Today (July 31) is the last day you can use non-barcoded stamps.

So if you have a stash of old stamps, that do not have the stripes on them, then perhaps it is time to send out some letters or even very very early Christmas cards ?

This follows the introduction of a 6 month grace period from the initial 31 January deadline. You can either use up your non-barcoded stamps before today or you can swap them for the new barcoded ones. 

The stamps that have changed are the stamps (pictured below) featuring the profile of Her Late Majesty The Queen on a plain coloured background.

Image of Royal Mail's new barcoded stamps

Note: Special Stamps with pictures on and Christmas Stamps without a barcode will continue to be valid and don't need to be swapped out.

Swapping out - how to c/o the Royal Mail

To swap out your stamps, simply: 

1. Pick up or print out a swap out form 
2. Complete your form and include your stamps
3. Send free of charge to "Freepost SWAP OUT"

 How to get a 'Stamp Swap Out' form

• If you have a printer, you can swap out up to £200 worth of non-barcoded stamps by printing out and completing this Stamp Swap Out PDFOpens in a new windowpdf, 199.26 KB. You can send this back to us free of charge, along with your stamps, by writing on the envelope Freepost SWAP OUT. No other address details or postcode are needed.
•  
• If you have a printer, and more than £200 worth of stamps to swap out then use the Bulk Stamp Swap Out formOpens in a new windowpdf, 156.45 KB. We recommend sending this and your non-barcoded stamps back to us via a secure service with suitable cover. The address to send to is:
•  
• Royal Mail
• Swap Out
• Tallents House
• 21 South Gyle Crescent
• EDINBURGH
• EH12 9PB
•  
• If you don't have access to a printer you can request a Stamp Swap Out form to be posted to you by completing this form online. The instructions for sending back to us will depend on the form you request.
• 'Stamp Swap Out' forms are also available from the Customer Service Point at your local Delivery Offices (but please note they will only have the forms for the up to £200 option). Or you can call our Customer Experience Team on 03457 740740.

You can also pick up a 'Swap Out' form from your local Post Office along with a free post envelope – but the Post Office won't be able to actually swap your stamps for barcoded ones.