What Royal Mail redirection costs in 2026
Royal Mail personal redirection currently starts at £45.00 for three months for one person. Prices rose on 7 April 2026.
| Duration | One person | Each additional person |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months | £45.00 | £11.00 |
| 6 months | £66.50 | £12.50 |
| 12 months | £95.00 | £13.50 |
Concession rates exist for people claiming Universal Credit or Pension Credit, and overseas redirection is priced separately — both are on the Royal Mail site, and both change, so check before you buy.
The timing rule that catches people
Book at least 5 working days before you want the redirection to start. You can set it up as much as 6 months in advance, so there is no advantage in leaving it late and a real risk in doing so: if you apply the week you move, post goes to the old address in the gap.
Apply online at royalmail.com or at any Post Office branch. You will need proof of identity and proof of the old address.
Is it worth it?
For twelve months at £95, it works out at under £8 a month. Set against that: every organisation you forget, every annual renewal that only arrives once a year, and everything addressed to you that a stranger would otherwise be opening.
That last point is the real argument. Redirection is not a convenience, it is the identity-fraud control. Bank statements, replacement cards and anything carrying your date of birth continuing to land at an address occupied by someone you have never met is the actual risk, and three months is often not long enough to catch the once-a-year items.
What it does not cover
Redirection moves post addressed to you at the old address. It does not move post addressed to "The Occupier", it does not cover a business at a residential address without a business redirection, and it does not extend automatically. When it lapses, everything you have not yet updated starts going to the new occupant.
Last checked 2026-09-22 against the official sources below. Rates and fees change — if you are reading this long after that date, follow the links and confirm.
The printable version
Everything above, on paper, with somewhere to write.
You do not need this to use the guide. It exists because a checklist you tick with a biro is easier to finish than a web page you keep scrolling back to.
