Which stamps are still OK to use?
You may have seen a few panicky posts on social media, reminding people that they have to use up their old stamps, or swap them for new barcoded stamps. Compers have always loved buying stamps in bulk when there’s been a discount offer, so I’m sure there are plenty of us with a stash of stamps at home!
But there’s no need to worry, because it’s not all stamps that you must use up, or swap out. In this post I’ve explained which stamps are fine to hold on to, and which you should post off to be swapped out.
Royal Mail have also agreed to allow people to collect the swap out forms and FREEPOST envelopes in Post Office branches.
Standard Queen’s Head stamps will not be valid
Since July 2023, you can’t use Machin Definitive stamps with the big Queen’s head on, like the ones below – and you can’t use non-barcoded large letter stamps. Whether they have 1st, 2nd or a value on, none of these will be valid unless they are with a barcode. So you’ll need to post them off to Royal Mail to swap for barcoded stamps. If post is sent using these stamps after 31 July 2023, the recipient will have to pay a surcharge to receive their mail.
The new barcoded stamps are new colours (see below), so it will be easy for Royal Mail to spot the invalid orange and blue stamps after 31 July 2023!
Picture stamps are still valid
Picture stamps and Christmas stamps with either 1st, 2nd or a monetary value on them will remain valid for the forseeable future! So there’s no need to worry about using up or swapping out your fancy stamps like the ones shown below. I buy these in bulk from specialist sellers (and other compers!) so I have quite a lot. If you have older picture stamps with the value on (for example 27 rather than 1st or 2nd), you can stick multiple stamps on your letters and parcels to make up the correct value.
Country definitive stamps will not be valid
Country definitives are the standard sized Welsh, English, Scottish and Northern Irish stamps, like those shown below. These are now available in barcoded versions so these older versions will not be valid.
Post & Go stamps are still valid
Stamps printed at self-service machines (known as Post & Go or Fastamps) are still valid to use.
E (Europe) stamps are still valid
Stamps marked with an E were designed to cover Europe-wide postage, and are classed as an NVI (No Value Indicated) stamp. They have a value of £3.20, which is the current cost of sending a letter or postcard under 100g to Europe.
I contacted Royal Mail in October 2022 to ask about E stamps as they were not specifically referred to anywhere on their website and they told me that they must be swapped out. However in December 2022 Royal Mail confirmed to me that E stamps will remain valid and do not need to be swapped out! However, some Royal Mail staff don’t recognise the stamps as valid, so if you use them, there’s a risk your post may arrive with a surcharge for the recipient (if this happens, lodge a complaint).
What other stamps will not be valid?
The PDF below from the Royal Mail website shows stamps which will no longer be valid and should be sent to be swapped out. Sorry it’s low quality, but Royal Mail told me they don’t have a better version!
How to swap your unusable stamps
You’ll be able to send invalid stamps back to the Post Office to swap for the same value of new barcoded stamps (if it’s not an exact match, the barcoded stamps you are sent will be rounded up to the nearest 2nd class stamp).
- If you’re swapping less than £200 of stamps, download this form from the Royal Mail website and send it off with your stamps, writing Freepost SWAP OUT on the envelope. Self adhesive stamps must be on their original backing sheet or in a book. You’ll need to stick any non self-adhesive stamps to the sheet.
- If you’re swapping £200+ of stamps, you’ll need to use the bulk swap form and send to Royal Mail Swap Out, Tallents House, 21 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh EH12 9PB, ideally using a tracked delivery service.
- If you don’t have a printer, request a form to be posted out here or pick one up at a Post Office or Delivery Office.
There’s currently no deadline stated for sending your stamps to be swapped, and they aim to send back your replacement barcoded stamps within 7 working days, although it can be up to a few weeks. Originally, stamps were swapped on a like-for-like basis but Royal Mail now says they may just send all 2nd class barcoded stamps, regardless of what was sent. I sent off 6 Europe stamps and received six barcoded £1.85 stamps in return (this was prior to the Europe postage cost increasing to £3.20).
If you send off commemorative picture stamps or Christmas stamps to be swapped, they may be exchanged, but they may also be returned to you as they are still valid to use.
If you need more help, call the Customer Experience Team on 03457 740740.
Why are Royal Mail using barcoded stamps?
