Royal Mail stamp change explained – deadline to use old version and how to swap

The Royal Mail will see a big change next year when old stamps are swapped out for new versions that feature a distinctive difference.

With the death of the Queen, the face of UK postage Brits have been accustomed to for decades will change with the ascension of King Charles, but another makeover will be hitting the post first. Stamps gathering dust all over the UK have been given a deadline as a switchover looms in early 2023.

Like the recent changeover from paper £20 and £50 notes, there’s no need to panic as your old stamps can be swapped out before and after the deadline.

But to get ahead of the change, it would be a good idea to use up the stamps you’ve got and prioritise them for Christmas cards and other festive post.

Why are stamps changing?

The Royal Mail has decided to update its delivery system by adding barcodes to regular stamps.

The thumbnail-sized stamps, containing the profile of the Queen created by the sculptor Arnold Machin and with the frill-cut edges, will no longer be valid as of four months’ time.

Shops and Post Offices should now be selling the newer stamps to customers. These will look familiar because they will still contain the monarch’s face on a plain coloured background.

But they are both wider and taller, with a white strip to the right of the monarch’s head containing a dotted image known as a QR code, allowing the stamps to be scanned by mail handlers.

The privately owned firm says it will also allow a digital footprint of the stamp to be created by customers using the Royal Mail app.

Explaining the switch, Royal Mail said: “The move is part of the company’s extensive and ongoing modernisation drive and will allow the unique barcodes to facilitate operational efficiencies, enable the introduction of added security features and pave the way for innovative services for customers.”

The so-called “everyday” stamps have these barcodes, although special issue stamps — ones made to commemorate national events and anniversaries — and Christmas stamps will not.

When will traditional stamps no longer be valid?

Regular stamps without a barcode will no longer be valid after January 31, 2023.

If the non-barcoded stamps are placed on mail after January 31, they will be treated in the same way as when there is insufficient postage on an item and could be subject to a charge, the Mirror reports.

The Royal Mail, which has been dogged by strikes in recent months over a pay row, recommends either using up these stamps before next year’s deadline or swapping them for the new barcoded ones.

How do you swap stamps and is there a deadline?

Post Offices, however, cannot swap traditional stamps for the new barcode version. People must go through the Stamp Swap Out scheme set up by the Royal Mail which involves filling out a form and sending back non-barcoded stamps.

The swap process is already open and there currently is no end date to when old stamps can be exchanged.

A seven-day turnaround target has been set by the Royal Mail for sending out new stamps in exchange for the traditional kind. They will be swapped like-for-like, so if you send in a non-barcoded 1st class stamp, you will get back a barcoded 1st class stamp in return.

It doesn’t matter if you paid less for your traditional stamp than the current price of the modern equivalent — they will still be replaced. This is likely to be welcome news to those finding decades-old stamps lying around in a drawer somewhere.

Stamps older than pre-decimalisation in 1971 — when the UK started using its pounds and pence currency — cannot be exchanged, however.

How to return your old stamps in exchange for new ones

Here is the guide on how to ensure you don’t get short-changed in the modernisation plan.

How to get a Stamp Swap Out form

If you have a printer, you can swap up to £200 worth of non-barcoded stamps by printing out and completing a Stamp Swap Out, which you can download from the Royal Mail’s website.

Customers can send back their stamps free of charge by writing on the envelope Freepost SWAP OUT. No other address details or postcode are needed.

If you have a printer, and more than £200 worth of stamps to swap out, then use the Bulk Stamp Swap Out form, also available on the Royal Mail website.

The company recommends sending them and the non-barcoded stamps back via a secure service with suitable cover. The address to send them to is:

Royal Mail
Swap Out
Tallents House
21 South Gyle Crescent
EDINBURGH
EH12 9PB

If you do not have access to a printer, customers can request a Stamp Swap Out form to be posted to you by completing a form online.

Forms are also available from the Customer Service Point at local Delivery Offices. However, these will only be the ones allowing for up to £200 of stamps to be returned. Alternatively, call the Customer Experience Team on 03457 740740.

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