Our Response Services enable businesses and consumers to react to DM, magazine inserts, press advertisements, voting communications and surveys through an item of mail; paid by you. Want to make savings on your letter responses? You can choose from two options.
- Business Reply Plus - has a highly professional look and ideal for business communications. You print a licence number and address that we supply and because this can be read easily by our sorting machines you save money. Has a lower cost per response than Business Reply Standard.
- Freepost™ Plus - has a less formal look and is often better suited to consumer-focused campaigns. You pre-print the envelope with a machine-readable address and Freepost licence number and then supply those envelopes to your customer. Has a lower cost per response than Freepost™ Standard.

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Details
It’s all about doing things smarter. Prepare your mail in a way that licences and addresses can be read by our machines and we pass on the cost-savings to you. This service is for 1st and 2nd class letters only.
Two clever ways to put your response mail to work
Business Reply Plus - we enhance the Business Reply process by giving you a licence number and address that can be easily read by our technology. Choose this service if you prefer the response licence detail to be printed on the top left of the mail piece.
Freepost™ Plus - you get to print the information on your envelopes yourself. That means when your customer responses come back through the mail, the process will be smoother because the licence and addresses are all recognised by our systems. Choose this service if you prefer the response licence detail to be printed with the return address.Design options for all of our services
Does someone print your envelopes for you? Be sure to pass on your licence number and design to your print supplier. Find out more in our Response Services user guide.
Print your own envelopes?
If you prefer to produce and print your own licence number then use our Artwork generator design tool.
Note: You must have a new style alpha licence number (RRRR-RRRR-RRRR), to allow you to use this tool. -
Prices
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Business Reply Plus
You need to pay for a separate licence for each address that items are returned to. You then pay for each reply you receive. Our licence fee will give you 12 months usage
Cost per licence PriceThe price in this table excludes VAT, which is chargeable at the standard rate.
Business reply Plus £86Once you have your licence, you then pay a single price per response for items up to 100g. The price depends on whether you are using 1st Class or 2nd Class postage.
Items requiring hand sortation may incur an extra cost.
Letter Weight 1st Class2nd Class
up to 100g 40p 28p -
Freepost Plus
You need to pay for a separate licence for each address that items are returned to. You then pay for each reply you receive. Our licence fee will give you 12 months usage
Up to 10 licences PriceThe price in this table excludes VAT, which is chargeable at the standard rate.
Freepost™ Plus £86Once you have your licence, you then pay a single price per response for items up to 100g. The price depends on whether you are using 1st Class or 2nd Class postage.
Items requiring hand sortation may incur an extra cost.
Letter Weight 1st Class2nd Class
up to 100g 40p 28p
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Design templates and guidelines
Getting it right
In order to qualify for all the benefits of Response Plus®, your response artwork needs to be accurate so that our machines can read and count it. Switching your current artwork to the Response Plus guidelines couldn’t be easier. When you apply for Response Plus we will send you a unique response code and design ready artwork.
Below are a number of downloadable templates that you can use as a guide when your response artwork is being produced - you'll need your unique response code to include in these templates before you can start using them.
Download a complete copy of our Response Services design guidelines (Opens in a new window, PDF 3.41MB)
Please make sure that your artwork complies fully with these designs. Please note that the Licence Number must be printed in the recommended 12pt font for PC users and must not be in bold. If you would like to submit your designs to Royal Mail for approval prior to printing, then please post a sample envelope to the following address:
Freepost RRCA-HGEL-BJRX
Response Services Team
Glasgow Mail Centre
20 Turner Road
GLASGOW
G21 1AAIf you are an existing Business Reply or Freepost customer, we have a simple to use tool to help you create your Freepost and Business Reply stationery artwork. In just six easy steps you can create the artwork your printer needs to print your stationery.
