Postman Salary in Sri Lanka 2026

What salary scales does the Department of Posts use?

The postal service has its own salary codes. Schedule I of Circular 10/2025 lists the Department of Post separately and maps its posts to two families of scales: PPL for primary-level postal staff, and PSO for sub postmasters and Postal Service Officers.

The primary-level posts are listed as "Primary Level - Unskilled Postal Assistant" in Grades III, II, I and the Special Grade, each on its own PPL code. That is the band where we would expect delivery staff to sit. The Department of Posts itself still calls its delivery staff postmen, for example in its rules that postmen must not deviate from their prescribed beats.

Postman salary by grade: the PPL scales

These figures come from Schedule II and the Schedule III conversion tables. They show the entry step of each grade in December 2024, the amount paid from January 2026, the full 2027 entry, and the top of each table.

Each PPL scale has ten increments at one rate and ten at a slightly higher rate. On PPL 1-2025 that is ten of Rs. 450 and ten of Rs. 490, taking you from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 49,400. The 2025 revision lifted the entry basic by Rs. 15,750 once fully paid, from Rs. 24,250.

Postal service salary: sub postmasters and Postal Service Officers

Counter and supervisory staff are on the PSO scales. Here are the entry figures and the top of each conversion table:

The jump from a primary-level postal grade to Postal Service Officer is the big one: the PSO 2-2025 entry of Rs. 54,650 is almost Rs. 15,000 above the PPL 1 entry when fully paid.

How much does a postman take home each month?

Permanent postal staff are pensionable, so no EPF is deducted, and these amounts are well below the Rs. 150,000 APIT threshold. Overtime can add a meaningful amount. Overtime payments were among the demands when around 17,000 postal workers went on strike in August 2025, but rates depend on the work done, so we do not quote a figure.

What does a postman do?

A postman delivers registered and ordinary mail on a fixed beat from a post office. The Department of Posts' own delivery rules set some of the duties: postmen must stick to their prescribed beats, and must not deliver an article with money due on it without obtaining the addressee's signature. In the hills and remote areas, letters are still sometimes delivered on foot.

Sri Lanka Post runs a large network, with Wikipedia putting the number of post offices at 4,738. That spread is why the department is one of the larger employers of primary-level staff in the public service.

How do you get a job at Sri Lanka Post?

Recruitment is announced by the Department of Posts in the Government Gazette. The best-documented recent route is the open exam for Grade III Postal Service Officers. The 2025 notice, gazetted on 25 July 2025, was for 600 vacancies:

• Age 18 to 30.
• Six O/L credit passes, including Sinhala, Tamil or English and Mathematics.
• Three A/L passes, not counting General Knowledge.
• A computer literacy course of at least 360 hours from a TVEC-registered institution.
• Applications closed on 15 August 2025, and results were released in 2026.

We did not find a recent open recruitment notice for primary-level delivery posts. If that is the job you want, watch the gazette and the Department of Posts website. For other routes into the state sector, see our government jobs in Sri Lanka guide.

Postal salaries compared with other jobs

The PPL scales are among the lowest in the public service, close to the general primary-level scale PL 1-2025, which also starts at Rs. 40,000. The PSO scale for Postal Service Officers starts above the Management Service Officer salary and the government clerk salary, and above the Grama Niladhari salary at entry.

In the private sector, delivery work is paid very differently, often per drop or with a fuel allowance; see our delivery driver salary guide. For every public service code, see the government salary scale 2026 page, and for the long-term value of a pensionable job, our government pension guide.

Our take: aim for the PSO exam if you have A/L passes

On the numbers alone, we would not plan a career around the primary-level postal grades. They start at Rs. 40,000 when fully paid and the PPL 1 table ends at Rs. 49,400. The pension and job security are real, but the ceiling is low.

If you have A/L passes, the Postal Service Officer exam is the better target in the same department. It starts at Rs. 54,650 when fully paid and Grade I officers go past Rs. 100,000. If you also qualify for the Samurdhi or agriculture instructor routes, compare those scales before you choose.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Public Administration Circular 10/2025 (PDF) - Ministry of Public Administration (Department of Post in Schedule I, PPL and PSO scales, Schedule III tables)
2. Government Salary Scales 2025 (English PDF mirror) - Gazette.lk
3. Postal Service Officer Vacancies (Open Exam) 2025 - gazette notice of 25 July 2025
4. Postal Service Officer Grade III Exam Results 2025 Released - Guruwaraya, June 2026
5. Delivery of mail - Department of Posts
6. Thousands of Sri Lankan postal workers remain on strike - World Socialist Web Site, 20 August 2025 (strike size and demands)
7. Sri Lanka Post - Wikipedia (number of post offices)