Turks and Caicos Post Offices, Shipping & Courier Services

The George Brown Post Office on Providenciales — The George Brown Post Office in Downtown Providenciales.

All of the main populated islands in the Turks and Caicos have a government-run post office. These offices hold mail for pickup, are able to send mail, and sell stamps. Local post offices do not offer the additional range of financial services found at many post offices in the USA, UK, and Europe (such as money orders).

There is no general postal service delivery in the Turks and Caicos, and everyone collects their mail directly from their island’s post office.

Air and Sea Freight

Stamps and Postcards

The old post office building on Front Street in Cockburn Town, Grand Turk — The old post office in Cockburn Town offers unique postage stamps and souvenirs.

A mailbox is located in the Regent Village car park in Grace Bay, Providenciales, and at the Cruise Center in Grand Turk. Otherwise, post needs to be dropped off at one of the local post office branches.

Stamps and cards can be purchased from many gift shops in the Grace Bay area of Providenciales, and at the Cruise Center in Grand Turk (and at all post offices). Required postage for postcards is $0.40 for British Commonwealth destinations (such as Canada and the United Kingdom), and $0.80 for all other countries (including the United States).

Turks and Caicos Postal Code

The postal code for the Turks and Caicos is TKCA 1ZZ.

In the past, the country never relied on a postal or zip code. BWI (British West Indies) was occasionally used in lieu of an actual code, but is rarely seen today.

The use of the UK format postcode TKCA 1ZZ is now becoming increasingly common.

Courier and Delivery Services

Calm weather conditions at Grace Bay Beach in the Turks and Caicos — The pristine Grace Bay Beach, Providenciales.

Courier services are available on Providenciales and Grand Turk.

Providenciales has local branches of FedEx, DHL, UPS, and IBC (International Bonded Couriers).

Grand Turk does not have any courier branches, but delivery of FedEx shipments can sometimes be arranged.

Transit Times for Courier Services

Transit times have progressively worsened over the years. All major courier services now have unpredictable delivery times, especially if the package requires customs clearance (i.e. non-documents). In the past, transit times to Providenciales, including release from local customs, was typically quite fast at 1–3 days for shipments from the US or UK. Now, local agents often have logistical and staffing issues, limited operating hours, and other inefficiencies that add 1-7 days onto transit times. Local couriers usually do not deliver, which necessitates visiting their office for shipment collection, where wait times may exceed an hour. Customer service expectations should be low in order to avoid disappointment.

Customs Duties and Clearance Fees

For packages where customs duty is payable, a customs clearance fee is almost always applied in addition to the duty amount. This brokerage fee varies, yet is typically $25-80. Additional fees may also be added if customers pay via debit card or credit card. See Turks and Caicos Currency for information on ATM locations and accepted forms of payment in the islands.

Due to the high fees demanded by the courier services, most residents in the Turks and Caicos now opt to use small package shippers, such as Air & Sea Agency and Island Bargains, which provide a freight forwarding address in the US for customers, and then consolidate and import the cargo into the country via ocean or air freight. These freight forwarders usually charge around $10 for the customs brokerage.

Be advised that other international courier companies without local branches are often able to send packages to the Turks and Caicos. However, there may be extra fees applied by the local partner courier or airline that handles the final import into the country. There are often extra local delays, and it can even be difficult to determine which local courier is handling the customs brokerage and final delivery.