Send a letter or a parcel to Ireland

If you’ve got letters or parcels to send to family and friends in Ireland, here’s how to work out how much it’ll cost, what you can and can’t send and how long your mail will take to arrive.
 

How much does it cost to send a parcel to Ireland?

We offer four services for sending mail to Ireland, starting from just £2.20 for letters using our International Standard service.

To compare the cost of sending a letter or parcel to Ireland, click on the downward arrow in each of the boxes listing our services below. Make sure you have your letter or parcel’s dimensions and weight to hand, and you’ll be able to see at a glance how much each service will cost, along with each one’s features and options.

Items you can’t post to Ireland

It is prohibited to post any of the following items to Ireland in a letter or parcel:

• Perishable goods or foods, such as fresh fruit and frozen or chilled foodstuffs.
• Alcoholic beverages containing more than 70% ABV, such as spirits
• Aerosols
• Biological samples
• Compressed air and/or empty cylinders
• Drugs
• Hazardous items, including aerosols, lighters, fireworks, Christmas crackers, or flammable/explosive items
• Weapons, including replica weapons
• Poisonous liquids, such as pesticides

Read the full list of items you can’t post to Ireland on our Prohibited and Restricted Items listpdf, 5.94 MB.

How to send a letter or parcel to Ireland with Royal Mail

• Make sure your letter or parcel is securely sealed - here’s our full guide to our packaging requirements
• Check from our list above that you haven’t included any prohibited items which you can’t send to Ireland
• Make sure you’ve addressed your mail correctly - we’ve provided more guidelines on how to correctly address mail to Ireland below
• You’ll need to fill out a customs declaration in order to give details about the goods that are being imported or exported
• Click ‘Buy online’ to purchase postage online

Addressing a letter or parcel to an Irish address

Remember to use the correct address format. Dublin and Cork addresses include a one- or two-digit postal district; write this after the city name. 

Please write 'IRELAND' in capital letters on the last line of the address.

Example:

Margaret O’Leary 
80 Abbey Street Middle  
DUBLIN 24 
DO1 P8N3 
IRELAND

Customs requirements when sending mail to Ireland

Whether you’re sending an item via our Click and Drop solution or you’re posting an item from your local Royal Mail office, you’ll need to fill out a customs form to show what your package to Ireland contains. 

You’ll be asked to provide information such as:

• Your name and address
• The dimensions and weight of your parcel or letter
• A customs declaration category, such as ‘Gift’, ‘Documents’ or ‘Returned Goods’
• A clear description of each item in the parcel

Please bear in mind that the list above isn’t exhaustive, and you may be asked to provide additional details.

In addition to this, please be advised that when sending foodstuffs (Typically HS codes beginning 08, 09 and 15) they may also be subject to review by the Department of Agriculture locally. They recommend that a product specification is also attached to the outside of the parcel when sending these types of goods.

The UK is no longer part of the EU’s single market and customs union and there are new rules for sending mail outside of the EU.

Items imported to the EU with a value of €22 or less became liable for VAT. Our guide to IOSS and PDDP tools and services can help you send goods to EU countries more effectively, taking care of VAT and customs duties prior to delivery.

HS Codes for sending mail to Ireland

When you’re booking your postage, your parcel’s Irish HS Code will be shown as a Customs code. These codes are six-digit trade tariff figures which help us identify your item(s) before sending - here’s how to find the right code for sending parcels to Ireland. 

We’d advise you to check the latest restricted HS Tariff / Taric codespdf, 113.53 KB implemented by Irish Customs and with local government bodies before posting your parcel(s).

How long does it take to send a parcel to Ireland?

It depends on which service you use. Our International Tracked & Signed  and International Tracked services aim to deliver parcels and letters to Ireland in 3-4 working days, whereas our International Economy service takes up to 15 days.

Tips for sending mail to Ireland

• Use a trusted shipping solution - such as Click and Drop - to ensure you provide the correct electronic customs data
• Make sure your customs data and customs declaration contains a clear description of your parcel’s contents, written in English
• Use a valid EU Tariff (HS) code from an up to date EU Tariff code list. Customers sending items to Ireland are always advised to check the latest restricted HS Tariff / Taric codespdf, 113.53 KB implemented by Irish Customs and with their local government body where appropriate. If you need more information, the An Post website has a guide on finding the right Taric codes
• If possible, please include the postage cost and the parcel’s weight in the electronic customs data
• Ensure your parcel’s contents are not excisable or valued over €1000
• For all untracked items, ensure that an S10 compliant barcode label has been applied.

IOSS for businesses sending mail to Ireland

If you’re a business customer, in order for Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) to work, you must allocate the correct IOSS number to each item (parcel) you send to Ireland.

• For orders made through your own website you need to provide us with your IOSS number if you have registered for one
• If you are using a third party service, you register with them and provide us with their IOSS number
• If you are selling via a Marketplace, then you will use their IOSS number when shipping items via Royal Mail

If you do not have an IOSS number from one of the above options, it’s not possible to use IOSS through Royal Mail and items will be sent Delivered Duties Unpaid (DDU).

This means the recipient will be asked to pay VAT and a handling fee before the item is delivered.

Check if our Postal Delivered Duties Paid (PDDP) service is suitable for you - it’s our International service that takes care of customs duties prior to delivery.