Each barcode is completely unique, to make tracking items easier. The barcodes will allow the sender to link a special message or video to the stamp using the Royal Mail app, and the recipient will be able to access this when they scan the barcode! The barcodes will also prevent stamps from being used twice, a common problem in the past with people peeling off and re-using unfranked stamps.
What are the current prices of first and second class stamps?
Find out current prices for letter and parcel post with the Royal Mail Pricefinder. In April 2026, a first class stamp is currently £1.80 and a second class is 91p!
You might want to keep a look out for people selling picture stamps cheaply that they believe are no longer valid – you could find some real bargains!
What fees will the recipient have to pay on non valid stamps?
If you use an invalid stamp after 31 July 2023, the recipient will have to pay a surcharge of £2.50 on a letter, or £3.50 on a small parcel. The recipient can refuse to pay this, and the letter or parcel will not be delivered to them. You can go to your Royal Mail depot and ask to see the mail item before deciding whether to pay! Find out more at https://www.royalmail.com/receiving-mail/pay-a-fee
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This is the best page I have so far found in the way of explanation of which stamps qualify for swap out! RM itself is consistently vague on the issue. Thank you for making it happen Di.
1993 £10 Britannia plate 2A, SG1658var like this stull can use i am not sure sorry bother
Thanks for explaining the Royal Mail swap out scheme.
I have quite a few smiler presentation packs (not the smiler sheets) pack No’s M13, M19 & M23. These are the smaller stamps but pictorial, are these the same as the smaller Christmas stamps and are valid for postage?
Yes these are fine to use!
The reason the PDFs from Royal Mail are low quality is to help prevent people copying them and using them to produce fake stamps. Even low quality images can be enhanced by easily available photo editing software. We use this type of software for our website images and I was blown away at just how good it is at enhancing (or “upscaling”) image quality. There are millions of fake stamps in circulation which must be costing RM a fortune in lost revenue.
I have had three parcels where I used E stamps (but picture ones) surcharged by Royal Mail. Your article says E stamps are valid indefinitely – BUT SOME RM staff do not recognise them. If I am selling stuff on EBAY, I cant afford to regularly have customers penalised through no fault of my own but through the fault of incompetence or lack of training to Royal Mail staff by Royal Mail. I am not put on this earth to constantly grovel and apologise for issues that have been created by Royal Mail and not by me.
That said, I try to avoid RM services for the most part as they are so incredibly unreliable and the customer service is non-existent – the reality of privatisation.
Seba, you should just send your E stamps off to be swapped rather than risk it – that’s what I did!
I did! I’ve just received them back by special delivery with a standard letter saying these are not included in the RM Swap Out as these stamps are still valid, but like the previous responder, my recipient got fine £2.50!
I’m taking it up with RM as have several pictorial 2nd class stamps.
Thing with sending E stamps in, is the stamps they send back (at time of writing) would be £3.60 each. As long as they continue to be useable might as well keep them as they rise in postal value. A £3.60 stamp won’t rise with inflation. Get rid of all the defined values first as they decrease in value over time.
I have a picture Christmas stamp with the Queens head but no 1st or 2nd class printed on it or no monetory value – is this strange?
It is indeed strange! Do you know how to use Google Lens? You should do a search online! Go to http://www.google.com and tap the lens icon in the search bar, then use your mobile camera to take a photo of the stamp!
Can I still use,a Birmingham 2022, Commonwealth Games picture stamp,that is 1st Class with the Queens head on it.
Getting confused,with some of the information.
Yes, you can still use all picture stamps!
What about my remaining 50 Wallace & Grommet picture stamps from 2022 ?
Yes of course you can use those! I have loads myself, they’re so cute!
Thank you Di – I have around 50 Wallace and Grommet stamps left but I recently got some envelopes returned back to myself with First Class Wallace and Grommet stamp on them – Royal Mail had written UNPAID / RESEND BACK TO SENDER on the envelope – This is really bad when Royal Mail don’t know which stamps are valid , Grrrr !
PS. I have 2 of your Comping books and I love them , Thank You 🙂
How strange! As new edition picture stamps are still being produced (without barcodes), I can’t see how they would make this mistake – it wasn’t because your envelope was too heavy/big was it?
Are you sure they weren’t fakes? There are plenty around from the likes of ebay and they’re pretty convincing. I had some Flying Scotsman one and I wasn’t sure so I contacted the original producer/printer who asked for a sample. They then confirmed they were fake, but it’s extremely hard to tell, even if you have them side by side with the original.
