Your guide - Royal Mail

Royal Mail’s 

tracked services 

Your guide 

This guide answers all your questions on 

how to use Royal Mail’s tracked services 

and applies to both Royal Mail Tracked ® 

and Royal Mail Tracked Next Day ® . 

Use this guide in conjunction with the Royal Mail specific terms for Royal Mail Tracked ® 

and Royal Mail Tracked Next Day ® version 3 December 2010. This guide applies for 

all new customers whose first posting is after 13 September 2010. 

Version: 3 December 2010 

1

Contents 

Section A 

An introduction to Royal Mail’s tracked services 

1 The features of Royal Mail Tracked ® 

2 What can I send? 

Section B 

How do I use Royal Mail Tracked ® ? 

3 What despatch management software is required? 

4 What is the parcel label format? 

5 What equipment, bag or York labels do I need? 

6 What paperwork do I need to generate? 

Section C 

Requirements when despatching parcels 

7 How do I present my shipments? 

8 How can I send perfume, aerosols, 

nail varnish and batteries? 

Section D 

Value added services 

9 How do I use Safeplace TM and 

Local Collect Business TM ? 

10 How does customer text and email work? 

11 How does proof of delivery (signature) work? 

Section E 

How do I track my parcels? 

12 Royal Mail Track & Trace 

13 Management reports 

Section F 

Where can I get more help or advice? 

2

Section A 

What is Royal Mail Tracked ® ? 

Royal Mail Tracked ® is the simple cost-effective way 

to send your goods, providing you with peace of mind 

as the shipment is tracked on its journey through 

our network. 

As your parcels are tracked throughout their journey, 

not only are you using a cost-effective method to 

reach your customers, but you will always know 

where your parcels are. This means you can offer 

your customers a consistently high quality delivery 

experience and reduce the risk of fraud. 

3

1 

The features of 

Royal Mail Tracked ® 

• Available as either a Next Day (24 hour) or 2-3 day 

service (48 hour) 

• Cost-effective delivery for parcels between 0-15kg 

• A minimum of 5 tracks which are visible via our 

Track & Trace website royalmail.com/trackandtrace 

• Competitive price based on your individual requirements 

• Available for customers sending 5,000 parcels a year 

(24 hour service) or 2,000 parcels a year (48 hour service) 

• Standard suite of management reports 

• Additional paid for services available such as email or text 

notification to your recipients. Proof of delivery (signature) 

at the doorstep also available 

• The ability to apply a Safeplace TM to your item, agreed with 

your recipient so that if the person is out the parcel is left 

in a pre-agreed Safeplace TM on your customers premises 

• Full UK, Channel Isles and Isle of Man coverage 

• Royal Mail Local Collect Business TM alternative delivery 

option for your customers to collect their parcels at a 

local Post Office ® 

• Free re-deliveries if we are unable to deliver – 

if the recipient is not home 

• No extra charge for Saturday deliveries 

• Compensation (for loss and damage only) up to the market 

value of the parcel, or 100 times the price of a first class 

stamp, whichever is lower 

For customers sending over 300,000 parcels per annum on our 

48 hour service only, some additional features are available: 

• Additional collections can be arranged if required 

• Parcels weighing up to 20kgs can be accepted at a higher 

pre-agreed fee 

• Parcels will be accepted loose loaded 

What tracking information is available? 

To ensure you know the status of your parcel delivery at all key 

stages, Royal Mail Tracked ® provides the following track points: 

• Track 1 is created at the point of despatch when the parcel 

label is generated on either your own despatch management 

system or ours 

• Track 2 occurs when your parcel enters the Royal Mail 

processing Mail Centre 

• Track 3 is triggered when the parcel is processed at the 

recipient’s local Mail Centre 

• Track 4 is taken when the parcel arrives at the Delivery Office 

• Track 5 occurs at the doorstep of the delivery address 

when delivery of the parcel is attempted or if it is put in 

a designated Safeplace TM 

Additional tracks: 

• If a parcel is not successfully delivered it is returned to the 

Delivery Office, a note is left for the recipient, the parcel is 

tracked at the Delivery Office and made available for 

customer collection or redelivery 

• In the event of a parcel not being successfully delivered 

or collected within 18 calendar days, a final track is taken 

prior to the parcel being returned to you, the sender 

1 

2 

3 4 

5 

4

2 

What can I send? 

In terms of sizes and weights, Royal Mail Tracked ® enables you 

to send parcels within the following weight and size dimensions. 

Weight and dimensions 

You cannot send parcels which are: 

• Smaller than 15 millimetres on any one side 

• Larger than 460 millimetres by 610 millimetres by 460 

millimetres. For tubular packages, the length plus twice the 

diameter must not go over 1,040 millimetres or be more 

than 900 millimetres long 

• Heavier than 15 kilograms 

If you do not comply with this we may, at our discretion, 

return the parcels to you or ask you to collect them. There 

may be a surcharge for this service as set out in our terms 

and conditions. 

