Kampala, Uganda – September 3, 2025 – The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) has stirred debate after restating that every registered company in Uganda must maintain a postal address. The obligation, anchored in the Companies Act Cap 110 and reinforced by a 2015 agreement with Posta Uganda, is presented as a non-negotiable legal requirement. Yet in an era dominated by digital communication, many question whether the policy is practical—or simply a relic weighing down businesses.
Under the arrangement with Posta Uganda, companies can secure postal boxes directly through URSB. Small firms pay about 76,000 shillings ($20 USD) annually, while larger ones in Kampala are charged 120,000 shillings ($32 USD), inclusive of VAT. URSB maintains that the policy ensures accountability and provides a traceable communication channel for regulatory correspondence. But critics are skeptical of its relevance, especially as URSB’s financial statements showed more than 5 billion shillings ($1.3 million USD) in postal-related revenue last year.
The timing is particularly controversial because Uganda’s postal network has been in steady decline. With only 334 post offices serving a population of over 45 million, postal services are increasingly out of step with modern business practices. A World Bank study in 2023 found that just 18 percent of firms in Uganda still rely on physical mail, while the majority use email, mobile apps, and courier services. Even Posta Uganda has shifted focus, launching “e-posta” and partnering with courier platforms to adapt to digital trends.
For small and medium enterprises, which make up 90 percent of Uganda’s private sector, the costs add to already difficult operating conditions. With around 1.5 million registered businesses, full compliance could drain over 114 billion shillings ($30 million USD) every year. Many SMEs complain of paying for postal boxes only to receive little or no correspondence, raising questions about value for money. Some business owners also point out that the policy becomes even more costly when firms need multiple boxes, further inflating operational expenses.
This insistence on postal addresses seems to lag behind the realities of a digital economy. Landlines and telegrams once defined communication, but have long been replaced by smartphones, instant messaging, and email. For many, the idea of requiring a mailbox in 2025 feels like forcing companies to maintain a fax machine. While URSB argues the policy strengthens accountability and helps formalize business operations, critics view it as a bureaucratic obstacle—more about generating revenue than facilitating growth.
Uganda has ambitions of being a regional hub for investment, often promoted as a low-risk entry point into Africa. But outdated requirements like the mandatory postal address risk undermining that narrative. Investors and entrepreneurs increasingly expect regulatory frameworks that encourage efficiency, not ones that tether them to systems few people use.
The broader question is whether laws and regulations should evolve in step with technology. Few would dispute the importance of accountability, but many argue there are modern, more effective ways of achieving it. If the postal address requirement remains, it must at least deliver tangible benefits beyond cost collection. Otherwise, Uganda risks frustrating its business community at a time when competitiveness and innovation should be priorities.
The mandatory postal address is therefore caught between law and reality: legally justified, but practically challenged. As communication shifts almost entirely online, the burden of maintaining postal boxes may no longer be a solution but a stumbling block. Unless reforms are made, Uganda risks anchoring its businesses to a bygone era rather than enabling them to thrive in the digital age.
