Royal Mail ‘swap’ reminder issued to avoid paying £2.50 fee from April

Royal Mail’s free scheme allows people to replace their old items

Anyone holding onto a stash of old stamps should take a closer look before sticking them on letters and cards. If these stamps have been sitting in a drawer for some time, they might no longer be valid and could result in a Royal Mail charge.

The MoneySavingExpert team, led by Martin Lewis, has recently flagged up the free ‘Swap Out’ scheme in response to the upcoming stamp price hike, due within weeks. Brits will soon be paying more for stamps from April 7, with the most affordable option now costing just short of £1.

Any post sent with non-barcoded stamps, since July 2023, is deemed insufficiently franked and “subject to a surcharge”. Continuing to use outdated non-barcoded stamps in 2026 will trigger penalties of £2.50 for letters/large letters and £3.50 for small parcels.

The nation’s postal operator introduced barcodes to all standard stamps in 2022 and granted the public a six-month window to use them without issue. However, anyone now using these outdated versions rather than barcoded alternatives has been hit with a surcharge, the Express reports.

A spokesperson said: “The move is part of the [Royal Mail’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. We introduced a six-month period of grace from the initial January 31 deadline to give customers even longer to use up their old, non-barcoded stamps.”

Non-barcoded stamps can be swapped for the newer barcoded varieties via Royal Mail’s Stamp Swap Out scheme. Here’s how to exchange your stamps:

1. Pick up or print out a swap-out form
2. Complete your form and include your stamps
3. Send free of charge to “Freepost SWAP OUT”

‘Swap Out’ forms can be downloaded from the Royal Mail website here. For those unable to print one off, Royal Mail Customer Services can arrange for a form to be posted out. Since November 2022, forms have also been obtainable from Post Office branches.

People exchanging more than £200 worth of stamps need to fill out an alternative form, which is also available online here. People should specify this when requesting copies to be sent to them so they have all the correct paperwork.

There’s currently no cut-off date for completing exchanges, though we’d recommend acting promptly in case the programme winds down. Royal Mail has said it will aim to handle your request within 30 days.

Which stamps qualify for exchange?

All standard decimal Machin definitive stamps dating from 1971, including:

• NVIs 1st Class, 2nd Class. 1st Class Large Letter; 2nd Class Large Letter
• all make up value stamps (e.g. 1p, 2p, 10p, £1, etc.)
• International Tariff stamps

All Country definitive stamps, covering Regional/Country Machins (1971-1999) and the subsequent Country Emblems (1999 onwards). Whilst Royal Mail is introducing barcodes to Christmas stamps, non-barcoded Christmas stamps will continue to be accepted for postage, so they shouldn’t be submitted for swap-out.