If you are shipping more than 300,000 parcels on our 

48 hours service the following dimensions apply to you. 

You cannot send parcels which: 

• Are smaller than 15 millimetres on any one side 

• Are larger than 610 millimetres on any one side 

• Have a volume greater than 0.129 cubic metres 

• Are heavier than 20kgs (items between 15 and 20kgs 

will be surcharged) 

For all shipments the following apply: 

• Maximum gross weight for a mail bag presented 

to Royal Mail is 11kgs 

• Maximum gross weight for a York* presented 

to Royal Mail is 250kgs 

Destinations 

• To anywhere in the UK including Northern Ireland 

• To Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man (tracking 

is up to arrival in territory – Track 4) 

• To BFPO addresses, tracking will occur up to the acceptance 

point of the British Forces Post Office ® (where applicable) 

There are also certain prohibited goods you can send if 

you send over 300,000 parcels on the 48 hours service. 

These are known as Tracked Permitted Goods and they are 

perfume, nail varnish, aerosols and lithium batteries which 

can be shipped providing that packaging and labelling 

requirements are met. (See section C.) Some postcode 

exclusions apply when shipping Tracked Permitted Goods. 

See appendix at the end of this user guide. 

What do I need to do to access this service? 

For Royal Mail Tracked Next Day ® service the minimum entry 

volume is 5,000 parcels per annum per site, per account. For 

the Royal Mail Tracked ® service you will need to send at least 

2,000 parcels per site, per account, per annum. 

You will need a printed postage impression (PPI) account 

with Royal Mail to enable you to print a Royal Mail Tracked ® 

PPI on the label without using stamps. Unfortunately it is not 

possible to use stamps or meter impressions with Royal Mail’s 

tracked services. To set up a PPI account or start posting 

contact your Royal Mail Account Manager or Customer Services 

on 08457 950 950. 

length 

(max 610mm) 

height 

(max 460mm) 

depth 

(max 460mm) 

5 

* York is a Royal Mail term for a wheeled container.

Section B 

How do I use 

Royal Mail Tracked ® ? 

6

3 

What despatch 

management 

software is required? 

You can use your own systems either through a software supplier or even develop your own solution 

to print barcoded labels, paper collection manifests and electronic pre-advice files to send to Royal Mail. 

Alternatively you can use Royal Mail’s own despatch management software to do all this for you. 

If you wish to use Royal Mail’s despatch management software, your Account Manager or Sales Centre will 

organise this for you. For more information royalmail.com/despatchexpress or royalmail.com/rmdmo. 

We can arrange for a suitable printer to be supplied to you through our partner, The Barcode 

Warehouse. Contact your Royal Mail Account Manager or call Customer Services on 08457 950 950 

if you wish to purchase a printer. 

What if I prefer to use my own despatch management system? 

In this case, your Royal Mail Account Manager or Customer Services Advisor will arrange for 

a IT Solutions Consultant to contact you, to discuss systems integration requirements. This is 

important because it ensures that compatible electronic pre-advice files are sent daily to us, 

that parcel labels are printed in the required format and suitable customer manifest documents 

are provided with each posting. 

7

4 

What is the parcel 

label format? 

With Royal Mail’s despatch management software the label format is automatically setup in the 

software. If you use your own despatch management system, the label format, printed postage 

indicia (PPI) and physical size will be provided by our IT Solutions Consultant as part of the set up. 

The label must include: 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

Unique parcel number in barcode and text format 

Royal Mail Tracked ® product identifier and printed postage identifier (PPI) number 

Destination address and full postcode 

Return address and full postcode 

Safeplace TM instructions (if applicable – using up to 30 characters) 

For customers posting over 300,000 Royal Mail Tracked ® parcels per annum on 

our 2-3 day service an alphanumeric routing sortcode (eg L123) in a text and 

barcode format is required. It is based on a sort list provided by us initially and 

with at least yearly updates. We will provide you with samples of label designs 

and 3 months notice of any sort code changes. 

Where we cannot scan the barcode on the label we will return the parcels to you. 

Royal Mail Tracked ® Royal Mail Tracked Next Day ® Royal Mail Tracked ® (>300k p.a) 

5 

2 

1 

3 

4 

8

5 

What equipment, 

bags or York labels 

do I need? 

Your local Royal Mail Mail Centre will provide you with suitable mail bags, ties and Yorks as appropriate. 

Our Customer Services team will send you an initial supply of appropriate thermal parcel labels 

(if using our despatch management software), bag labels and York cards. Further stocks of parcel labels 

(P6557), bag labels (P6644 for Royal Mail Tracked Next Day ® , P6647 for Royal Mail Tracked ® ) 

and York cards (P6645 for Royal Mail Tracked Next Day ® , P6646 for Royal Mail Tracked ® ) can be 

ordered free of charge by calling Royal Mail stationery and stores department on 08457 950 950 or 

visiting our online mail supplies page on www.royalmail.com/mailsupplies. 

