Help centre

Register for a free account, verify your email if you sign up with a password, then use Add Missing Postbox in the navigation to submit postboxes you have checked in person. Each submission is reviewed by moderators before it appears on the map.

No. Anyone can contribute. You need an accurate location and, where possible, a photo. The community and moderators help verify reign, form, and other details. Use the identification guide if you are unsure.

Yes. Registration and core features are free. The site is supported by a small number of ads and optional voluntary contributions.

Choose Add Missing Postbox from the navigation, set the location on the map (or with grid reference where supported), enter details such as reign and form, add a photo if you can, and submit. Track progress under My Submissions.

It depends on moderator availability. Many submissions are reviewed within a few days. Check My Submissions for status.

You should see a reason (duplicate location, weak evidence, wrong region, and so on). Fix the issue and submit again, or ask on the postbox or via contact if something looks wrong.

Open the postbox page and use Suggest an update. Moderators review changes. Track outcomes under My Corrections.

You earn contributor points for each approved postbox (reign and type or subtype bonuses apply), plus 5 if your original submission included a photo, 5 for each approved correction, 5 for the first approved photo on a postbox that previously had none, and 2 when you check in to a postbox (once per postbox). If you become a moderator, you also earn moderator points from reviews. See Scoring and ranks for tables.

The leaderboard ranks users by total points (contributor points plus moderator points). The public page shows the all-time list with 100 users per page and pagination. Optional weekly, monthly, or reign-specific views exist on the API for developers, not as drop-downs on the website today.

You need at least 10 approved postbox submissions and 5 approved corrections, then you can apply from the moderator application page at /moderator/apply. The site owner reviews applications.

Yes. There is a documented HTTP API. Interactive documentation lives at /docs and requires you to be logged in on the website. Reading many public datasets (postboxes, stats, leaderboard) does not require a key; writes and higher limits use a JWT session or an API key.

Sign in, open Profile, then API keys. Create a named key, copy it once, and send it as the X-API-Key header. Do not rely on query-string keys; they are deprecated.

Approved postbox records with location, reign, status, images, and related fields, subject to each endpoint’s contract. See the in-app API documentation for the full list.

If you register with email and password, you must verify your email before you can log in. Check your inbox for the link (and spam). OAuth sign-in may already mark your email as verified.

On the login page, use Forgot password, enter your email, and follow the link in the message. Links expire after a short time.

Other visitors see your display name, optional bio and profile photo, contribution counts, rank, and tier-style information derived from points. Your email address is not shown.

Yes. Open Profile, then Settings, and use Delete account. Export your data first if you want a copy. Submissions and comments remain on the map but show as Deleted User.

Yes. In Profile, then Settings, use Download my data (JSON) for a portable copy of profile, submissions, comments, and corrections.

When signed in, use Profile, then Settings, then Security. If you cannot sign in, use Forgot password on the login page.

Open the postbox page, find the photos section, and use Add photo. Moderators review uploads. The first approved photo on a postbox that had none earns 5 contributor points for the photographer.

Use My Corrections in the menu when signed in to see pending, approved, and rejected items.

They cover submission and correction outcomes, comments on postboxes you are linked to, replies, corrections filed on your submissions, and some badge events. Open Notifications in the menu.

Use Postboxes for indexes by reign, form, or town. Search and map filters help narrow results further.

Hosting, storage, and moderation for a map and API at this scale cost money. A small number of ads helps keep the service free alongside optional support links.

Use Buy Me a Coffee from the site footer or About page if you would like to help with running costs. There is no obligation.

No. They are separate projects. Dracos Find Your Nearest Postbox combines Royal Mail data (including via FOI), early crowd-sourcing, and OpenStreetMap, and focuses on nearest-postbox utility including last collection times. PostboxMap is a moderated community map with heritage fields, photos, in-site corrections, and an API. For detail, read the help article How PostboxMap differs from Dracos under About PostboxMap above, or open /help/postboxmap-vs-dracos-postboxes.

For Royal Mail and OSM-style nearest-box lookup with collection times, https://postboxes.dracos.co.uk/ is aimed at that. PostboxMap offers nearest-by-postcode browsing and the interactive map, but it is strongest as a heritage and contributor dataset rather than a Royal Mail collection-time mirror.

PostboxMap is built from moderated user submissions and corrections with rich fields and photos. It is not a wholesale sync of Royal Mail or OpenStreetMap.

No. Use Suggest an update on the PostboxMap postbox page so moderators can approve the change. OSM fixes help other tools, including Dracos, but do not automatically rewrite PostboxMap.

Yes. Use the documented HTTP API. Keys and authenticated limits are managed under Profile, API keys. Dracos is a consumer finder rather than an API product.

They solve different jobs. Use PostboxMap for moderated records, photos, browse-by-reign, identification articles, scoring, and API access. Use Dracos-style tools when you need utility-focused nearest-box data from Royal Mail and OSM. Many people use both.