Editing Post office (section)

==Name==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| image1 = Microcosm of London Plate 063 - The Post Office.jpg
| width1 = 250
| alt1 = Post office
| caption1 = The old [[General Post Office]] on [[Lombard Street, London]], in 1803
| image2 = Postal facility interior.JPG
| width2 = 250
| alt2 = 
| caption2 = A [[Canada|Canadian]] sorting office in 2006
| footer = 
| direction = 
| total_width = 
}}

The term "post-office"<ref>Webster, Noah. ''American Dictionary of the English Language'', "[http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/word/post-house post-house] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004212954/http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/word/post-house |date=2013-10-04 }}". Accessed 2 October 2013.</ref> has been in use since the 1650s,<ref>Harper, Douglas. ''Online Etymology Dictionary'', "[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=post+office post office] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215722/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=post+office |date=2013-10-04 }}". 2013. Accessed 2 October 2013.</ref> shortly after the legislation of private mail services in [[England]] in 1635.<ref>The British Postal Museum and Archive. "[http://www.postalheritage.org.uk/page/peoplespost-secretroom The Secret Room] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831192736/http://postalheritage.org.uk/page/peoplespost-secretroom|date=2012-08-31}}". 2011. Accessed 2 October 2013.</ref> In [[early modern#Europe|early modern]] England, [[post riders]]—[[mail delivery by animal#horses|mounted couriers]]—were placed, or "posted",<ref>Harper (2013), "[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=post post] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930024127/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=post |date=2013-09-30 }}". Accessed 2 October 2013.</ref> every few hours along [[post road]]s at [[posting houses]] (also known as post houses) between major cities, or "[[post town]]s". These [[stable]]s or [[coaching inn|inn]]s permitted important correspondence to travel without delay. In early America, post offices were also known as stations. This term, as well as the term "post house", fell from use as horse and [[mail coach|coach]] services were replaced by [[railway post office|railways]], [[airmail|aircraft]], and [[mail truck|automobiles]].
[[File:Surathkal Post Office,India.jpg|thumb|The Surathkal Post Office in [[Surathkal]], India]]

The term "post office" usually refers to government postal facilities providing customer service. "[[General Post Office (disambiguation)|General Post Office]]" is sometimes used for the national headquarters of a postal service, even if the building does not provide customer service. A postal facility that is used exclusively for processing mail is instead known as a sorting office or delivery office, which may have a large central area known as a sorting or postal hall. Integrated facilities combining mail processing with railway stations or airports are known as mail exchanges.

In [[India]], post offices are found in almost every village having [[Panchayati raj in India|panchayat]] (a "village council"), towns, cities, and throughout the geographical area of India. India's postal system changed its name to [[India Post]] after the advent of private courier companies in the 1990s. It is run by the Indian government's Department of Posts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiapost.gov.in/VAS/Pages/AboutUs/AboutUs.aspx\|title= About Us|access-date=28 March 2021}}</ref> India Post accepts and delivers inland letters, postcards, parcels, postal stamps, and money orders (money transfers). Few post offices in India offer speed post (fast delivery) and payments or bank savings services. It is also uncommon for Indian post offices to sell insurance policies or accept payment for electricity, landline telephone, or gas bills. Until the 2000 A.D., post offices would collect fees for radio licenses, recruitment for government jobs, and the operation of public call telephone (PCO) booths. [[Postman|Postmen]] would deliver letters, money orders, and parcels to places that are within the assigned area of a particular post office. Each Indian post office is assigned a unique six-digit code called the [[Postal Index Number]], or PIN. Each post office is identified by its PIN. Post offices coming under Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication, Government of India have a history of one hundred fifty years.<ref>{{ cite web|url=https://www.indiapost.gov.in/VAS/Pages/AboutUs/AboutUs.aspx|title=About us|author=India Post|access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref>

Private [[courier]] and [[Package delivery|delivery services]] often have offices as well, although these are usually not called "post offices", except in the case of [[Germany]], which has [[Deutsche Post|fully privatised its national postal system]].{{Citation needed|date=June 2020|reason=presumably this refers to German-language equivalent term, but it's not clear}}

As abbreviation ''PO'' is used, together with ''GPO'' for General Post Office and ''LPO'' for Licensed Post Office.