Barcodes on shipments

The use of barcodes on shipments brings a number of positive effects to the technology of shipment submission for senders. These include, for example, the transition from the traditional submission of shipment data in paper form to more efficient electronic submission using an electronic submission form, or, for contract customers, via Online Submission or an API interface.

Advantages of barcodes for submitters

  • Electronic data transfer – you can now transfer your data to the post office in a convenient way using a USB drive, and contract customers can also use Online Submission or the API interface
  • Option to track shipments online – you can track shipments in the Shipment Tracking (T&T) application on the Czech Post website and see, for example, whether the recipient has already picked up your shipment. Contract customers can also take advantage of regular reports with daily updates on the status of submitted shipments.
  • Simplification and acceleration of the process of filing, delivery, issuance, and possible return of shipments.
  • Reduction of administrative burden – by taking advantage of all the benefits that barcodes offer, you will reduce the administrative costs of shipments. 
  • Option to use cash on delivery without a receipt – no more paperwork and faster crediting of the cash on delivery amount to your account.
  • Simplification of any complaint procedures.

Technical parameters of the code

An alphanumeric barcode of type C128 with a fixed length of 13 encoded characters is required to mark shipments for delivery via Czech Post. This is a one-dimensional barcode with a relatively high information density.

No other C128 barcode with a length of 13 characters (e.g., the sender's internal code) should be placed on the address side of the shipment. The possible placement of another barcode (of a different type and length) on the address side of the shipment by the sender must be discussed with Czechia.

Example code for registered mail

RR = prefix for registered mail
00000014 = serial number (range from 1 to 99,999,999)
7 = check digit
CZ = suffix (other suffixes for contractual bulk senders: F, M, U, C, E, T, B, L – for these senders, the Czech Post has a different structure)

Barcode placement patterns on shipments

Sample address side of a registered letter with a barcode on the mailing label – DL format

Sample address side of a registered letter with printed barcode – C5 format

Sample address side of a registered letter with a barcode on the mailing label – special delivery envelope with a green stripe

Sample address side of a registered letter with a printed barcode – special delivery envelope with a blue stripe

Technical information about the shipping label

Sticker length 60 mm
Sticker height 25 mm
barcode length 40 mm
barcode height 10 mm
Barcode quiet zone 5 mm (left and right)
Font size
  • R – large black letter – length 10 mm, height 12 mm
  • Recommandé – black text length 9 mm, height 1 mm
  • Doporučeně – black text length 10 mm, height 1 mm
  • ČP logo – black, length 10 mm, height 7 mm
  • ČK text at the bottom – length 40 mm, height 4 mm (2 mm space above and below the text)
Colors:
  • background – white
  • service designation R capital letter – black
  • Recommandé – black text
  • Registered mail – black text
  • barcode – black
  • font – black
  • ČP logo – lower left corner – black
Product
  • Registered mail (including official mail)
  • Registered mail – standard (including official mail – standard)
  • Registered parcel for the blind
  • Business letter – registered
  • Registered parcel abroad
  • Registered parcel for the blind abroad
Printing of the filing number and barcode
  • Česká pošta, s.p.
  • contractual bulk submitters
Left part of the ČK in the form of an image

Description of the submission process

To send items, the sender must fill out a postage receipt (postage form) for the items being sent. They can choose from forms that are available to senders in several different formats. It is up to the sender to decide which receipt to use for the posting data. When sending up to 9 letters or up to 5 parcels (including valuable items) with a Customer Card, it is not necessary to fill out a posting slip.

Paper submission method


Select the form and format that suits you best using the "Recommendations for using forms." You can choose from the following forms:

Tiskopis

Popis

Formáty

New postage slip

Classic postage slip for individual items, which is also freely available at the post office

DOC
PDF

New submission sheet – nPA

This form is adapted to the new technology of sending shipments with barcodes. The posting marks added by ČP are printed on this sheet from the ČP system. The document is locked, and no changes may be made to the form (e.g., reducing the size of lines, removing headers, etc.). Only the "Sender," "Consignor," and other columns marked with 1) may be filled in. Instructions for working with the Submission Sheet (nPA)  dimensioning, information to be filled in, etc.

DOC
XLS
PDF

Electronic submission

Send a shipment

  • Fill in the shipping details online in the Send a Shipment application. You will receive a shipping code, which will speed up the process at the post office. Just hand it over at the counter. You have 30 days to do so.

New electronic shipping form - ePA

  • This method involves submitting data electronically using a new electronic submission form – ePA. The ePA can be transferred to the post office either on a USB drive (MassStorage compatible with the FAT16/32 file system) or via the PodáníOnline web application. A list of post offices where submissions via electronic submission form are possible using a USB drive can be found under the link "SCHEDULE."
  • The New Electronic Submission Form (ePa) file in XLS format contains a blank sheet to be filled in, instructions for filling in the form, a numerical list of services that can be selected for shipments, and possible service combinations.
  • After filling in the submission form, it is necessary to save the file – the completed form (submission form) as a CSV file (with a semicolon separator), which will result in a file containing only one sheet, namely the completed submission form. The file must be uploaded to a USB drive and handed over to the post office for processing together with the items being submitted. At the post office, data about shipments will be loaded from the file into the filing system, any errors will be corrected, and a paper version of the filing sheet will be printed for you. At the same time, the data supplemented with information from the filing will be saved to your USB drive – you will thus have a complete electronic file containing both the data you submitted and the data supplemented by the post office.

Submission via USB – procedure before uploading the ePA (electronic submission form)

For registered contract customers

API – B2B Gateway

Modern, fully automated data transfer via a web interface allows you to check your submission data online and print address labels. More information about the API – B2B Gateway.

Online Submission

Convenient online data transfer via a web application that facilitates bulk submissions with the option of printing address labels. More information about Online Submission.

Cash on delivery without documentation

Thanks to this service, you will no longer need to use paper postal cash on delivery vouchers. We will collect the cash on delivery amount for you based on electronically transmitted submission data (data file), speeding up the receipt of cash amounts for you.

Barcode printing

Would you like to print barcodes for shipments yourself and use them for your internal needs, such as shipment records? You can do so without any problems. Contact your sales representative.

For more information, please contact the ČP Contact Center or call the Customer Service Line.

Download

Note: To print documents in PDF format correctly, you must set the print settings so that "Page Scale" is set to "None."