York card > 

Bag label > 

9

6 

What paperwork do 

I need to generate? 

For each shipment you need: 

• A barcoded label on each item 

• A paper collection manifest (on the right) 

• OBA order summary report (only required 

for Despatch Express customers) 

• Electronic pre-advice 

If you use Royal Mail Despatch Express software it automatically transfers sales order information 

from Despatch Express to our Online Business Account (OBA) system. This happens when you 

print off the ‘Collection Manifest’ on Despatch Express. 

Collections 

manifest 

OBA is a web-based system and you will therefore need an internet-ready PC with Internet 

Explorer 5.5 or higher and a printer. If you use our Despatch Express the printer is needed to 

generate the ‘OBA order summary report’ that must accompany each shipment and be given 

to the collection driver. 

If you use your own despatch management system or Royal Mail Despatch Manager Online (RMDMO) 

items are billed automatically based upon parcels we have accepted and scanned so entries are not 

needed on OBA. In any event, you will need access to Royal Mail’s Sales Ordering System and our 

Online Billing Account (OBA) to view Royal Mail Tracked ® sales orders raised. Our OBA sales ordering 

system is free and our representative will contact you to explain how to operate the system. 

+ http://royalmail.com/trackandtrace + http://royalmail.com/trackandtrace 

OBA – Welcome screen 

OBA – Login screen 

10

Section C 

Requirements when 

despatching parcels 

There are a few basic activities you need to perform 

for each shipment to use Royal Mail Tracked ® : 

1 Correctly address the parcels – i.e provide a full postal address 

and postcode. Your address database must be cleansed and 

maintained to achieve a minimum of 95% accuracy of the 

current Postal Address File (PAF) 

2 Create suitable parcel labels as detailed previously 

3 Where presenting parcels in bags and or Yorks attach our 

relevant bag labels with bag ties we provide you with on the 

mail bags and relevant York cards on the slot in the Yorks 

4 Provide a collection manifest and pre-advice file 

to Royal Mail prior to the last shipment collection 

5 Present your shipments as detailed overleaf 

11

7 

How do I present 

my shipments? 

The Royal Mail Tracked ® and Royal Mail Tracked Next Day ® shipments need to be presented 

separately from all other mail streams, in the correct agreed equipment (eg bags and sleeved 

Yorks supplied by us) and appropriate Royal Mail Tracked ® or Royal Mail Tracked Next Day ® 

label tied onto the bag or card placed in the slot of the York. This will ensure the correct handling 

and scanning. It is not permissible to have mixed bags or Yorks of Royal Mail Tracked ® or 

Royal Mail Tracked Next Day ® parcels. 

The shipment must be accompanied by ‘Collection Manifest’ document from the despatch 

management system and, if using Despatch Express, an ‘OBA order summary report’ printed 

from Royal Mail’s OBA system. 

If you are using your own despatch management system the required customer manifest 

format will be provided by our IT Solutions Consultants. The Customer manifest will detail 

volumes, in that posting, the account name, number and address, and the date and the 

range of barcodes despatched. 

Parcels are either collected by us or can be delivered into our agreed local Mail Centre or 

regional Distribution Centre. Parcels cannot be delivered into a Delivery Office or Post Office ® . 

Customers who ship more than 300,000 parcels a year on our 2-3 day service can 

present their shipments loose loaded on to vehicles (trailers) or in Yorks (not mail bags). 

What about shipments not covered by my agreement? 

If you are sending larger, heavier, or more than the maximum daily parcels in the initial posting 

profile you agreed with us, you will need to let your Royal Mail Mail Centre know by 5pm on the 

day before posting (or by 5pm on a Thursday for a Saturday collection). Likewise, if part of the 

agreement states that you may post no parcels on some days but you subsequently need to do 

so on a particular day, you will need to let your Mail Centre know by the same time. If you do 

not give us the information in line with the above, we will try but do not guarantee to collect 

or accept (as applicable) your items on the date you request. 

12

8 

How can I send perfume, 

aerosols, nail varnish, batteries 

and other prohibited items? 

Customers who send over 300,000 items a year via our Royal Mail Tracked ® 

48 hour delivery service may send some items that are prohibited through all 

other Royal Mail services. Applications to carry prohibited goods by the Tracked 

Permitted Goods service must be made through the Account Manager, who is 

the point of contact for the acceptance of these items. 

The acceptable range of prohibited goods that can be sent includes: 

• Perfume (UN 1266) 

• Nail varnish (UN1263) 

• Aerosols, flammable (UN1950) 

• Lithium batteries (which comply with special provisions 88, 230, 310 and 636 

of ADR, the latest publication of ADR, the European Agreement Concerning the 

International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road) 

These are known as Tracked Permitted Goods and can only be sent via Royal Mail 

Tracked ® 48 hour delivery service. 