Business Reply Plus Format Dimensions (mm) Templates Minimum 102 x 140 Download pdf file (BR Plus 4.1) DL 110 x 220 Download pdf file (BR Plus 4.2) C5 162 x 229 Download pdf file (BR Plus 4.3) C5+ 165 x 240 Download pdf file (BR Plus 5.4) Freepost Plus Format Dimensions (mm) Templates Minimum 102 x 140 Download pdf file (Freepost Plus 3.1) DL 110 x 220 Download pdf file (Freepost Plus 3.2) C5 162 x 229 Download pdf file (Freepost Plus 3.3) C5+ 165 x 240 Download pdf file (Freepost Plus 4.4)
Indicia1st and 2nd Class service indicator
The Indicator needs to show whether the item is 1st or 2nd Class - the number 1 of 2 needs to be shown to the left of the 2 lines with the correct space separating these lines.Product barcode
This 7 line barcode Indicator must be printed under the 1st or 2nd Indicia - these are the only two Product barcodes available as they denote whether the item is a Business Reply or Freepost Plus item.Download the following files
Service Indicia Business Reply Plus - 1st Class
Standard Business Reply - 1st Class
Business Reply Plus - 2nd Class
Standard Business Reply - 2nd Class
Freepost Plus - 1st Class
Standard Freepost - 1st Class
Freepost Plus - 2nd Class
Standard Freepost - 2nd Class
FontsAlways use an address font which can be read by our processing machines. With Business Reply Plus, you can use any of the fonts below. With Freepost Plus, you can only use one of the fonts listed and marked by an asterisk - contact your account manager for help. Our preferred font is OCR B 12 point.
Font name Best point size Valid fonts Arial 10-12pt Avent Garde 11-15pt Courier 10-15pt Courier New 10-15pt Franklin Gothic 10-12pt Franklin Gothic (Book) 11-14pt Geneva 10-12pt Helvetica 10-14pt Letter Gothic* 12pt Lucida Console* 12pt Lucida Sans Typewriter* 12pt Monoco* 12pt New Gothic 10 – 12pt OCR B* 12pt Univers 10-15pt Verdana 10-12pt * Fonts for use with Freepost Plus (please use only one).
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How to order
To take advantage of Business Reply Plus and Freepost Plus, you need to have an account with Royal Mail.
Many of our customers have account managers
If your business has a Royal Mail account manager, contact yours and ask about how Business Reply Plus and Freepost Plus can work for you.
Need to set up an account?
If you don’t already have one, you can contact us on 08457 950 950.
Already have an account?
If you already have an account, contact us on 08457 950 950. We will tell you how to add Business Reply Plus and Freepost Plus to your account. It will speed things up if you can have your Royal Mail account number to hand when you ring us.
First download, print and complete the application form
The application form is also available to download in Welsh
Before applying, make sure you have read and understood our terms and conditions.
Post your application to the Response Services team at:
Freepost RRCA-HGEL-BJRX
Response Service Team
Glasgow Mail Centre
20 Turner Road
GLASGOW
G21 1AAFax: 0141 557 4868
Email: response.services.admin@royalmail.comMany of our customers have account managers
If your business has a Royal Mail account manager, contact yours and ask about how Business Reply Plus and Freepost Plus can work for you. -
Frequently asked questions
- What if I change fulfilment house?
- What if I move to a new address?
- What should I do if I change the design of my envelope during the licence period?
- Can my envelope design be checked before printing to avoid printing errors that could prevent me from getting the most from the service?
- Can I get help with creating my response mail piece online?
- How do I apply?
Search help for more answers...
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What if I change fulfilment house?
Just set up a Diversion. That means that we forward your response mail to your new fulfilment house. We need written agreement from the new fulfilment house who will receive your mail. Send the agreement to
Freepost RRCA-HGEL-BJRX
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Response Service Team
Glasgow Mail Centre
20 Turner Road
GLASGOW
G21 1AA -
What if I move to a new address?
You need to apply and pay for a new licence - and let us have the following information:
- present licence number
- account number
- company name
- old Address
- new address
- contact name
- telephone/fax/email
These details should be sent to:
Email: response.services.admin@royalmail.com
Or
Fax: 0141 557 4868
Or by writing to
Freepost RRCA-HGEL-BJRX
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Response Service Team
Glasgow Mail Centre
20 Turner Road
GLASGOW
G21 1AA -
What should I do if I change the design of my envelope during the licence period?
If you change the design of your envelope, please send us another proof for approval.
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Can my envelope design be checked before printing to avoid printing errors that could prevent me from getting the most from the service?
Yes. For a full check, you’ll need to post a sample envelope to the following address:
Freepost RRCA-HGEL-BJRX
Response Services Team
Glasgow Mail Centre
20 Turner Road
GLASGOW
G21 1AAHowever, for a limited check, you can email a PDF image of the envelope design to response.services.admin@royalmail.com
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Can I get help with creating my response mail piece online?
Yes. If you’ve applied and received confirmation of your new response address and licence details you can use our artwork generator.
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How do I apply?
Complete a Response Services Application form and return it to the Response Services Support Team at the address below.
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Freepost RRCA-HGEL-BJRX
Response Services Support
Glasgow Mail Centre
20 Turner Road
GLASGOW
G21 1AA
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