Is it illegal to open post that is not addressed to you?

bullet_2k4

without authorisation yes it is illegal

Bumumble

well i work in the council and i have to open everyones mail,
even if it has someones name written

the only time i cant open it, only if it says private & confidential, and it has someones name, if it just to the whole council i can open, it cos it dont say who its private and confidential too

Bardic

In most cases, this practice is legal as, unfortunately, British citizens are not protected by a privacy law. An act of 1985 makes the 'international interception' of communications illegal, but this is primarily aimed at unauthorised telephone tapping.

Significantly, the Post Office Act 1953 prohibits the opening of 'any postal packet' which ought to have been delivered to another person. In practice, however, this protection for private mail is limited since an offence only arises if it is opened 'wilfully and maliciously with intent to injure another person'. Needless to say, this can be very difficult to prove.

It is common for many organisations to operate a policy of opening the great majority of mail centrally, even if there is an individual addressee on the envelope. This is generally considered reasonable in the interests of efficiency.The recognised exception to this rule is mail addressed to an individual which is plainly marked 'personal'.

Personal Angel

I think it depends what country you need to know about. In the UK if the post arrives at your house you can open it, but you can't go stealing someones mail and then open it- that is illegal.

So, if it is not your name on it but arrives at your house with the correct address- you may open it, or just return to sender.

Many businesses hire people to open all the mail that arrives at their offices and then divide them up into what goes where- so it is not illegal to open someone elses mail.

Hope that helps.

mainwoolly

It would be illegal to steal post from a post box or someone else's letter box.

But once it's delivered to your address it's not illegal to open it.

Most businesses have a post room that opens everyones post regardless of who it's addressed to.

The only exception is if it's marked Private and Confidential, in which case it's etiquette to leave it to be opened by the addressee only.

lazerangel99

Yes it is illegal, it is a federal offense.

jed slade

IT IS AN OFFENCE TO INTERFERE WITH THE MAIL,IF YOU HAVE WRITTEN PERMISSION TO COLLECT,READ ACT ON,SOMEONES MAIL,THEN YOU MAY IT COULD BE A TECHNICAL OFFENCE JUST TO COLLECT IT FOR SOMEONE WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.

MINTY

Yes

Wendy

Yes it is illegal and for more information as at the general post office in you area

mrsclaura

i was always led to believe that opening another persons mail was illegal unless you had explicit permission from them to do so.

if your getting post to your home address to people who don't live there just write ' not at this address' on the envelope and stick it back in the post box thats what i do they tend to stop sending it then.

*****

Yes, you are opening up someone elses mail.

no_preconceived_ideas

I have always been left with the impression that it is indeed illegal, as it would form somd kind of trespass.

Unfortunately, I can't lead you to where to find out for such, but I am using my common sense (and a little bit of instilled morality too, I guess).

However, I have been living in my current house for nearly 20 years and yet we still get post with the previous occupant's name on it. We tend to open these, only with the intention of finding out who to send it back to.

There's probably a lot of guidelines stating at what point it becomes unacceptable.

donald s

yes.

MoMoney23

Yes, it is illegal, and the Post Office is a federal agency, so it would be a federal offense.

Onestep downfrom God

If it has your name on it, even if misspelled, you can open it. Otherwise, the correct thing to do is return it to the sender. Royal Mail will open it if necessary to determine the sender, you break the law if you do it.

Johnny

Yes

Gem*

Yes it is illegal.
In the olden days you could have been beheaded for such a crime.
The mail actually belongs to the Queen until it is received by its intended recipient.

bottle babe

Yes, it is illegal if done knowingly, the addressee is still alive, and the addressee is/was available and able to operate effectively, or gave permission for another to act on his/her behalf. A deceased person's estate is looked after by an appointed executor, and this is legal. Comatosed or otherwise injured persons have their mail opened by a bona fide interested party.
If a person is ill and unable to look after their own estate, then a creditor may not gain access to funds.
Otherwise the civil wrong (Tort) of opening another's mail called "Conversion" MAY apply.

marzmargs12

It is a form of stealing and taking bank cheques is theft and attempting to cash them.

samuel m

yes because it is not addressed to you but if it is for your wife yes because you two have no secrets to hide from each other

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