Get ready for Christmas 2025
Here you’ll find helpful information to make this Christmas the best one yet, including the latest posting dates, seasonal job opportunities, and how to send your letters and parcels safely with Royal Mail.
Beat the festive rush and get all your letters and parcels in the post on time.
Allow plenty of time for posting. Please post items and gifts for Christmas early, particularly for International deliveries.
Please note: Latest posting dates are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. It’s always advisable to post as early as possible to ensure that your Christmas letters and parcels reach their destination in good time. Please visit our International Incident Bulletin for the most up to date information on our services around the world.
Latest Posting Dates for inland services (Christmas 2025)
| Wednesday 17 December | 2nd Class 2nd Class Signed For |
| Friday 19 December | Royal Mail Tracked 48®† |
| Saturday 20 December | 1st Class 1st Class Signed For |
| Sunday 21 December | Royal Mail Tracked 24® |
| Tuesday 23 December | Special Delivery Guaranteed® |
† Friday 19 December is the last posting date for Royal Mail Tracked Returns® 48 to arrive back with the sender before Christmas.
| Friday 19 December | express48 |
| Monday 22 December | express10 expressPM express24 |
Christmas posting using international services
As we approach the busiest time of year, international delivery services experience much higher volumes of parcels and letters. To help ensure your items arrive in time for Christmas, we strongly recommend posting as early as possible.
International delivery aims
You can find a list of our published delivery aims in our Country Guides. If you are sending gifts or goods to the USA, please note, that recent changes to customs procedures may affect delivery times. For more details about these changes and how they may affect items you send to the USA, visit our dedicated web page.
Latest posting dates PDFs
For personal customers
English versionpdf, 132.47 KB
Welsh versionpdf, 132.19 KB
For business customers
English versionpdf, 149.68 KB
Welsh versionpdf, 157.36 KB
Latest Posting Dates between UK and BFPOs worldwide (Christmas 2025)
| Latest posting date from the UK | Latest arrival at BFPO | |
|---|---|---|
| Static Firm Base/PJOBs | 24 November | 3 December |
| Operations | 17 November | 24 November |
| HM Ships | 17 November | 24 November |
Inbound UK from BFPOs worldwide
All locations, including HM Ships, are to note that the deadline for return of mail to meet delivery of items in UK should be targeted at Wednesday, 17 December 2025 for all class of items.
This will allow BFPO enough time to transfer private mail items into the UK civil mail system in time for Christmas or for items to be processed through Royal Mail’s Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre.
BFPO latest posting dates PDFs
English versionpdf, 177.9 KB
Welsh versionpdf, 221.5 KB
If you're planning on being away for the Christmas period, or if your business is closing for the break, we can take care of your post for you:
Preparing your post
Getting your parcels and letters to their destination safely is always our priority, especially at this time of year. Use these handy guides to help you get your items to their destinations safe and sound.
Good Addressing Guide
A handy guide to good addressing and packaging.
Some goods are restricted or prohibited from being mailed in the UK and internationally. Check before you send to make sure your item is fit for travel at royalmail.com/prohibitedgoods
Help us deliver more this christmas
