Sending items to the USA?
Royal Mail is changing its services to the USA
You may have heard about some changes to customs requirements for goods being imported to the USA, including that goods valued at $800 or less will no longer be exempt from import duties and taxes from Friday 29 August 2025.
We’ve been working hard with US authorities, Post Office and others to adapt our postal services to meet these new requirements.
Whether you're mailing a gift to friends or family, or you run a small business serving customers in the USA, you’ll still be able to send your items to the USA. From Thursday 28th August, customers can use our new PDDP (Postal Delivery Duties Paid) service, which meets the new US customs requirements and minimises work for sending customers.
Sending goods to the USA – what’s changing?
On 30th July 2025, the United States Government announced an Executive Order which outlined significant changes to the customs requirements and processes for goods being imported into the USA from 29th August 2025. These changes affect goods entering the USA from any country in the world, including the UK.
Removal of duty-free for low value items – previously, items valued at less than $800 could enter the USA without having to pay customs duties. That’s changing and from 29th August, goods, regardless of value, may now be subject to import tariffs (duties). These duties must be paid by UK senders before items enter our network.
Sending gifts? If you are sending gifts valued at $100 or less, then you won't have to pay duties on these items. There will be fees to pay in addition to postage. Information about and calculation of these fees will be clearly available wherever you buy your postage.
Sending personal correspondence? If you’re sending cards or letters, which don’t require a customs declaration, you will not have to pay customs duties and you can continue to send these items to the USA online or by visiting the Post Office.
What duties will apply to goods? For goods (or gifts over $100), shipped via Royal Mail PDDP services, duties will be calculated according to the country tariff for the item’s country of origin (where an item was made).
What do you need to know?
We want to help you carry on sending goods and gifts to the USA and keep your costs to a minimum. Postage costs will remain the same for the new PDDP services as they are for the previous equivalent Royal Mail USA services.
There are some administrative fees associated with the new US requirements that will apply to goods and gifts. These fees will be clearly communicated, at the online checkout or at the Post Office, so you’ll know the total amount to pay before you complete your purchase.
Running a small business?
Sending customers are responsible for understanding the latest shipping and customs requirements required for the items they are sending. When you are purchasing your postage online or at a Post Office, Royal Mail’s PDDP service will calculate and collect the duties for your items before you checkout/pay for your item shipping.
Buying postage online?
We’ve updated our online systems to meet the new requirements. If you use our online channels, the new Royal Mail USA PDDP service will be available for purchase. This service will display duties and fees payable, prior to the checkout.
Buying Royal Mail services at the Post Office?
If you visit a Post Office to send items to the USA, you will be advised of and pay any duties and fees at the same time you purchase your postage at the counter.
When do the new services start operating?
The new USA customs requirements are effective from Friday 29 August 2025.
The new Royal Mail USA PDDP services are available to customers online and in Post Offices from Thursday 28 August 2025.
How are duties calculated?
Royal Mail will provide shipping, calculation and payment of required duties to the US authorities, enabling items to pass through US customs. When you’re buying postage online, you will enter the details about the item/s you’re sending and the duties and fees payable will be displayed prior to checkout.
If you’re running a business sending items to customers in the USA, whilst we recommend you understand duties applicable to your items, actual duties will be calculated and displayed prior to checkout.
What duties apply to items shipped using Royal Mail?
For goods shipped via the international postal system, customs duties will be calculated using the value of the item and the country based (IEEPA) tariff for that item, depending on the country of origin. Country of origin means where an item was manufactured, not where a parcel is being shipped from.
Royal Mail will provide calculation and collection of required duties at the online checkout and payment to the US authorities, enabling items to pass through US customs.
More US Government information about country based (IEEPA) tariffs can be found here.
What if I am sending a parcel with more than one item in it, with different countries of origin?
Customers need to continue to provide information (data) for each item contained in a package.
If packages contain items with different countries of origin, each individual item will incur the country based (IEEPA) tariff for the item, depending on its country of origin. Royal Mail will provide calculation, collection and payment of the required duties to the US authorities, enabling items to pass through US customs.
What data/information do I need to provide now when sending items to the USA?
Most of the information you need for shipping to the USA is the same as it was prior to the requirements changing.
It is particularly important to make sure you’re providing an appropriate item description, country of origin and value as this determines the duty calculation.
In addition, putting information in the recipient email address and mobile phone number fields is mandatory with a postal delivery duty paid (PDDP) service. However, if you do not capture this information from customers or you’re not able to provide this, you can opt to enter your/the sender email address/mobile phone number.
For more frequently asked questions please see herepdf, 343.43 KB.