Royal Mail Redirection Application Form: Filing, Costs, and Renewal

A Royal Mail redirection application forwards your post from your old UK address to a new address anywhere in the UK or overseas for three, six, or twelve months, with personal fees starting at £45.00 for three months.¹ You can apply online, by post, or in person at a Post Office branch, and Royal Mail needs five working days to process the application, so submit well before your move date.²

Documents You Need Before You Start

Royal Mail asks every person named on the application for two separate documents: one proving identity, one proving you lived at the old address. They are not interchangeable.

For identity, provide one current and valid item from this list:¹

Passport
Photocard driving licence
Credit or debit card in your name
Current bank or building society passbook
Birth certificate (accepted only for applicants under 16)
Current EU member state identity card

For proof of your old address, provide one of the following, dated within the last six months and showing your surname at that address:¹

Original utility bill (not a mobile phone bill or store card statement)
Original credit card statement
Original mortgage statement
Original bank or building society statement or passbook

Every adult listed needs their own pair. For children under 16, a birth certificate covers identity, but you still need a proof-of-address document linking them to the old home. Missing or expired documents are the most common cause of a stalled application.

Filling In the Form

You can complete the application online, download and print it from the Royal Mail website, or pick up a paper copy at any Post Office branch.³ A few sections need particular care.

Write each household member’s full legal name exactly as it appears on their ID. Any mismatch will prompt Royal Mail to write back for corrections before forwarding begins.² Choose a lead applicant, who becomes the main contact and takes responsibility for the whole application. Every other adult on the form must sign to authorise the redirect of their own post.

Enter the complete old and new addresses with postcodes, then choose the start date. Remember the five-working-day processing window: if you request a start date too soon after submitting, Royal Mail will push it back.² Pick your duration, three, six, or twelve months.¹ If you’re using a paper form, write in black ink so the scanning system reads it cleanly.

Where to Submit

Royal Mail accepts applications through three channels.

Online at the Royal Mail website. Identity is verified electronically, and confirmation comes by email. This is the fastest route.¹
By post. Send the completed form with copies of your ID to Royal Mail Redirection Centre, Cooper House, Lakeside, Festival Way, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5RY.¹
In person at a Post Office branch. Bring the completed form and original ID for every person listed. Staff verify documents at the counter and take payment.³

Online is not available for every situation. If you’re applying on behalf of someone else, such as a relative in a care home or a person for whom you hold power of attorney, you must use post or a Post Office branch.⁴

What It Costs

Fees depend on whether the application is personal or business, and on the destination.

Personal Redirection to a UK Address

3 months: £45.00
6 months: £66.50
12 months: £95.00

One personal fee covers all individuals on a single application.³

Business Redirection (per Trading Name)

UK, 3 months: £299.00
UK, 6 months: £439.50
UK, 12 months: £707.50
Overseas, 3 months: £349.50
Overseas, 6 months: £536.50
Overseas, 12 months: £906.50

Business fees are charged per trading name, so a company operating under two names at the same address pays twice.⁵

Payment is taken on submission. Cancel before the redirection starts and you can get a full refund. Once forwarding is active, a statutory 14-calendar-day cancellation period runs from the day after Royal Mail sends your confirmation letter.²

After You Apply

Royal Mail sends a confirmation letter once processing is complete. Check it against your application: old and new addresses, names, and the start and end dates. If any detail is wrong, contact Royal Mail straight away. The start date on the letter may be later than the one you requested if you didn’t leave enough lead time.²

If confirmation hasn’t arrived and your start date is close, check for correspondence from Royal Mail asking for missing details, signatures, or payment. Applications sit unprocessed until those gaps are resolved, and your post keeps going to the old address in the meantime.²

Once active, redirected items arrive with a yellow sticker showing they were forwarded. Treat each sticker as a prompt: that sender still holds your old address. Update banks, insurers, the DVLA, your GP, and any subscriptions well before the redirection ends, because once it expires Royal Mail delivers to whatever address is on the envelope.

Mail That Won’t Be Redirected

Some items are outside the service, and assuming they’re covered can cause real problems. Royal Mail will not forward:²

Items addressed “To the Occupier” or to anyone who did not live at the old address
Personal mail sent to a business address
Items delivered by other couriers (only Royal Mail post is covered)
Mail to multi-occupied premises such as nursing homes, hotels, student halls, or hospitals
Mail from a British Forces Post Office (BFPO) address
Department for Work and Pensions correspondence

For overseas redirections, Royal Mail will not forward items thicker than 25 mm, heavier than 100 g, or that appear to contain goods. Special Delivery, Signed For, and Tracked items sent overseas are returned to sender rather than forwarded.²

DWP mail is worth flagging separately. Because benefits correspondence isn’t forwarded, tell the DWP your new address directly, or you risk missing payment notices and appointment letters.

Renewing Before It Expires

A redirection can run for up to four years in total if you renew before each period ends. Royal Mail writes to you at the new address as the current term nears its close to ask whether you want to continue.⁶ Renewal means a fresh application and another payment at the current rate, so the reminder letter is effectively a deadline. If you let the service lapse, forwarding stops at once with no grace period, and anything arriving at the old address afterwards goes to whoever lives there now.

Applying for Someone Else or After a Death

If someone has died and you need their post redirected to handle the estate, close accounts, or protect the vacant address from fraud, Royal Mail has a separate Special Circumstances application form, available on its website or from a Post Office branch.¹

The same form is used when you hold power of attorney for someone who cannot manage their own affairs. Online applications are not available in either case. Post the completed form with the required ID to Cooper House, Lakeside, Festival Way, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 5RY, or take it into a Post Office branch.⁴ The Special Circumstances leaflet on the Royal Mail website sets out the exact supporting documents required, so read it before gathering paperwork.

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Royal Mail Group Ltd. Redirect Your Mail
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Royal Mail. Redirection Help Centre
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Post Office. Mail Redirection
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Royal Mail. Redirecting Mail on Behalf of Someone Else
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Royal Mail Group Ltd. Moving Business Premises
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Royal Mail Group Ltd. Concessionary Discount for Redirections