How long does royal mail hold your parcel for

Royal Mail, the UK's postal service, has a standard holding period for parcels that are undelivered or cannot be delivered. Here are the general guidelines:

  1. Standard Delivery: If a parcel is not delivered to the recipient's address, Royal Mail will hold it for 18 working days (approximately 3 weeks) before returning it to the sender.
  2. Special Delivery: For Special Delivery items, Royal Mail will hold them for 31 working days (approximately 5 weeks) before returning them to the sender.
  3. International Parcels: For international parcels, Royal Mail will hold them for 31 working days (approximately 5 weeks) before returning them to the sender.

If a parcel is not collected or delivered within the holding period, it will be returned to the sender. The sender will be notified of the return and may need to pay additional postage to resend the parcel.

It's worth noting that Royal Mail may extend the holding period in certain circumstances, such as:

If you're concerned about the status of a parcel or want to know more about Royal Mail's holding period, you can contact their customer service team or check their website for more information.