To start sending any Tracked Permitted Goods prior approval is required from the 

Account Manager and the packaging and labelling requirements, detailed below, 

need to be followed: 

1 You must ensure your items are appropriately packaged and comply with the 

latest packaging and labelling advice as featured on the website www.dft.gov. 

uk/pgr/freight/dgt1 and follow the ‘Carriage of dangerous goods by Road’ link 

2 You must send samples of packaging to your Account Manager for approval 

prior to first posting 

3 You must use a good standard of packaging, so that any leakage is contained 

within the outer packaging, for example you should wrap your item in a sealed 

plastic bag and then place it in a rigid container. For more details see chapter 

4.1 para 4.1.1.1 of the latest publication of ADR 

4 You must comply with the following volume restrictions: 

• For perfume (UN1266), each receptacle must contain no more than 

500 millilitres 

• For nail varnish (UN1263), each receptacle must contain 

no more than 100 millilitres 

• For aerosols, flammable (UN1950), each receptacle must contain no 

more than 750 millilitres 

Customers can apply to send other prohibited items – and should make their 

application through their Account Manager who will advise whether Royal Mail 

can accept these items and what the maximum permitted receptacle size is. 

13

How can I send perfume, 

aerosols, nail varnish, batteries 

and other prohibited items? 

5 Tracked Permitted Goods shall be marked as follows: 

• The marking shall be readily visible, legible and able to withstand open 

weather exposure without a substantial reduction in effectiveness 

• The top and bottom portions and the surrounding line shall be black. 

The centre area shall be white or a suitable contrasting background 

• The minimum dimensions shall be 100mm by 100mm and the minimum 

width of line forming the diamond shall be 2mm 

• If the size of the package so requires, the dimensions may be reduced, to be 

not less than 50mm by 50mm provided the marking remains clearly visible 

6 You must supply Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for each item you are 

sending, as failure to do so will result in non-acceptance of item 

7 You must inform us via email (to trackedpermitted@royalmail.com) by 5pm 

on the working day before handover if you intend to handover any Tracked 

Permitted Goods and the total gross mass (kg) of Tracked Permitted Goods 

to be handed over. Templates for completion and contact information will be 

supplied prior to first posting 

8 You must notify Royal Mail Group at the email address above in advance if 

Tracked Permitted Goods exceed 50% of the total daily mass (kg) as we will 

need to make alternative arrangements 

9 To ensure compliance with the service terms and conditions and ADR, we 

reserve the right to audit your internal processes in the preparation of 

shipments containing Tracked Permitted Goods. 

10 Failure to adhere to these terms may result in the withdrawal of the 

Tracked Permitted Goods Service 

Postcode restrictions apply to where these goods can be carried to and from 

(including return-to-sender items.) These postcodes are included in the appendix 

at the end of this user guide. These goods cannot be sent to BFPO addresses. 

Please also note that receiving customers cannot post the items onto another 

address which includes sending it back to you, the retailer. 

14

Section D 

Value added services 

• Safeplace TM – is a Royal Mail delivery option 

that enables your customers to nominate a 

safe place for alternative delivery of items 

• Local Collect Business TM – Your customers want 

to be able to collect their deliveries when it suits 

them. With Local Collect Business, they can 

choose the time they want to pick up their 

items at a convenient local Post Office ® 

• Text or email notification – For added peace of 

mind you can offer your customers the option 

of text or email notification 

• Proof of delivery (signature) 

15

9 

How do I use Safeplace TM 

and Local Collect Business TM ? 

So long as you have signed a Safeplace TM licence with Royal Mail, 

when your customers order from you online or by phone, they 

will be offered the chance to nominate their Safeplace TM location. 

They can specify a secure area at their premises, or a ‘near 

neighbour’ as an alternative delivery point. A Safeplace TM item 

has instructions shown on the parcels label. The instruction 

may be up to 30 characters long. 

Safeplace TM is not available in conjunction with signature option. 

At the time of buying online customers are guided to 

choose either: 

• Somewhere specified safe and weather-proof on 

their property 

• If they don’t have such a place, they can nominate 

a specified near neighbour 

We will then carry out the Safeplace TM instructions: 

• Firstly we need to try and deliver the parcel in the normal 

way, if the customer is in or it can fit through the letter box, 

it’s a normal delivery 

• If no one is home, or the item can not fit through the letter 

box, we use the alternative delivery point instruction, as far 

as possible we will follow the customer’s instruction. We will 

also leave a ‘Sorry you were out’ delivery card detailing 

where we left your parcel 

However, in a minority of cases we won’t be able to follow 

the instruction. These could include: 

• If it would be dangerous for us to access the nominated point 

• If the nominated point is clearly insecure, such as an easily 

viewed doorstep 

• If the parcel would be exposed to bad weather 

Can my customers pick up their parcels from their local 

Post Office ® branch? 