Hi can I use christmas stamps un bar-coded any time of the year?
Yes you can!
As a stamp collector for the past 70 years I have still found it difficult to understand Royal Mail’s account of which stamps are and are not still valid for postage and other uses after 2023. Your post clarrifying the current situarion is brilliant. Many thanks.
They’ve had a long time to make clear announcements on their website about this and haven’t done it! It’s been really quite frustrating. Glad this has been helpful for you Tony!
Are UK first day covers valid to send on a letter or card
A first day cover is a franked stamp, so wouldn’t be valid. Is that what you’re asking about?
Why are castle definitives not permitted?
That’s a question for Royal Mail, not for me I’m afraid! I assume due to the high value.
Can i use my 2022 Christmas stamps for this years cards?
Yes!
More pictorial examples of valid stamps
I have unfortunately got a lot of presentation stamps which seem to be of no value. Can in still use them
By presentation stamps, do you mean picture stamps? These are fine to use, either with monetary value or 1st/2nd/E on them!
Can I use £5,£3,£2,£1 and 50p stamps.
If they are the new ones with barcodes, yes. If they don’t have barcodes, send them off to be swapped!
I have xt500 international postcard stamps, they come in a booklet of 5 and generally you buy them in museums or landmarks. Can you confirm if i can still use them or if they need swapped? I am confused 🙂
If they are not pictorial then send them in to swapout and get replacements The scheme is still open 13 June 202
I am amazed that Royal Mail don’t have a simple 2 page website. One page showing every stamp ever make that must be swapped out, and another showing every stamp ever made that can still be used. In value order they would all be easy to find.
I have elongated stamps from a stamp machine purchased at the Post Pffice. Has small queens head but no bar code.
Cannot find anything on your site to say whether these stamps are still valid. Please help as have quite a few.
It sounds like these are Post & Go stamps – I’ve now amended the post to feature them, I’ve checked with Royal Mail and they are valid (including the Post & Go stamps with pictures on)
I have the exact same stamps which I purchased just a couple weeks ago from a machine at a post office. They are not picture stamps and are exactly as described by Mrs Simmons. I have just been told by my local post office that they will still be valid after 31st July and I do not need to exchange them for the new bar coded stamps.
I’d love to see a photo of these stamps if either of you could email to me at di@superlucky.me! If they’re currently in machines then they must be valid, and I’d like to include them in this blog post!
Sounds like they were talking about the Post and Go sticky labels which are still valid.
I have some very large parcel stamps of £5, £2 and £1 values. They are twice the size of a standard large letter sized stamp. Will these stamps still be valid or do I need to send them back for swaps.
If they’re Queens Head stamps without a barcode, you need to swap them. If they’re stamps with pictures on, you can still use them!
Brilliant information, just what I was looking for. I needed to check if picture stamps with a price on were valid and didn’t trust the Royal Mail explanation!
what about the Machin Faststamp: 2nd Class – 20 February 2013, they do not have a bar code but do have an a long individual number. Do they need to be swapped out?
I’m not sure about this one Marc, but to be safe I would send off to be swapped!
What do you mean you. It in bulk? Is this from eBay selling them very cheap?
I buy stamps in bulk either from Superdrug when they have their 5% discount (although they sold off the non barcoded stamps VERY cheaply recently!), or from Gustamps in Brighton, who sells unused picture stamp sheets.
Really clear and useful guidance (much better than Royal Mail’s own!) – thank you. Royal Mail seem to be making it up as they go along. The original announcement last year (quietly by Tweet, not even a press release) said that all stamps would need to be swapped or used by 31 January. An exemption was soon made for Christmas stamps, followed by other commemoratives and picture stamps, and then the deadline to use non-barcoded stamps was quietly extended to 31 July 2023. Royal Mail’s original guidance didn’t mention country definitives at all, so I emailed them to ask. Royal Mail never replied, but added these to the online guidance shortly afterwards.
I’m still not 100% sure whether 2012 Olympics stamps and E (Europe) definitives without pictures will continue to be recognised after 31 July, so will send these to be swapped just to be on the safe side.
Hi! Can I use 2012 Olympic stamps that are first class?
I would like to get some old stamps to make a collection. I went into a local post office and asked if I could buy them and was told no. So what happens to the old stamps
Which old stamps do you mean?
Can I go on using bar-coded stamps with the Queen’s head indefinitely?
