What is Royal Mail redirection?
Redirection is Royal Mail’s paid service for forwarding post from your old address to your new one after you move. It works for moves within the UK and abroad, for a set period, and it gives you breathing space to tell your bank, your employer and everyone else your new address without anything important going astray. Royal Mail also points out that it reduces the risk of identity fraud, since letters stop landing on a mat you no longer control.
Everything below is from Royal Mail’s redirection page and its redirection help hub, read in September 2026.
How much does redirection cost?
At the time of writing (September 2026), Royal Mail advertises redirection from £45.00 for UK or overseas redirection of 3, 6 or 12 months. Your exact price comes from the online quote, which Royal Mail says takes about a minute. Check it on royalmail.com before you apply, as prices change.
Two reductions are worth knowing:
- Under 16s are included at no fee.
- Concession prices are available if you receive Universal Credit or Pension Credit.
How long does redirection last?
You choose 3, 6 or 12 months when you apply. A few weeks before it ends, Royal Mail sends an invitation to renew, again for 3, 6 or 12 months. Renewals can continue for up to four years from the original start date. If you do not want to renew, ignore the invitation and the redirection ends on its original date.
For most house moves, three months covers the bills and statements that arrive on a monthly or quarterly cycle. Choose longer if you receive post only once a year, such as pension statements or insurance renewals, and you are not sure everyone has your new address.
When to set up redirection
Royal Mail needs at least five working days to arrange a redirection and recommends applying about three weeks before you move. You can apply up to six months before your move or up to six months after it. If you give less than five working days’ notice, some post may still be delivered to your old address, and your start date can end up later than the one you asked for.
Book it once your moving date is firm, in the same week you confirm your removal company. Our moving house checklist puts it in order with everything else.
Who needs to be named?
Redirection only forwards post for the people named on it. Include the full name and date of birth of everyone at the old address whose post should follow you, even if you all share a surname.
- Everyone named must live at the same address as you.
- You cannot redirect post for someone who does not live with you unless you hold power of attorney, which needs a Post Office or postal application.
- Applications for more than eight people also go through the Post Office or by post.
To apply online, you need both full addresses and postcodes, and a debit or credit card in the applicant’s name registered at the old or new address. Royal Mail does not accept American Express or prepaid cards, and may ask security questions about your bank, loans or mobile contract, so have those details handy.
What redirection does and does not forward
Redirected post goes to the delivery office for your old address first, which adds at least a day. Within the UK it travels second class, and Special Delivery Guaranteed, Signed For and Tracked items are redirected too, still with a signature or scan, though no longer next day.
Royal Mail cannot redirect:
- post for people who did not live at the old address
- items addressed “To the occupier”
- anything delivered by other couriers, including Parcelforce Worldwide
- post to or from multi-occupied buildings such as nursing homes, hotels and student halls
Online orders from other carriers will not follow you, so update your delivery address in each shopping account.
Changing or cancelling a redirection
If your move is delayed before the redirection starts, Royal Mail can move the start date. Once it has started, the address and dates cannot be changed, so you would cancel and pay for a new one. If you move again within the period, you set up a new redirection from the original address.
Cancelling before the start date gets a full refund. Within 14 days of your confirmation, after it has started, you get the fee back less £10. After that there is no refund.
The other changes to make
Redirection is a safety net, not a substitute for telling people. Work through the official changes while it runs: your driving licence, council tax and the electoral roll. Your passport has no address on it, as our page on passport address change when you move explains.
Still arranging the move itself? Our house removals in North London handle packing, dismantling and the van, so the post is the only thing left to follow you.
Call 020 3475 0377 or get a free quote.