a secure app. From the app, you can select what you want them to do with the mail: hold for pick up, shred, recycle, forward. You can also request to open and scan the contents to view as a pdf. The nice thing about the virtual mailbox is that you don’t have to go check your mailbox to know what is in it. The two types of mailbox are priced nearly the same.
With a virtual mailbox you have access to your mail anytime, anywhere. In the case of a physical mailbox you have 24 hour access to your PO Box at their location. This is actually almost the same as the Government Post Offices, other than the George Town Post Office which has a few hundred boxes which are only accessible when the Post Office is open.
As with the Government Post Office boxes you have three sizes on offer: personal, small business and corporate.
Receive customs clearance of all your postal packages from the Airport Post Office, so no more waiting in line. This is a BIG bonus! Waiting in line at the Airport Post Office can take a long time and is very time consuming.
Another bonus with a physical mailbox is that you can have a duplicate key for your post box. On the other hand Cayman Islands Government Post Office does not allow a second post office key to be cut. As hard as you try no key cutter in the Cayman Islands will cut you a second copy! Having two copies of your PO Box key is very very useful, especially for businesses.