Local Collect Business TM allows customer to have their parcels 

delivered directly to a Post Office ® rather than their home address 

if this suits them. With 14,000 Post Office ® branches nationwide, 

the fact is 96% of people live within a mile of a branch. 

Local Collect Business TM is not just convenient for your customers, 

it also reassures them you’ve made their schedule and their 

needs your priority. We will also inform you when the parcel has 

arrived at the Post Office ® , so you can let your customer know. 

Passing on this information – by text message for instance – 

really helps generate positive perceptions of your brand, and 

consolidates your relationship with the customer. 

All the customer needs to do is collect their parcel from the 

selected Post Office ® branch with an acceptable form of ID. 

And of course they won’t be charged for the collection. The 

Post Office ® will hold on to the package for up to 18 days. 

Royal Mail will also make it as easy as possible for you to set 

up and manage Local Collect Business TM . We will provide you 

with a full database of participating Post Office ® branches for 

your customers to choose from. 

For your business, all it takes is to call your Royal Mail Account 

Manager or Customer Services on 08457 950 950 to set up 

the Local Collect Business TM service. Customers are charged 

per Local Collect Business TM label, in addition to the Royal Mail 

Tracked ® charge. 

In these cases we will leave a ‘Sorry you were out’ delivery 

card. This means you are kept fully informed, and the parcel is 

returned to our nearest local office for safekeeping and to await 

your instructions. 

For more information visit www.royalmail.com/safeplace. 

Safeplace TM 

label 

16

How do I use Safeplace TM 

and Local Collect Business TM ? 

We provide you with the following: 

• An address list of participating Post Office ® branches that accept 

Local Collect Business TM , including opening and closing times 

• Local Collect Business TM branded labels 

• A daily electronic file that contains transaction data 

All you have to do is take the order as normal from your customer, but with 

the addition of handy delivery options – their home address or a Local Collect 

Business TM location that they specify. 

When your customer selects the Local Collect Business TM option and indicates 

which Post Office ® branch they want the parcel delivered to, you need to: 

• Put the Post Office ® branch address on the parcel together with the name 

of the customer 

• Apply a Local Collect Business TM label 

• Despatch the Local Collect Business TM parcels with your other Royal Mail 

Tracked ® parcels. They then travel through the normal Royal Mail network, 

and the Local Collect Business TM parcels are delivered to the Post Office ® 

branch as addressed on the parcel 

Local Collect 

Business TM label 

The Local Collect Business TM label (LC004) on the right, should be used when 

you have the systems capability to use the Local Collect Business TM Post Office ® 

address, rather than your customers’ address on the Royal Mail Tracked ® label. 

If you don’t have this capability, add the Local Collect Business TM Post Office ® 

address to the Local Collect Business TM label (LC001). 

You will receive a data file (.txt) to integrate with your systems, enabling you 

to view which Post Office ® branches participate with the Local Collect Business TM 

service. An updated file will be sent to you electronically by group email on a 

weekly basis. For more information visit www.royalmail.com/localcollect. 

NB: An individual will be required to show a form of ID at the chosen Post Office ® in order to collect the item 

17

10 

How does text and email 

notification work? 

You will need to capture the recipient’s mobile number and or email 

address and include this on the advice posting manifest that you 

provide to us. When the parcel is scanned within Royal Mail’s 

pipeline, this triggers the sending of the message. 

1 

The first message is sent when the parcel is scanned at the 

Delivery Office to inform the recipient that Royal Mail will 

deliver the parcel that day. 

A second message is sent when delivery is attempted to inform 

the recipient that we’ve successfully delivered the parcel. 

If we were unable to deliver the message will advise the 

recipient to see the ‘Sorry you were out’ card to arrange 

collection or re-delivery. 

FROM: Royal Mail Tracked ® 

ROYAL MAIL RECEIVED YOUR 

ITEM (NO:XXXXXXXXXXXXX) 

FROM (NAME OF SENDING 

CUSTOMER). WE WILL 

ATTEMPT TO DELIVER 

TODAY. AUTOMATED 

MESSAGE, DO NOT REPLY. 

OPTION BACK 

If the parcel remains uncollected, a further message is sent to 

remind customer that we are holding it. If after this time, it’s 

still not collected another message is sent to say that we’ve 

returned the parcel to the sender. 

Text and email notification cannot be used with Despatch Express. 

Text message 

1 ‘We will deliver today’ 

Royal Mail received your item (No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) 

from (name of sending customer). We will attempt 

to deliver it today. Automated message do not reply. 

2 ‘Successfully delivered’ 

Royal Mail has today delivered your item 

(No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) from (name of sending customer). 

Automated message do not reply. 