Yes, barcoded Queen stamps are valid for the forseeable future, even when the Charles stamps are released!
Thank you.
What about Olympics 2012 definitives? Are theytreated like all other definitives?
There’s some debate about this, and Royal Mail haven’t confirmed either way, but it’s assumed they will need to be swapped out like the other definitives as they won’t be valid.
“Originally, stamps were swapped on a like-for-like basis but Royal Mail now says they may just send all 2nd class barcoded stamps, regardless of what was sent.” – yep, I can confirm that having seen “like for like” I sent off almost a whole sheet of Welsh 2nd class NVIs (bought for sending particular things to Wales or people connected with Wales), expecting to get Welsh barcoded back… and got plain barcoded back, which I’m not happy about but can’t be helped.
On this website it states Royal Mail have said picture E stamps will not be valid. On the Philatelink website they were told by Royal Mail, in writing, that they WILL still be valid. Which is it?
I was told in October by Royal Mail that picture E stamps needed to be swapped out. I sent mine and received a £1.85 barcoded stamp for each one. I’ve contacted Royal Mail again to get this confirmed!
This is all rubbish. Barcoded stamps were introduced to stop the widespread use of Chinese forgeries . They can not tell by the barcode if a stamp has slipped through the franking services and has been used again.
I am wanting to post some large letter self adhisive stamps to be swapped out BUT the form only has the address of FREEPOST SWAP Out. Is this all I need to put on the outsideof the envelope? DO I need to get any proof of the postage and value?
No, that’s all you need to put on the envelope. I would suggest if you’re worried about sending a high value of stamps, separate it into a few envelopes in case any go missing!
I am still not getting an answer anywhere about large letter stamp. Every website i read simply ignores them. Will someone please tell me what to do with unbarcoded large letter stamps.
You will need to use them by 31 January, or swap them out, If you look at the graphic I included above, they are listed there. https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2022-03/Stamp-Images-for-swap-out.pdf
But the swap out form only references the values of 1st and 2nd class normal stamps. The ‘examples of stamps you can Swap Out’ section also only includes normal sized stamps. When and where can large letter stamps be swapped?
You just send them with the same form. Royal Mail didn’t do a good job of designing the form to explain this!
can we swap large 2nd class stamps for 1st class stamps?
No, your swaps will come back like-for-like.
I sent in 8 x 2nd class large letter and have been sent 8 x 2nd class small letter back. Rip off.
This happened to me too, but I complained. Royal Mail replaced the 2nd class large like for like and included a letter of apology.
Is the deadline for to use Country Definitves January 31st as well ?? The Royal Mail should have updated the leaflet they recently sent out to (I assume) every household in the Country to show/mention Country Definitives as well.
Yes it is.
Thank you Di – I assume that gummed NVI or valued stamps will need to be stuck down on a sheet of paper.
By the above comment I meant full panes eg 10 x 1st or and old 50p booklet pane
Yes, anything gummed needs to be stuck to the swap out sheet on page 2 of the form! I assume you can send as many extra sheets as you need. https://www.royalmail.com/sites/royalmail.com/files/2022-11/Stamp-Swap-Out-Form-under-200-pounds-v1_4.pdf
The real reason why Royal Mail is doing this is probably to prevent stamps from being reused. I’m sure we’re all guilty of seeing an unfranked (not cancelled/marked) stamp, cutting it out or peeling it off and reapplying it using pritt-stick to another postal item. So one-use, traceable stamps like these are probably very long overdue. If it lends to a more reliable, trackable service in the future I’m all for it. And with less lost revenue hopefully it means less strikes too(?)
Appreciate the article but one thing you didn’t mention is that the self-adhesive types of stamps must be on their original backing paper or book if you intend to send them back to Royal Mail to exchange them for the new stamps.
I imagine the bulk of stamps in circulation today are the self-adhesive types of stamps. Hence this requirement is probably there to prevent people from sending in their used but unfranked self-adhesive stamps.
Thanks JJ! I’ve added in the reminder about the self adhesive stamps being on their original sheet or book.
Thanks for this post Di, I wanted to get the news out there, I actually got told by my local Spar shop/Post office, that the postcard I had given them to be put in the post, was no longer valid, I assured her it was, but could tell she did not believe me.
I went in the next day with proof from the Post office web Site, so at least they now know.
But worry about people throwing them away, if they are told the same.
Keep up your good work