SHOW MENUGeneral/Universal Postal Union Conventions
The General Postal Union (GPU) was established at a Congress in Berne in 1874 to standardise rules for international exchange of mail. It proved successful and at the second Congress in Paris in 1878 the name Universal Postal Union (UPU) was adopted. Virtually all postal authorities are or were members. The rules of the UPU set the basic parameters for international mail and are therefore a key primary source for understanding many stamp and postal history items.
The basic UPU document up to 1964 was the "Convention", which was supplemented by protocols and detailed implementation regulations. There were additional supplemental "Agreements" binding only on those postal administrations that signed up to them (the USA in particular did not, and the UK only to some). At the Vienna Conference that year the structure was changed to a "Constitution" with "General Regulations" covering the organisational aspects, the "Convention" the technical aspects, while the supplemental "Agreements" continued. The language used for the original master documents is French, so English versions are translations.
Sources
There is no canonical online source for English versions of the documents, not even the UPU website, although there are runs in the lists of treaties published by the League of Nations and the United Nations (some are missing). Others have been located in various places, typically the Treaty Series of various countries, but not always with an English version available. In particular many additional agreements have only been found as the French "master copies". These have been included for reference to make this listing as comprehensive as possible, even if the UK did not sign up to a particular agreement.
If you can supply details of a source for English texts of those we don't have, we would be very grateful!
The listing below is indebted to John Copeland's invaluable Links to UPU Conventions and Related Documents Available Free on the Internet.
| Congress | Date in Force | Files | Source and Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1874 Berne |
1875 (1 Jul) |
General Postal Union Treaty signed 9th October 1874 (66pp, link) |
Washington Government Printing Office, in French with side-by-side English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms |
| 1878 Paris |
1879 (1 Apr) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 1st June 1878 (74pp, link) |
Report of United States Postmaster-General, in French with side-by-side English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms |
|
Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 1st June 1878 (64pp, link) |
Austrian Treaties and Conventions, in French followed by German translation. Additional Agreements, including regulations and specimen forms, regarding:
|
||
| 1880 Paris |
1881 (1 Oct) |
Universal Postal Union Parcels Convention signed 3rd November 1880 (18pp, link) |
Dutch Treaties and Conventions, French text only. Includes regulations and specimen forms |
| 1885 Lisbon |
1886 (1 Apr) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 21st March 1885 (37pp, link) |
Report of United States Postmaster-General, in French with side-by-side English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms |
|
Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 21st March 1885 (65pp, link) |
Italian Trattati e convenzioni, French text only. Additional Agreements, including regulations and specimen forms, regarding:
|
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| 1891 Vienna |
1892 (1 Jul) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 8th July 1891 (105pp, link) |
United States Statutes at Large, in French with side-by-side English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms |
|
Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 8th July 1891 (111pp, link) |
Italian Trattati e convenzioni, French text only. Additional Agreements, including regulations and specimen forms, regarding:
|
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| 1897 Washington |
1899 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 15th June 1897 (106pp, link) |
Her Majesty's Stationery Office, in French with side-by-side English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms |
|
Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 15th June 1897 (131pp, link) |
Italian Trattati e convenzioni, French text only. Additional Agreements, including regulations and specimen forms, regarding:
|
||
| 1906 Rome |
1907 (1 Oct) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 26th May 1906 (139pp, link) |
Her Majesty's Stationery Office, in French with side-by-side English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms |
|
Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 26th May 1906 (185pp, link) |
Italian Trattati e convenzioni, French text only. Additional Agreements, including regulations and specimen forms, regarding:
|
||
| 1920 Madrid |
1922 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 30th November 1920 (167pp, link) |
Washington Government Printing Office, in French with side-by-side English translation. Main convention only including regulations and specimen forms |
|
Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 30th November 1920 (178pp, link) |
Italian Trattati e convenzioni, French text only. Additional Agreements, including regulations but not specimen forms, regarding:
|
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| 1924 Stockholm |
1925 (1 Nov) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 28th August 1924 (233pp, link) Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 28th August 1924 (389pp, link) |
League of Nations Treaty Series, in French with English translation on facing pages. Includes regulations and specimen forms, and additional Agreements regarding:
|
| 1927 The Hague |
1928 (1 Jan) |
Provisions for the conveyance of letter and parcel mails by air adopted at a Conference 10th September 1927 (53pp, link) |
League of Nations Treaty Series, in French with English translation on facing pages. Temporary rules until London Congress. Includes regulations and specimen forms |
| 1929 London |
1930 (1 Jul) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 28th June 1929 (309pp, link) Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 28th June 1929 (484pp, link) |
