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Prohibited and restricted items - advice for personal customers
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Prohibited and restricted items - advice for personal customers


A guide to what our personal customers can and cannot send in the mail

If you're a business customer, please visit royalmail.com/prohibitedgoods/business for information on what you can and cannot send in the mail.

Are you posting safely?

To comply with national and international regulations governing the carriage of mail, and ensure that mail in transport does not present a danger to the general public, we restrict or prohibit certain items from our network.

We want to ensure the mail is safe for everyone. Many everyday items, such as aerosols, nail varnish and perfumes are considered dangerous goods under transport legislation. You are responsible for checking whether or not an item is prohibited or restricted.

Prohibited items must never be sent in the post.

Restricted items may be sent in the post, but restrictions will apply. Items can be restricted due to packaging, volume, quantity, labelling or the product that can be used. These conditions must be met when posting both within the UK and Internationally.

If you're sending your item at the Post Office®, you may be asked at the counter what the contents of your parcel are to make sure the items are safe to post.

For a brief overview download our prohibitions and restrictions leaflet.

If you're posting items overseas other postal administrations may have different prohibitions, see our Country Guides.

In addition, a number of countries and international organisations, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, impose certain restrictions, also known as sanctions, on what you can send to certain individuals, organisations or countries.

If you send prohibited goods or restricted goods (and you do not comply with the relevant terms and conditions), we may deal with your items as we see fit, including but not limited to, disposing of the parcels concerned (in whole or in part). In order to comply with aviation security regulations, items destined for air transport will go through certain aviation security controls. There may be instances where we are unable to clear certain items and these will be returned to the sender where it is safe to do so. Please note consequential loss cover is not available when posting any restricted items.

The comprehensive A-Z list below gives you detailed information about the things you cannot post with us, or where restrictions are in place and covers all our UK mail and International mail services.

If you are not sure about the item you wish to post, please call Customer Services on 03457 740 740. If you want to contact us using the Relay UK service, dial 18001 0345 266 0075.

Products bearing consumer warning symbols ARE dangerous goods and are prohibited unless specifically permitted below.

Please be aware there are changes to the Offensive Weapons Act. To find out more please visit
The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (Commencement No. 2 and Saving Provision) Regulations 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)
and
The Sentencing Act 2020 (Commencement No. 1) (England and Wales) Regulations 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)


Aerosols

Alcohol

Ammunition (excluding lead pellets and other airgun and airsoft projectiles)

Asbestos

Balance Boards   (including Hoverboards, electric scooters, electric bicycles and all battery powered vehicles and equipment (UN3171))

Balloons filled with non-flammable gases

Batteries including those sent with/without or connected to an electronic device

Biological substances (Category B) (diagnostic specimens including urine, faeces, livestock and equine semen collection and animal remains. Excludes blood spot and hair samples)

Bladed items

CBD (cannabidiol) Products

Christmas crackers - see Explosives for cracker snaps when not part of a made-up cracker

Clinical and medical waste (e.g. contaminated dressings, bandages and needles)

Controlled drugs and narcotics (such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin, LSD, opium, nitrous oxide and amyl nitrate and all non- prescription Controlled Drugs)

Corrosives (including aluminium chloride, caustic soda, corrosive cleaning fluid, dyes, acids, corrosive paint and rust removers, mercury and gallium metal)

Counterfeit currency, bank notes and postage stamps (except copies of old denominations, which are now obsolete and worthless except for collectable value and cannot be passed as tender)

DNA samples (limited to saliva swabs and samples. Excludes blood spot and hair samples)

Dry ice and liquid Nitrogen  (For example Dry ice and liquid Nitrogen UN1845 when used as a coolant for UN3373 or for other perishable items.)

Electronic cigarettes

Electronic devices sent with or containing batteries (including mobile phones, digital cameras, etc) see Batteries

Environmentally hazardous substances

Environmental waste (including used batteries and used engine oil)

Explosives (including fireworks, flares, blasting caps, party poppers, Cracker snaps)

Flammable liquids (including petroleum, lighter fluid, certain adhesives, solvent-based paints, wood varnish, enamels, acetone and all nail varnish removers also see; Alcoholic beveragesPerfumes and aftershaves and Nail varnish)

Flammable solids (including magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, zinc powder, sparklers and fire lighters)

Frozen water (including packs of ice)

Gases, including flammable, non-flammable, toxic and compressed gases (including new, used and empty gas cylinders, ethane, butane, refills for lighters, fire extinguishers and scuba tanks, life jackets, nitrogen dioxide and carbon dioxide canisters including culinary foaming devices & soda stream)

Goods made in foreign prisons (except those imported for a non-commercial purpose, of a kind not manufactured in the UK, or those in transit)

Guns for sporting use

Human or animal ashes

Human remains (excluding ashes)

Infectious substances and pathogens (UN2814 or UN2900)

Lighters and refills containing flammable liquid or gas (including used butane, petrol cigar and cigarette lighters)

Lighters - empty, new or unused

Liquids not classified as dangerous goods

Live animals and reptiles (including snakes, mice and rodents)

Live creatures, insects and invertebrates

Lottery tickets

Magnetised material

Matches (including safety matches and windproof matches)

Nail varnish, polish or gel (solvent and water-based)

Nicotine Solution (for use in e-cigarettes only)

Obscene publications and unlawful indecent images

Oxidising materials or organic peroxides (including disinfectants, nitrates and hair dyes or colourants containing peroxide)

Paints, wood varnishes and enamels

Patient Specimens

Perfumes and aftershaves (including eau de parfum and eau de toilette, reed diffusers, non-aerosol body sprays, non-aerosol room sprays, essential oils. Excludes non-flammable perfumed creams, gels, oils or lotions)

Perishable items (including flowers, fresh fruit, vegetables and frozen or chilled foodstuffs)

Pesticides (e.g. weed killer and any chemical used to kill pests and insects including fly sprays)

Poisons, toxic liquids, solids and gases (including substances that are liable to cause death or injury if swallowed or inhaled or by skin contact, including arsenic, cyanide, fluorine, rat poison)

Prescription medicines and drugs sent for scientific or medical purposes

Radioactive materials and samples

Sharp or Pointed Items (formerly Sharp Objects) (excludes: (i) knives prohibited under UK law - see Weapons - and (ii) Bladed items. Includes, but not limited to scissors, mini chopper blades, food processor blades, sewing kits, knitting needles, syringes, chisels, piercing awls, saws, nails, pins, fishing hooks).

Tickets and related advertisements for illegal lotteries

Vaccines

Waste, dirt, filth or refuse (including household waste)

Weapons Includes items made for the sole purpose of causing injury to a person, items adapted for use to cause injury to a person, and any item intended by the person sending or receiving it to cause injury to a person Also including, but not limited to, Section 5 firearms, CS gas, pepper sprays, tasers and stun guns, flick knives, gravity knives, disguised knives, butterfly knives, crossbows, and other items that are banned under laws applicable in the UK or the destination country. Items that appear to be prohibited weapons may be subject to additional checks and delays.

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