3 ‘Successfully delivered to your Safeplace TM ’ 

Royal Mail has delivered your parcel (No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) 

from (name of sending customer) to your nominated 

Safeplace TM . Automated message do not reply. 

4 ‘Successfully delivered to Local Collect Business TM ’ 

Royal Mail has delivered your item (No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) 

from (name of sending customer) to your nominated 

Post Office ® . Automated message do not reply. 

5 ‘We were unable to deliver and are holding your item’ 

Royal Mail was unable to deliver your item 

(No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) from (name of sending 

customer) today. See card left for details. Automated 

message do not reply. 

6 ‘We are still waiting your instructions’ 

Royal Mail still hold your item (No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) 

from (name of sending customer). Visit royalmail.com 

to arrange re-delivery. Automated message do not reply. 

7 ‘We have returned the item to the sender’ 

Royal Mail was unable to deliver your item 

(No. XXXXXXXXXXXXX) from (name of sending customer). 

It has been returned to the sender. Automated message 

do not reply. 

18

Examples of 

email messages 

Email messages 

1 ‘Royal Mail: Item ready for delivery’ 

Dear Customer, 

Royal Mail has received your item from XXXX 

(No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) at XXX Delivery Office. Your 

item is now ready for delivery and we will attempt to 

deliver it today subject to any alternative instructions 

that you have previously agreed with us. 

Regards, Royal Mail 

For queries please visit www.royalmail.com or call 

08457 740 740. Please do not reply to this message. 

This email was sent from a notification-only address 

that cannot accept incoming email. 

2 ‘Royal Mail: Item delivered’ 


Your item from XXXX (No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) 

has now been delivered by Royal Mail. 






3 ‘Royal Mail: Item delivered to your Safeplace TM ’ 


Royal Mail has delivered your item from XXXX 

(No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) to your nominated Safeplace TM . 






4 ‘Royal Mail: Item delivered to nominated 

Post Office ® ’ 


Royal Mail has delivered your item from XXXX 

(No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) to your nominated Post Office ® 

and is now ready for you to collect. 






5 ‘Royal Mail: Unable to deliver your item’ 


Royal Mail was unable to deliver your item from 

XXXX (No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) today. You can arrange 

a re-delivery or collection of the item by going to 

www.royalmail.com/redelivery or by calling 

0845 740 740. If collecting the item from the 

Delivery Office, please bring the ‘Sorry you were 

out’ card and identification on with you. 






6 ‘Royal Mail: Item held in local Delivery Office’ 


Royal Mail is still holding your item from XXXX 

(No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) in your local Delivery Office. 

It is due to be returned to the sender in two 

days, please arrange a collection or re-delivery 

by going to www.royalmail.com/redelivery or 

by calling 0845 740 740. 






7 ‘Royal Mail: Item returned to sender’ 


Royal Mail was unable to deliver your item from 

XXXX (No: XXXXXXXXXXXXX) and it has now been 

returned to the sender. Please contact the company 

you placed your order with for further guidance. 






19

11 

How does proof of 

delivery (signature) work? 

If you would like a proof of delivery (signature) to be taken at the doorstep 

when Royal Mail delivers your parcel you must generate a label that contains 

a barcode relating to ‘signature required’. With DMO, this occurs automatically 

when you select proof of delivery option. Proof of delivery (signature) 

cannot be used with Despatch Express. 

The delivery person will be prompted to ask the customer for a signature 

when they scan the item at the doorstep. This can then be seen on our 

Track & Trace system. If the item cannot be delivered, it will be returned 

to the Delivery Office, ready for re-delivery or customer collection. 

Personal Customers 

Small & Medium Business 

Corporate & Public Sector 

Search > 

+ http://royalmail.com/trackandtrace 

Logistics Services 

Delivery Services 


Marketing Services Discounts & Payment 

Home 

Home > Track and trace > 

Personal Customers Small & Medium Business Corporate & Public Sector 

Search > 

Delivery Services Marketing Services Logistics Services Discounts & Payment 

> Track and trace 

Sending tracked mail 

Tracking your mail 

Top links 

Track & Trace 

Please enter your 13 character reference 

e.g. AA000100019GB. 

Delivered 

Item FC020968955GB was collected and 

signed for by the addressee on the 2010-08-19 

from Blandford Forum DO. 

Home 




Top links 

> Find a postcode 

> Postal prices 

> Shop 

> Track an item 


Track & Trace 


e.g. AA000100019GB. 

FC020968955GB 

Track item > 

How to find your reference number > 

Delivered 

Item FC020968955GB was collected and 

signed for by the addressee on the 2010-08-19 

from Blandford Forum DO. 

You can now see the electronic Proof of Delivery 

for this item by clicking the button below. 

View Proof of Delivery > 



> Shop 


> A-Z 

> Work with us 

> Customer service 

FC020968955GB 

Track item > 


Electronic Proof of Delivery for your item 

The electronic Proof of Delivery for this item is 

now displayed below. 

