Defence Equipment Support
Follow our short guide to find out how to send mail with the British Forces Post Office (BFPO).
Announcements
2022 Third-party industrial action
BFPO Customers should consider that there are a number of potential industrial action strikes days announced by unions/staff working in parts of the UK Mail Sector. If strike action does take place, subsequently the services provided to BFPO customers will be disrupted and will result in delays to mail transit and may impact the overall delivery timeframes.
BFPO customers are advised to plan ahead, especially for Christmas/birthday items and allow additional mail transit time for time sensitive items. BFPO will continue to notify and advise customers of any future industrial action and its impact and customers.Further announcements and updates will be posted on BFPO GOV.UK webpages and social media channels.
2022 Price changes
From the 4 April, BFPO stamp prices, weight and size limits will change.The poster below provides the new prices coming into effect from April and the new size restrictions for mail items posted via a Post Office Counter.
2021 Importing and Exporting Regulations
BFPO Customers are reminded that from 4 May 2021, BFPO will no longer be accepting mail items intended for export to overseas BFPO locations, which do not comply with current International Mail Import/Export Regulations. These mail items will either be refused at point of direct delivery at BFPO Northolt site or returned at the first opportunity back into the Royal Mail system. Please note, BFPO do not offer a guaranteed timed service and hold no liability for items which are perishable, out of date or unusable at the point of receipt.
Family and friends of UK defence personnel and their dependants serving overseas, who post private mail items via UK Post Office Counters should note, that you should always be required to complete a customs declaration for private parcels destined for BFPO addresses overseas. Completion of customs declaration forms should be as accurate as possible and must include as a bare minimum, all contents, value and a valid signature. These details are important to ensure local customs authorities in the country of destination can assess your parcel contents and clear items for delivery as efficiently as possible.
BFPO continue to thank all customers for their patience, support and understanding and rest assured BFPO are working tirelessly to get back to business as usual, as quickly as possible.
Changes to UK and international law will affect how mail and parcels will be cleared in the future and these new laws, which are driven by aviation security and fiscal requirements, will be getting much stricter throughout 2021. These changes start to be introduced as the UK/EU transition period ends and from 1 January 2021, parcels posted to/from BFPO customers located in EU/UK will require either a Royal Mail Customs Notification 22 (CN22), Customs Notification 23 (CN23) or Parcelforce Customs Pack (CP72) and Electronic Customs Data (ECD). Please note, that it is the senders responsibility to ensure that the new regulations are followed and failure to comply could result in items being seized and subjected to additional VAT/clearance charges prior to release by local customs authorities. In extreme cases, it could also lead to your parcels being returned or destroyed.
Ordering Online Goods for BFPO Overseas Addresses (including the EU)
New customs declaration procedures (CN22/CN23/CP72/ECD) will need to be completed by the seller/sender for products destined for overseas BFPO locations. Ordering/sending customers should have the opportunity to either pay VAT/clearance charges (if applicable) up front or opt for these charges to be paid by the recipient under local country arrangements. Additionally, from March 2021, there will be a requirement to supply ICS2 EU customs pre-arrival data which will be linked to your parcel and new mail VAT processes are scheduled for introduction in July. Further BFPO announcements will follow.
Posting Items at a Post Office Counter
When sending items to overseas BFPO addresses, you will be required to complete customs declarations forms in more detail than before, and in particular ensuring that exact contents and value are shown. Your local Post Office Counter staff will be able to take you through this process.
Customer Responsibility
Please note, that BFPO, who act solely as the shipping agent, have no responsibility or influence in customs matters and this responsibility rests with the sender or the selling/sending company.
Official Guidance on Mail Import/Export:
Age verification knives and blades
The Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (OWA) prohibits the online sale and delivery of blades to people under 18 years of age. Under the OWA, both the vendor and the courier company will, in certain circumstances, be criminally liable if bladed items are delivered into the hands of an individual who is under 18 years old.
Customers should note the following:
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The Parcelforce Age Verification Service is not available to BFPO customers. Further details can be found on the Parcelforce website.
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Royal Mail has updated its prohibited and restricted advice to customers and has added Age Verification items to the prohibited list for BFPO customers.
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Due to these prohibitions bladed products can no longer be sent to or from a BFPO address.
International driving licences
For enquiries about International Driving Licences, visit the DVLA website.
Advice for customers buying goods by mail order and online
BFPO has become aware that some customers based overseas are purchasing valuable items without ensuring that adequate compensation (insurance cover) for the item has been purchased at the same time.
Please note that it is entirely the customers responsibility to ensure that an item has adequate compensation cover when purchasing items that will be sent through the postal and BFPO system.
If the company will not offer additional compensation cover for your item, we advise careful consideration before placing an order with them and that you give further consideration to purchasing instead from a company that does.
It is especially important to ensure that items are adequately insured when buying from small marketplace sellers (for example, EBay, Gumtree, Spock ).
Its worth remembering that couriers used to deliver goods will not know the value of your parcel and will not allow for additional compensation unless the individual or seller requests this.