The Post Office in the UK is owned by the government and operates as a state- owned retail post office company known as Post Office Limited. It runs a nationwide network of around 11,500 branches, mostly franchise-run or independently managed by subpostmasters, with the government directly managing a small percentage of branches known as Crown post offices. The Post Office is separate from Royal Mail, which is privately owned by shareholders under International Distribution Services, recently acquired by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský's EP Group in 2024.

Thus, the Post Office UK is government-owned and operates independently from Royal Mail, which is privately owned.