3 min read
India Post
India Post reaches every PIN code in India, including the ones private couriers skip. The India Post app prices each parcel from India Post’s published Speed Post tariff, prints an address label with a barcode, and keeps the parcel’s status on the order.
India Post has no booking or tracking API for online shops (its booking API is only for contracted bulk customers). So you book each parcel at the post office and type the article number from the receipt; the app does everything else.
Set it up
From Apps, install India Post, then open its Connect page.
Enter your post office PIN code
The PIN code of the post office where you hand in parcels. Rates and delivery times are worked out from it.
Add your business account, if you have one
- Speed Post customer ID: your India Post business (BNPL) customer ID. It is printed on the label.
- I have contract rates: price parcels from India Post’s contractual card instead of the counter rates.
- Collect cash on delivery: only if your India Post business account collects COD for you. Add the COD fee per parcel from your agreement so the rate you see includes it.
Without a business account, counter rates apply and every parcel is prepaid.
Optional: a data.gov.in API key
Sign up free at data.gov.in , open My Account and copy your API key. With it the app looks each PIN code up in India Post’s own directory and shows its post office and district. Without it, rates and delivery times still work.
Test and save
Test connection checks the PIN code; nothing is booked.
Ship an order
- Pack the parcel and book it at the post office counter as Speed Post (or Speed Post with registration). Keep the receipt.
- In the admin, open the order and choose Create shipment. Pick India Post Speed Post (or Speed Post, registered) in the courier list; the price shown is India Post’s tariff plus 18 % GST.
- Type the article number from the receipt, like
EE123456785IN. Its last digits are a check digit, so a typo is caught before it is saved. - Print label opens a 4 × 6 inch label with the barcode, both addresses and, for COD, the amount to collect.
Keep the status up to date
India Post sends no tracking to apps, so open Apps → India Post. Each parcel on the way has a Track on India Post link (paste the article number there) and a status you set: booked, handed in, in transit, out for delivery, delivered or returned. Delivered closes the order and Returned to you starts the return (RTO) task, just like a courier scan. Shoppers see the same status and a link to India Post’s tracker.
Rates and delivery times
Rates come from India Post’s Speed Post Parcel tariff effective 1 August 2026 (retail or contractual card), by weight and zone:
| Zone | When | Delivery (India Post’s standard) |
|---|---|---|
| Local | Same city or district | 1-2 days |
| Metro | Between Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad | 1-3 days |
| Within state | Same state | 1-4 days |
| Other states | Everywhere else | 4-5 days |
| North East, J&K, Ladakh, islands | Charged as other states | 4-7 days (our estimate) |
Delivery through a branch post office takes a day more, so the dates shown already include it. If your receipt shows a different price (a negotiated card), paste your own rates under Connect → Your own rates.