Tip: Click the arrows below to expand the content
CTT (Post Office)
More than a post office, it has a bank & provides health insurance among other things. Our focus for this post is for its primary function as a post office. You also have the ability to create a CTT account online. It has been helpful for looking up packages & paying unexpected customs & VAT (taxes).
Mail Delivery
There are a few things you need to be aware of regarding mail delivery. If you have something being delivered, you need to be home to accept the package. If you are not, you risk the package being sent back to the sender.
- If the package is sent via CTT and you are not home, the package will be available for pick up at CTT for 5 days for express packages & 10 days for regular delivery.
- If the package is sent via another carrier (DHL, FedEx, UPS, DPD) they will leave your package at a pickup point which they will email/text you with the location.
- If a package is being delivered to you from outside the EU, there is a chance that they do NOT collect for customs. If that is the case, you will be required to pay customs before the package is delivered to you.
- You will receive a notice from the CTT (regardless of the delivery carrier) with the amount you owe and how much time you have to pay it.
- I have personally ordered quite a bit from various online stores and I have a system now to insure I don’t get stuck paying customs myself.
- I always check the company’s shipping policy. It is generally under the FAQ for the site, but sometimes it is listed separately. If they do ship internationally, confirm they are already including the VAT (taxes) & customs duties.
- I also check their return policy since returning products outside of the EU is more difficult.
- This is why I signed up for Locky Lockers, provided by the CTT, to receive my incoming packages without needing to be home.
Note: When you first log into CTT, you can change the language to English at the bottom of the page. But, as soon as you create an account, the pages on the site are only in Portuguese, so you will need to translate it.
Locky
You will need a CTT account and then you can subscribe to Locky. Here is how it works:
- Create your Account at ctt.pt by clicking on the icon that looks like a persons head in the upper right corner of the webpage.
- Click on Please register (Faça o seu registo)
- Follow the prompts to set up your account. The form needs basic information (name, address, NIF & phone.
- The “TIN” is actually your NIF.
- Accept the terms & conditions & click on Register.
Once you have logged into your account, you can subscribe to Locky.
- Scroll through the home page & look for an ad for Locky Lockers (Cacifos Locky)
- If you do not see this option on the page, click here: Locky.
- Click on “Register & Add the Locker”
- On the next page, enter your zip code or the city to find the Locky location closest to you. There are two in Tavira.
- Click on the icon in the map for the store closest to you and then click on +Add Locker.
When the page refreshes, you should see your address in the first box & the Locky address in the second.
- Click on the Locky address
- This page will show you the address that you should use for your deliveries that you want sent to Locky.
- This is the important part! You MUST include the 6 character code provide next to your name from the Locky Address. As an example, it could be: FirstName LastName ABCXYZ.
- I personally saved this address in my contacts so I had it readily available any time.
Disclaimer: I have had a couple instances where the company I ordered from did not accept the Lisbon CTT address as a valid address and I had to troubleshoot resolving the issue. I would guess the success rate with using Locky has been about 85-90%.
