Sending laboratory samples as a private and contract customer
You can send laboratory samples in a letter or a parcel. Sample items are transported in Finland as letters, reply mail items, parcels or freight, for example.
The sender is responsible for the correct classification, packaging and marking of the substance according to the TDG Act (719/1994) and the decrees and regulations issued pursuant to it.
Leave a letter or parcel item for transport by taking it to Posti’s full-service service point. You can leave a prepaid parcel at a parcel service point. You can also order pickup for the item from the desired location. Companies can drop off the item at the contract customer’s pickup and delivery service for transport.
The samples must not be dropped off in a mailbox or parcel locker. Laboratory samples require fast and proper transportation – if left in a mailbox or parcel locker, they may be delayed or spoiled.
Sending as a letter
1. When you pay for the shipment
You can send permitted samples of human and animal origin or samples classified under the category UN 3373 as letters.
Do not send samples containing dry ice as letters.
You can pay the postage fee for a letter at a service point using the payment method available to contract customers.
Note! Items can only be mailed at full-service Posti service points. If the delivery is urgent and you want to be certain it reaches its destination as quickly as possible, use the Express Letter service. In the biggest cities, also deliver samples on Saturdays (excluding public holidays). You can check Saturday Delivery areas in our delivery time inquiry For an express delivery, you will need both the Exprès bar code label for Express letters and the label for Saturday Delivery. Labels are available in Posti service points, and contract customers can also order them using the material order form.
2. When the recipient pays the item's postage fee
Many receiving laboratories have a reply mail contract, such as Express Sample Reply. In that case, the sender can mail the item free of charge.
Check if there is a contract with the receiving laboratory.
Pack and mail the item according to the instructions given by the laboratory. Black and yellow striped boxes are most often used for laboratory samples.
Mail a laboratory sample item from a Posti full-service service point.
3. For contract customers: Sample Item
Pack the sample in a black and yellow-striped packaging in accordance with the TDG Act.
Mail a laboratory sample by taking it to a Posti full-service service point or dropping it off at the contract customer’s pickup and delivery service for transport.
Sending a parcel
If the size or weight of the item exceeds the maximum dimensions set for letter items, the sample must be sent as a parcel.
Select the Fragile additional service for laboratory samples sent as parcels.
Attach an address label and Posti-approved “fragile” labels on the parcel item and mark the Fragile additional service on the address label.
We deliver parcels in accordance with the service level of the selected service.
Parcels sent on Friday are delivered to the recipient on Saturday only if the Saturday Delivery additional service has been selected for the item.
As a cash customer, you can use a service where the parcel is delivered to the recipient during the daytime, such as the Parcel to the Doorstep or the additional service Delivery to the Doorstep in the Daytime. The contents of the item should not be packed in dry ice as this requires a contract customer relationship with Transport Services.
Express Parcel is used as the parcel delivery service of contract customers. If the sample is packed in dry ice, the address label must contain the text “Näytteitä pakattuna kuivajäähän (UN1845)”/“Samples packed in dry ice (UN1845)”. Outside a separately agreed TDG shipment, contract customers can only send samples that are highly unlikely to contain pathogens and that are classified under the code UN 3373.