When do you need a power of attorney?
At Posti, we have an obligation to ascertain that we only hand over items to their intended recipients. That is why a power of attorney is required when someone picks up a valuable mail item on behalf of the actual recipient.
A power of attorney is required to pick up the following items:
A registered letter
A registered parcel
A letter with advice of delivery
An insured item
In all other cases, the item can be picked up on behalf of another person without a power of attorney. You can find detailed instructions on how to pick up items from a parcel locker or a Posti outlet here.
Note! The only exception to picking up a parcel on behalf of another person are items that must be handed over personally. In this case, the sender has purchased a supplementary service specifying that the item may only be handed over to the original recipient.
Draw it up yourself or use a ready-made template
You can draw up a power of attorney yourself, but it is even easier to use Posti’s ready-made power of attorney template.
If you decide to draw up the power of attorney yourself, remember to mention that it’s related to receiving mail. We do not accept blank powers of attorney as we can’t be sure that the person who issued it intended it for receiving mail.
Take the signed power of attorney to the Posti outlet where you pick up the item.
Open the power of attorney template (PDF).
The power of attorney must include the following information:
The person the power of attorney is assigned to (the complete name and personal identity code of the authorized person)
The person issuing the power of attorney (the complete name and personal identity code or a company name, Business ID and the person authorized to sign documents for the company)
The validity period of the power of attorney
Whether the power of attorney applies to all postal items or to a specific item (if specific, please include the item ID in the power of attorney)
The date and the signature of the grantor
A trusteeship decision passes for a power of attorney
Items can also be picked up on behalf of another person subject to a trusteeship decision issued by the authorities or a court of law. Such a document must include the name and personal identity code of both the recipient of postal items (the person subject to the trusteeship) and their representative (the trustee).
Picking up an item on behalf of a company
If the item’s recipient is a company or some other organization, the person picking up the item must provide proof of being authorized to represent the recipient organization. The right to sign documents for the company can be proved with an extract from the trade register not older than three months.
If you are authorized to sign documents for the company, you can also authorize other people to receive mail on your behalf. A power of attorney may apply either to a single item or to all items within a certain period of time.
Expiration or termination of the power of attorney
A power of attorney is valid for a maximum of three years and Posti will not send a separate notification about the termination of the period of validity. The person issuing the power of attorney themselves must stay up to date regarding the authorizations granted and, if necessary, make sure they terminate or renew the authorization.
The authorization can be renewed with a new power of attorney or terminated with a written notification submitted to the Posti outlet that received the power of attorney. You can file a notice of termination yourself or use a ready-made power of attorney template .
Please quote the following information when terminating a valid power of attorney:
The complete name and personal identity code of the authorized person
The complete name and personal identity code of the person terminating the power of attorney
The date from which the authorization is cancelled
Signature and date