> A-Z 



SENDING 

important or valuable mail 

TRACKING 


> Send mail in the UK 

> Send mail overseas 

> What is Track & Trace? 

> How do I use Track & Trace? 

> How do I track an item sent from abroad? 

> The system isn’t accepting my reference 

number 

> How can I follow up a previous enquiry? 

> I’ve lost my reference number? 

> It says accepted but I don’t recognise the 

postcode or address 

Printed name: SILLS Signature time: 15:57:00GMT 19/08/10 

Status report you will see for a 

successful delivery with proof of delivery 

20

Section E 

How do I track my parcels? 

21

12 

Royal Mail’s 

Track & Trace 

For peace of mind, you are able to check on the progress of individual 

parcels by entering your 13 digit reference number on our website 

www.royalmail.com/trackandtrace. 









Search > 

Search > 



Home 


Home 




Track & Trace 

Delivered 



Track & Trace 

Returned to sender 


Top links 


e.g. AA000100019GB. 

Item FG000005935GB has been recorded 

as being delivered from our Wombourne 

Delivery Office. 


Top links 


e.g. AA000100019GB. 

We were unable to deliver item FG000005935GB 

as the addressee has gone away. We returned 

the item to sender on the 2010-06-09. 


FG000005935GB 

Track item > 


FG000005935GB 

Track item > 


> Shop 



> Shop 




> A-Z 

> A-Z 





SENDING 


TRACKING 


SENDING 


TRACKING 














number 

number 









Status report you will see for 

a successful delivery 

Status report you will see for a parcel 

that was returned to the sender 

In the unlikely event of our website being unavailable, 

phone 08456 038 495 between 9:00am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday. 

22

13 

Access detailed reconciliation reports of your Royal Mail Tracked ® 

despatched parcels so you always know what’s been collected and 

accepted. 

Account number : 

? Account number : 

Go > 

Scheduled for today : 

Awaiting delivery Delivered Delivered attempted Delay likely Total 

444 3263 817 26 4550 

Data correct as at 28/01/2010 15:15:03 

Customer summary reports 

Reconcile the actual tracked activity of your parcels 

against the details on your posting manifest. 

> Posting manifest reconciliation 

Find tracked details for all parcels we have received that 

were not pre-advised in your posting manifests. 

> Non-advised posting reconciliation 

Delivery attempted / Delay likely report 

Sales order summary reports 

View summary reports by order and contract number. 

> Sales order summary reports 

Quality of service reports 

View reports on our delivery performance for parcels once 

they have been accepted into the Royal Mail pipeline. 

> Quality of service reports 

> 

Management reports 

There are three types of reports available via the Royal Mail OBA (Online 

Billing Account) web portal www.royalmail.com/oba. To ensure these 

reports are secure access only you will need to have an OBA password 

issued by your OBA System administrator. 

1 Customer summary reports 

Here you will find reports to help 

you keep track of your posting 

both in terms of parcels identified 

on a manifest as well as those 

actually received by Royal Mail. 


Home Customer summary reports Quality of service reports Sales order summary report Help 

Royal Mail Tracked ® 

Delivery Dashboard 

0123456789 – Demo Customer 

4550 

0123456789 – Demo Customer 


1 

Intro screen 

Customer summary report 

2 

3 

2 Quality of service reports 

Here you can keep an eye on how we 

are doing by viewing reports on delivery 

time statistics for your parcels, both by 

volume and percentage. 



3 Sales order summary report 

Here you will find an overview of a 

specific order and contract number. 

Quality of service reports 

Sales order summary report 

23

Section F 

Where can I get 

more help or advice? 

Simply contact your Royal Mail Account Manager, 

or the Royal Mail Sales Centre on 08457 950 950. 

Alternatively you can visit www.royalmail.com/tracked. 

Appendix One – Postcodes for Tracked Permitted Goods 

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered number 4138203. 

Registered in England and Wales. Registered office 100 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0HQ. 

Royal Mail, the Cruciform and the colour red are registered trade marks of Royal Mail Group Ltd 

Royal Mail Tracked® © Royal Mail Group Ltd 2010. All rights reserved. 

24

Appendix one 

Postcodes for Tracked Permitted Goods 

This appendix applies only to customers sending over 300,000 parcels per annum on our 2-3 day service 

(48 hour) and who have agreed with us to send specific Tracked Permitted Goods (see Section 8). 

Tracked Permitted Goods must not travel to destinations that rely on boat or air to be reached. They can be 

sent from mainland England, Wales, Scotland and Scottish Islands connected by bridge to the mainland. 

