Surcharges and Correction Charges
Please find below important information about UK and international Surcharges and Correction Charges. For the avoidance of doubt, any reference to Surcharges in our Agreement with you shall be deemed to include both the Surcharges and Correction Charges as set out below.
Please check this page regularly for the latest updates.
For more information and help on understanding when Correction Charges are applied please go to royalmail.com/surchargehelp
Details of correction charges are available through the usual invoicing process, with detailed, line-level correction charge information available on the electronic invoicing platform, or where required by Royal Mail/Parcelforce, provided manually via email.
Supplementary Store Collection Fee
Please click here for more information (see Changes from 30 September 2024 section)
Introduction of new business collection surcharges
These charges will only apply to customers who provide a daily forecast to their account team and receive a large collection vehicle dedicated to their items only. Further details about the charges for affected customers, including the process for notifying of any collection changes and associated pricing will be provided shortly on this webpage.
UK - Letters
All Domestic Letter Surcharges are outlined under Adjustment Charges section of the Retail Letters Price guide (pages 33 and 34). We will communicate any surcharge rate changes by giving you no less than 30 days’ notice in advance, via this web page.
- Retail Letters Price Guidepdf, 2.69 MB (prices up to and including 4 January 2026)
- Retail Letters Price Guidepdf, 877.67 KB (prices effective from 5 January 2026)
Letter Account Charges are also in the On Account section of the Business Price Guide (page 7). We will communicate any surcharge rate changes by giving you no less than 30 days’ notice in advance, via this web page.
- Business Price Guidepdf, 875.34 KB (prices up to and including 4 January 2026)
- Business Price Guidepdf, 896.7 KB (prices effective from 5 January 2026)
UK - Parcels
Fuel surcharge is applied on the product price after any discounts or commissions, and before VAT. Current fuel surcharge is 8%, set 4 July 2022.
Effective 5 January 2026, the surcharge will be redefined as the Fuel and Energy Surcharge and will be applied at a rate of 11%.
The Fuel and Energy surcharge helps cover the impact of rising energy costs, including diesel, electricity, and gas, so we can continue delivering services efficiently.
Fuel surcharge (soon to be Fuel and Energy) applies to:
- Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed® by 9am, 1pm and Next Day
- Royal Mail Tracked 24® and Royal Mail Tracked 48®
- Royal Mail 24® and Royal Mail 48®
- Special Delivery Guaranteed Returns
- Royal Mail Tracked Returns® and Mail Order Returns
Please note: All Parcelforce Worldwide services will continue to include a charge of 8% from 5 January 2026.
Fuel surcharges will not apply to non-contract business and consumer parcel services or any items within the USO.
We will communicate any fuel and energy surcharge rate changes at least 30 days in advance, via this page.
The Green Surcharge applies to some products for our account customers and will contribute towards funding decarbonisation measures in our network. Further information about Royal Mail’s ambition to reach Net Zero by 2040 can be found here.
The Green Surcharge is applied on the product price after any discounts or commissions or other surcharges, and before VAT.
As of 31 March 2025, the Green Surcharge will be 5p per item, increasing from 4p per item.
The products covered by the Green Surcharge are:
- Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed® by 9am, 1pm and Next Day
- Royal Mail Tracked 24® and Royal Mail Tracked 48®
- Royal Mail 24® and Royal Mail 48®
- Special Delivery Guaranteed Returns
- Royal Mail Tracked Returns®
- All Parcelforce Worldwide services
Green Surcharge will not apply to non-contract business and consumer parcel services or any items within the USO.
We will communicate any Green Surcharge rate changes at least 30 days in advance, via this page.
The Peak Surcharge is effective across our busiest time of year as we scale-up our network at additional cost.
The Peak Surcharge is applied on the product price after any discounts or commissions or other surcharges, and before VAT.
The Peak Surcharge will be effective from 17 November 2025 until 9 January 2026 (both inclusive).
The products covered by the Peak Surcharge are set at the following rates per item:
| Charge | Products |
|---|---|
| £0.07 | Royal Mail 24® and Royal Mail 48® Large Letters; Royal Mail Tracked 24® and Royal Mail Tracked 48® Letterboxable |
| £0.12 | Royal Mail 24® and Royal Mail 48® Parcels; Royal Mail Tracked 24® and Royal Mail Tracked 48® Parcels; Royal Mail Tracked Returns®; Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed® by 9am, 1pm and Next Day; Special Delivery Guaranteed Returns |
| £0.20 | Express 10am; Express Noon; Express 24; Express 48, Express24 Returns; Express48 Returns |
| £4.50 | Express48 Large |
Peak Surcharge will not apply to non-contract business and consumer parcel services or any items within the USO.