League of Nations Treaty Series, in French with English translation on facing pages. Includes regulations and specimen forms, and additional Agreements regarding:
|
| 1934 Cairo |
1935 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 20th March 1934 (307pp, link) Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 20th March 1934 (533pp, link) |
League of Nations Treaty Series, in French with English translation on facing pages. Includes regulations and specimen forms, and additional Agreements regarding:
|
| 1939 Buenos Aires |
1940 (1 Jul) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 23rd May 1939 (222pp, link) |
League of Nations Treaty Series, in French with English translation on facing pages. Main convention including regulations and specimen forms |
|
Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 23rd May 1939 (155pp, link) |
Swiss Feuille Fédérale, French text only. Main convention and agreements, but not including regulations and specimen forms. With additional Agreements regarding:
|
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| 1947 Paris |
1948 (1 Jul) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 5th July 1947 (263pp, link) |
United States Statutes at Large, in French followed by English translation. Main convention including regulations and specimen forms |
|
Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 5th July 1947 (138pp, link) |
Swiss Feuille Fédérale, French text only. Main convention and agreements, but not including regulations and specimen forms. With additional Agreements regarding:
|
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| 1952 Brussels |
1953 (1 Jul) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 11th July 1952 (364pp, link) Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 11th July 1952 (659pp, link) |
United Nations Treaty Series, in French followed by English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms, and additional Agreements regarding:
|
| 1957 Ottawa |
1959 (1 Apr) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 3rd October 1957 (333pp, link) Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 3rd October 1957 (707pp, link) |
United Nations Treaty Series, in French followed by English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms, and additional Agreements regarding:
|
| 1964 Vienna |
1966 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 10th July 1964 (389pp, link) Universal Postal Union Additional Agreements signed 10th July 1964 (767pp, link) |
United Nations Treaty Series, in French followed by English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms, and additional Agreements regarding:
|
| 1969 Tokyo |
1971 (1 Jul) |
Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 14th November 1969 (French text, 554pp, link) Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 14th November 1969 (English text, 532pp, link) |
United Nations Treaty Series, French original and separate English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms, and separate Agreements concerning:
|
| 1974 Lausanne |
1976 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 5th July 1974 (French text, 612pp, link) Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 5th July 1974 (English text, 596pp, link) |
United Nations Treaty Series, French original and separate English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms, and separate Agreements concerning:
|
| 1979 Rio de Janeiro |
1981 (1 Jul) |
Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 26th October 1979 (French text, 628pp, link) Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 26th October 1979 (English text, 598pp, link) |
United Nations Treaty Series, French original and separate English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms, and separate Agreements concerning:
|
| 1984 Hamburg |
1986 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 27th July 1984 (French text, 652pp, link) Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 27th July 1984 (English text, 616pp, link) |
United Nations Treaty Series, French original and separate English translation. Includes regulations and specimen forms, and separate Agreements concerning:
|
| 1989 Washington |
1991 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention and Additional Agreements signed 14th September 1989 (472pp, link) |
United Nations Treaty Series, in French followed by English translation. Includes regulations, and separate Agreements concerning:
|
| 1994 Seoul |
1996 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 14th September 1994 (79pp, link) |
Australian Treaty Series, English text only (converted from HTML version). Includes regulations, and separate Agreement concerning:
|
| 1999 Beijing |
2001 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 15th September 1999 (140pp, link) |
Her Majesty's Stationery Office, English text only. Includes regulations, and separate Agreement concerning:
|
| 2004 Bucharest |
2006 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 5th October 2004 (139pp, link) |
Her Majesty's Stationery Office, English text only. Includes regulations, and separate Agreement concerning:
|
| 2008 Geneva |
2010 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 12th August 2008 (347pp, link) |
Universal Postal Union, English text only. Includes regulations and decisions, and separate Agreement concerning:
|
| 2012 Doha |
2014 (1 Oct) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 11th October 2012 (334pp, link) |
Universal Postal Union, English text only. Includes regulations and decisions, and separate Agreement concerning:
|
| 2016 Istanbul |
2018 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 6th October 2016 (288pp, link) |
Universal Postal Union, English text only. Includes regulations and decisions, and separate Agreement concerning:
|
| 2018 Addis Ababa |
2019 (1 Jul) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 7th September 2018 (214pp, link) |
Universal Postal Union, English text only (Extraordinary Congress). Includes regulations and decisions |
| 2019 Geneva |
2020 (1 Jan) |
Universal Postal Union Convention signed 26th September 2019 (118pp, link) |
Universal Postal Union, English text only (Extraordinary Congress). Includes regulations and decisions |