The following table shows which postcodes you can send to, marked with a 

marked with a 

and those that you cannot 

Location: Mainland UK Postcode Scottish Islands (boat) Postcode 

Aberdeen AB Ardchattan PA37 

St Albans AL Ardentallen PA34 

Birmingham B Arinagour PA78 

Bath BA Arran KA27 

Blackburn BB Balivanish HS7 

Bradford BD Baltasound ZE1 

Bournemouth BH Barra HS9 

Bolton BL Barrafirth ZE1 

Brighton BN Benbecula HS7 

Bromley BR Bowmore PA43 

Bristol BS Brae ZE2 

Carlisle CA Bridgend (Islay) PA44 

Cambridge CB Brodick KA27 

Cardiff CF Bruichladdich PA49 

Chester CH Craignure PA65 

Chelmsford CM Cunningsburgh ZE2 

Colchester CO Drimnin PA34 

Croydon CR Easdale PA34 

Canterbury CT Finstown KW17 

Coventry CV Iona PA76 

Crewe CW Islay PA43 

Dartford DA Isle of Canna PH44 

Dundee DD Isle of Coll PA78 

25

Derby DE Isle of Colonsay PA61 

Dumfries & Galloway DG Isle of Eigg PH42 

Durham DH Isle of Gigha PA41 

Darlington DL Isle of Harris HS3 

Doncaster DN Isle of Lewis HS2 

Dorchester DT Isle of Muck PH42 

Dudley DY Isle of Raasay IV40 

London E E Jura PA60 

London EC EC Kerrera PA34 

Edinburgh EH Kirkwall KW15 

Enfield EN Lerwick ZE1 

Exeter EX Liniclett HS7 

Falkirk & Stirling FK Lismore PA34 

Blackpool FY Loch Striven PA22 

Glasgow G Lochboisdale HS8 

Gloucester GL Lochmaddy HS6 

Guildford GU Luing PA34 

Harrow HA Machrie KA27 

Huddersfield HD Millport KA28 

Harrogate HG Mossbank (Shetland) ZE2 

Hemel Hempstead HP Mull PA73 

Hereford HR Newmarket (Lewis) HS2 

Hull HU Nor Wick ZE1 

Halifax HX North Uist HS6 

Ilford IG Orkney KW17 

Ipswich IP Port Bannatyne PA20 

Iverness IV (except IV40) Port Ellen PA42 

Kilmarnock KA (except KA27-28) Rothesay PA20 

Kingston upon Thames KT Rum PH43 

Kirkwall KW (except KW15-17) Sanday KW17 

Kirkcaldy KY Sandwick ZE2 

Liverpool L Sandwick (Lewis) HS2 

Lancaster LA Scalpay (Lewis) HS4 

Llandindod Wells LD Scarinish PA77 

Leicester LE Shetland ZE1 

Llandudno LL South Ronaldsay KW16 

Lincoln LN South Uist HS8 

Leeds LS St Margarets Hope KW17 

Luton LU Stornoway HS1 

Manchester M Stromness KW16 

Maidstone ME Sullom ZE2 

Milton Keynes MK Tiree PA77 

Motherwell ML Tobermory PA75 

London N N Whalsay ZE2 

26

Newcastle 

Nottingham 

Northampton 

Newport 

Norwich 

London NW 

Oldham 

Oxford 

Paisley 

Peterborough 

Perth 

Plymouth 

Portsmouth 

Preston 

Reading 

Redhill 

Romford 

Sheffield 

Swansea 

London SE 

Stevenage 

Stockport 

Slough 

Sutton 

Swindon 

Southampton 

Sailsbury 

Sunderland 

Southend 

Stoke-on-Trent 

London SW 

Shrewesbury 

Taunton 

Tweeddale 

Telford 

Tonbriedge 

Torquay 

Truro 

Teeside 

Twickenham 

Uxbridge 

London W 

Warrington 

NE 

NG 

NN 

NP 

NR 

NW 

OL 

OX 

PA (except PA20, 22, 34, 

37, 41-44, 49, 60, 61, 

65, 73, 75-78 

PE 

PH (except PH42-44) 

PL 

PO (except PO30-41) 

PR 

RG 

RH 

RM 

S 

SA 

SE 

SG 

SK 

SL 

SM 

SN 

SO 

SP 

SR 

SS 

ST 

SW 

SY 

TA 

TD 

TF 

TN 

TQ 

TR (except TR21-55) 

TS 

TW 

UB 

W 

WA 

27

London WC 

Watford 

Wakefield 

Wigan 

Worchester 

Walsall 

Wolverhampton 

York 

WC 

WD 

WF 

WN 

WR 

WS 

WV 

YO 

Scottish Islands that 

have bridges 

Other Islands 

Achmore IV53 Northern Ireland BT 

Broadford IV49 Isle of Wight PO 30-41 

Dunvegan IV55 Isle of Man IM 

Isle of Seil PA34 Jersey JE 

Portee IV51 Guernsey GY 

Skye IV51 Scilly Islands TR 21-25 

Uig 

IV51 

You can also post from Northern Ireland to destinations within the BT postcode area. 

28

Your guide - Royal Mail

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