We will communicate future effective dates and any Peak Surcharge rate changes at least 30 days in advance, via this page.
Details of charges are available through the usual invoicing process, with detailed, line-level charge information available on the electronic invoicing platform, or where required by Royal Mail, provided manually via email.
These correction charges are applicable to Parcelforce Worlwide Services
UK Parcels Correction Charges rate cardpdf, 2.87 MB
When Tracked Returns customers request Royal Mail to hold containers at Parcel Hubs beyond the scheduled delivery date, it can create operational bottlenecks and impact service quality.
- From 30 September 2024, Royal Mail will introduce charges to cover the additional costs associated with holding containers in Parcel Hubs beyond the scheduled delivery date
- If you request for containers to be held beyond the scheduled delivery date, we will apply an Admin Charge per container as well as a Retention Charge per container per day to cover the additional operational costs
- Charges are detailed in the table below
- We will communicate any future changes at least 30 days in advance, via the Royal Mail surcharge web page
| Charge | Charging Basis | Effective Date | Admin Charge per container | Retention charge per container per day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tracked Returns Retention charge | If you request us to hold a container beyond the scheduled delivery date, we will charge you per container per day | 30/09/24 | £1.00 | £20.00 |
Return to Sender charges for Tracked 24 & 48 and RM 24 & 48 and all Parcelforce Worldwide services
Where items are returned to the sender for any of the below reasons, your items will be scanned, and you will be charged (see table below):
- 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
| Product | Charges per item (Excl. VAT) |
|---|---|
| Tracked 24 | Agreed Contract Rate |
| Tracked 48 | Agreed Contract Rate |
| RM 24 Parcel | £3.50* |
| RM 48 Parcel | £2.50* |
| RM 24 Large Letter | £2.50* |
| RM 48 Large Letter |
£1.50* |
|
All Parcelforce Worldwide services |
Agreed Contract rate * |
* Effective from 11th August 2025
Parcel Label best practice guidepdf, 1.49 MB
International
International surcharges help us respond to the impact of the international market on key cost areas for our business, such as:
- Fuel;
- Conveyancing; and
- International delivery charges.
International surcharges do not apply to International non-contract business and consumer services.
The International surcharge applies to the following:
- Royal Mail International Business Tracked (including Royal Mail International Business Tracked Heavier and Royal Mail International Business Tracked Priority)
- Royal Mail International Business Tracked & Signed
- Royal Mail International Business Signed
- Royal Mail International Business Tracked Returns
- Royal Mail International Business Standard (previously known as Untracked)
- Royal Mail International Business Mail
- Royal Mail International Business Parcels
- Royal Mail International Business Parcels Returns
- Royal Mail International Business Mail Response services - Local Look options.
- Parcelforce globalexpress
- Parcelforce irelandexpress
- Parcelforce europriority
- Parcelforce globalpriorityEurope
- Parcelforce globalpriorityROW
An International surcharge (currently 6.5%*) is applied to the product price after any discounts or commissions and before any applicable VAT.
We will communicate any International surcharge rate by giving you no less than 14 days in advance, via this page.
*effective from 3 January 2023 due to unfavorable movements in Sterling Exchange rates. Was previously 4%
The Peak Surcharge is effective across our busiest time of year as we scale-up our network at additional cost.
The Peak Surcharge is applied on the product price after any discounts or commissions or other surcharges.
The Peak Surcharge will be effective from 17 November 2025 until 9 January 2026 (both inclusive).
The products covered by the Peak Surcharge are set at the following rates per item:
| Charge | International Products (DDU & DDP) |
|---|---|
| £0.07 | International Tracked NPC Large Letters, International Tracked & Signed NPC Large Letters, International Signed NPC Large Letters, International Standard NPC Large Letters |
| £0.12 | International Tracked Parcels, International Tracked Priority Parcels, International Tracked & Signed Parcels, International Signed Parcels, International Standard Parcels, International Standard Sort Parcels, International Printed Matter |
| £0.20 | Parcelforce globalexpress, globalpriority Europe, globalpriority Rest of World, europriority and irelandexpress |
Peak Surcharge will not apply to Personal Correspondence, On Account or non-contract services.
We will communicate future effective dates and any Peak Surcharge rate changes at least 30 days in advance, via this page.
Details of charges are available through the usual invoicing process, with detailed, line-level charge information available on the electronic invoicing platform, or where required by Royal Mail/Parcelforce, provided manually via email.
International Correction Charges rate cardpdf, 2.92 MB