Terms and conditions

Prohibitions and Restrictions – The Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide prohibitions and restrictions list will be merged. The updated version of the new list will be available on the Royal Mail website and can be navigated from the Parcelforce Worldwide website on 11^th August 2025. In the meantime, you can view the information here.

Postcode exceptions – The domestic postcode exception list has been updated to reflect the product changes, please see the Parcel User Guide for more information on product changes. You can view the updated guide here.

Packaging guidelines – The packaging guideline has been updated to reflect dimension changes and product amendments. You can view the updated guide here.

Domestic Parcel User Guide

International Parcel User Guide

Pricing

As of 11^th August 2025, we will be streamlining the way we price Parcelforce Worldwide  services to align with how we price Royal Mail Tracked International services.

• Parcelforce Worldwide  Domestic services will be based on customer’s average posting profile over 12 months
• Parcelforce Worldwide  International services will be based on Rate Card + discount, meaning customers will pay a different amount dependent on weight step

If we establish that you despatch Items which do not meet the agreed average size or weight or volume of Items, or any other agreed Posting profile criteria set out in the Price Confirmation Letter or elsewhere, or if any information which you provide us with leads us to reasonably believe that it will cost us more to deliver your Items, we may vary the Charges on not less than 30 Days' notice in writing. We will not reduce your Charges during any review or sampling process.

Surcharges

Our additional services and surcharges guide will cease on 11^th August 2025. All Parcelforce Worldwide surcharges will be updated on the Royal Mail website, at Surcharges and Correction Charges, from 11^th August 2025.

Domestic surcharges are as the below, the corrections guide can be viewed here.

1. Peak Surcharge – will be confirmed September 2025
2. Fuel Surcharge – 8%
3. Green Surcharge – 5p per item
4. Return to sender Surcharge: where items are returned to the sender for any of the reasons below, your items will be scanned, and you will be charged your agreed contract rate.
   • Undelivered items that have not been collected, nor a redelivery arranged within the 18-day holding period 
   • Incorrect/incomplete address 
   • Recipient moved (gone away)
   • Recipient refused

International surcharges cover key cost areas for our business, such as:

• Fuel
• Conveyancing and
• International delivery charges

An international surcharge, currently at 6.5% is applied to the product price after any discounts or commissions, and before any applicable VAT. Please see the international corrections guide here.

We are making some changes to the maximum dimensions of domestic parcels.  There is no change to the maximum length which remains at 1.5m for all domestic services and 2.5m for express48large. We are replacing the maximum length and girth, which is currently 3m for standard size services with a maximum litreage of 220ls for all domestic services (except large).  For express48large the maximum length and girth will change from 4m to a maximum litreage of 500ls. There is no change to the maximum weight which remains at 30kgs

Summary of new maximum dimensions

Parcels sent above our maximum dimensions or weight, will continue to attract an outside of terms and conditions surcharge as outlined in the Surcharges and Corrections guide (found in the Pricing and Surcharges section above).

To calculate the parcels litre volume, simply multiply the length by width by height (LxWxH) and divide the answer by 1000

Example of litreage volume calculation

Parcel size = Length is 100cms, Width is 30cm and Height is 20cm.

100cm x 30cm x 20cms = 60,000cms, Litre Volume- 60,000cms/ 1000 = 60L

Our supporting webpage on how to calculate litreage will be available from 11^th August.

The way in which international items are measured remains the same.

Moving forward Parcelforce will capture the pre-advised weight, actual weight and volumetric weight in kg and charge the higher amount. Therefore it is important to make sure that you accurately declare your item weights when processing on our shipping solutions.
 

How to calculate volumetric sizing

Multiply the length x height x width in centimetres and divide the answer by 5,000. The result is the volumetric weight. The answer should be compared with the pre-advised weight and actual weight in kg. Whichever is the greater figure should be used to look up the price for the service you require.

All packages will be volumetrically scanned before leaving the country. If there is any difference between the pre-advised weight, actual weight and the volumetric weight, you will be charged the higher amount.

For example: Assume the pre-advised weight for your package is 6kg, actual weight of your package is 8kg, but the dimensions are 40cm x 30cm x 50cm = 12kg. 

The volumetric weight of 12kg is greater than the pre-advised and actual weight, and if your package is irregularly shaped, the volumetric weight is calculated based on the dimensions of the smallest cubic shape the package will fit into.
 

How to calculate Length and Girth of your parcel

When you send a parcel internationally with Parcelforce Worldwide, it’s important to make sure that you measure the dimensions accurately to ensure it can fit inside our vehicles and be sorted by the machinery in our hub.

Parcels sent on our services must be within the maximum length and 'length and girth combined' measurements. To calculate the 'length and girth combined' measurement, simply add the girth and length together.

From 11th August Parcelforce Worldwide will have a new set of products and features that are detailed in the Domestic and International Product User Guides. Please see the links under the ‘Supporting contractual documents’ section.

Scheduled collection customers will continue to have a regular pick-up. If there are any changes to your collection arrangements, we will contact you directly.

As of 11th August 2025 any single collections beyond your regular scheduled collections will be charged at a cost of £17.92 (one-off fee, exc. VAT) per collection. Saturday collections where available could be subject to an additional charge.

To improve first time delivery to your customers, if your customer is not at home we will now deliver to a safeplace or neighbour. All deliveries include a photo on delivery with an additional option of a signature for services within the UK.

Additionally, we are now able to display the GPS location of the parcel on Parcelforce.com tracking and on the Royal Mail app for customers to view.

