Important Update: Royal Mail Code Changes from January 2025.
Please see below an important update from Royal Mail regarding changes to international product codes:
Removal of International Product Codes – Effective 2nd January 2025
As of 2nd January 2025, Royal Mail has removed the following international-specific BFPO (HM Forces) product codes from their systems: BF1, BF2, BF7, BF8, and BF9, along with the Print Direct option under product codes MB1 and MB2.
All Royal Mail International customers were informed of these changes as part of the annual International tariff communications in November 2024.
Action Required:
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Use Domestic Product Codes for BFPO Orders:
Royal Mail advises that customers sending to BFPO addresses should now use domestic product codes instead of the obsolete international codes. Alternative codes for M Bags should also be applied where necessary. -
Implementation on Your Platform:
Royal Mail International kindly requests that these obsolete product codes (BF1, BF2, BF7, BF8, and BF9) be removed from your platforms at your earliest convenience.
To assist, the customer communication sent by Royal Mail is included below (please refer to point 2 in the “Generic Letter”), which highlights the relevant domestic BFPO codes customers should use moving forward.
Rationale for the Change:
This update is intended to simplify the process of sending items to British Forces. Royal Mail has confirmed that these changes will be reflected in the January 2025 Bespoke Shipping Specification updates.
Urgency and Apologies for Late Notice:
Although this request falls outside the scheduled Bespoke Shipping Specification release, Royal Mail requests that these services be disabled as soon as possible to prevent issues for customers attempting to create shipments using the now-disabled codes in Royal Mail’s systems.
The Royal Mail International Product Team sincerely apologises for the inadvertent late notice of this change.