For international Globalexpress an additional day has been added to the delivery speed. Currently next day for USA, Canada and Europe and two-days to the rest of the world, this will be moving to two-days USA, Canada and Europe and three-days to the rest of the world.

We are changing the way a return or third-party collection is booked. Customers returning items within the UK will now be able to book a driver collection via Parcel Collect. To enable this, you can include the returns label in the outbound parcel or email the label to the returning customer. Alternatively, the customer returning items can drop-off at a Post Office or local depot, using the supplied label.

Inclusive rate of compensation for domestic items is changing to up to £150 for express10, expressAM, express24 and express48. Items excluded from compensation will be excluded from enhanced compensation only for domestic items. International items inclusive rates will remain the same.

We will be moving from five levels of enhanced compensation cover to three levels as shown below:

The Parcelforce App was decommissioned on 3^rd May 2025. From 11^th August Parcelforce Worldwide features will be available via the Royal Mail app. Your recipients can download the app here.

The Parcelforce Worldwide claims portal for migrated customers will be replaced with the Royal Mail Claims process.

As of 11^th August you will be able to submit your claim using these two submission forms, one for single-item claims and the second for multiple-item claims up to 500 items per submission. All claims must be submitted online via the webform, we will no longer accept any submissions via email.

Single Item Claim

When you submit a multiple-item claim, you must use one of the Excel multi-claim forms below:

Multi Item Inland Claim Form

Multi Item International Claim Form

More information will be accessible on Making a compensation claim from 11^th August 2025.

From the 11^th August the Parcelforce Worldwide reporting suite, known as the Dashboard, will no longer be available. Domestic customers will be able to access the Royal Mail suite of reports via your Royal Mail OBA account. For more information, please visit Online Business Account (OBA) – help with reporting.

Parcelforce Worldwide customer services phone number will be changing to 03457 950 950, the email address remains the same.

If you are a Platinum Desk customer and in receipt of a Prediction, Exceptions, Quality of Service and/or Collection report these will still be available. However, as our shipping platforms are changing there may be some variations to how the data is presented as of the 11th August 2025.

Migrated customers will be able to access their invoices through the Royal Mail online portal and invoices linked to your previous Parcelforce account will be made available on this portal (for up to 7 years).

Customers can also select to receive invoices electronically.

To register for the invoicing portal or to sign up for E invoicing please use the link below:

Invoice help hub

For customers who will receive a new Royal Mail account number payment terms remain unchanged with funds to be received by Royal Mail on or before the invoice due date.

For customers migrating to an existing Royal Mail account the payment terms on the Royal Mail account will apply. Your invoice will be sent to the contact details on the existing Royal Mail account.
 

Credit Facility Conditions

The maintenance of timely payment is a condition of your credit facility. In the event of payment failure or non-compliance with agreed payment terms, Royal Mail reserves the right to withdraw the credit facility. This may result in the suspension of your account until the matter is resolved, please note it can take up to 48 hours for your account to be reinstated.

As part of the migration, depending on your current shipping solution, we will be in contact with you to discuss the changes to our shipping platforms in readiness for the 11th August.

For more information on the different types of Shipping Solutions please refer to the Product Parcel User Guides in the ‘Supporting Contractual Documents’ section alternatively, speak to your Account Manager.

Customers who continue to use Parcelforce services will need to migrate prior to January 2026 as legacy shipping platforms will be decommissioned.

We encourage customers to migrate to the Royal Mail platform as soon as possible, to benefit from the new range of domestic and international services. Customers can continue using legacy services on current platforms (e.g WDMO) until January 2026. There may be some changes to legacy services prior to January. If any changes occur, we will provide updated communications.

For customers continuing to use legacy services between August 2025 and January 2026, the majority of services will remain available, but some functionalities will be degraded. This includes reduced tracking, limitations in the reporting dashboard, messaging, and customer reporting.

There will also be changes to existing services—for example, express9 will be delivered as express10. Additionally, some services will no longer be available from 11th August, including Exchange, Convenient Collect, Estimated Delivery Windows, My Parcel Live, and Express Collect.

Globalexpress will move to delivery speeds from two working days to USA, Canada and Europe. From three working days to Rest of the world.

Products:

• Express exchange
• Express9 and expressPM
• Express Collect
• Local to Local
• Pallet/Freight services
• Globalexpress Pack
• Globalexpress Envelope
• Europriority Pack
• GlobalPriority Returns
• Renaming – Euroeconomy to GlobalPriority Europe (service remains the same)

Services:

• Dashboard
• Local to Local
• Assisted Delivery
• Express collect
• My Parcel Live
• One-hour delivery window
• Pre-printed return label supplied by Parcelforce Worldwide
• Delay Notifications
• Paygo
• Ad-hoc Collections booked via shipping systems
• Customer Service Reports
• Parcelforce Worldwide app
• Do not split

Surcharge Removal:

• Manual Handling
• Zonal Surcharges
• Saturday Surcharge
• London Congestion
• Remote collection
• Third party shipments
• Booking in surcharge
• Isle of Wight surcharge
• Air Carrier supplement
• Postal Customs admin fee

If your query relates to your existing Parcelforce account before you have migrated your account, please use the Parcelforce contact details.

If your query relates to your new combined Parcelforce Royal Mail account after you have migrated, please use the Royal Mail contact details:

Parcelforce customer experience 03448 004466

Royal Mail customer experience 03457 950 950

You can find further help at royalmail.com/accounthelp