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Europe · GB
Shipping label for the United Kingdom
A generator that already knows how the United Kingdom wants an address written. Fill in the recipient, print at 100 × 150 mm, and the locality lines come out in the order Royal Mail expects.
How addresses are written in the United Kingdom
Recipient name first, then the street line, then the locality. In the United Kingdom the locality line reads: City on its own line, postal code on the line below it.
- Address layout
- City on its own line, postal code on the line below it.
- Postal code
- SW1A 1AA
- Country line
- UNITED KINGDOM
- Local script
- Latin alphabet
- Currency
- GBP
- Dialling code
- +44
- Customs status
- Outside the EU
Addresses in the United Kingdom are written in the Latin alphabet, so nothing needs transliterating. Write the street line exactly as the recipient gave it to you.
Worked example: a parcel arriving in London
Sarah Whitfield 27 Weaver Street LONDON SW1A 1AA UNITED KINGDOM
The last line is the destination country in English capitals. It only appears on parcels crossing a border, and it is there so the exporting post office can sort the item without reading the local script.
The United Kingdom uses postal codes. A valid one looks like SW1A 1AA, the code for London.
The national postal operator is Royal Mail.
Generate a label for the United Kingdom
The destination is already set to the United Kingdom. Change the sender country if you are shipping from somewhere else. The CN22 customs block appears on its own whenever the route needs one.
Shipment details
Live label
This parcel needs a CN22 and this template has no room to print one. Switch to the portrait or landscape template, or attach the declaration to the parcel separately.
| Contents: - | 1.4 kg |
| HS code: - · FR | 0.00 EUR |
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Label history
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Customs status
The United Kingdom is outside the EU customs union, so every parcel arriving from abroad needs a customs declaration. Below roughly 300 SDR in value that is the CN22, printed on the label itself; above it, a CN23 on a separate sheet.
Sending to the United Kingdom from abroad
Two things change once the parcel crosses a border. The last address line must read UNITED KINGDOM in Latin capitals, and a customs declaration becomes mandatory. Below roughly 300 SDR in value that is the CN22, small enough to print on the label itself, and it is added as soon as your sender country is not the United Kingdom. Above that threshold, or where the destination customs office asks for it, you need the larger CN23 on a separate sheet.
Sending inside the United Kingdom
For a domestic parcel, drop the country line and skip the customs block entirely. The label keeps the sender block, the recipient block, weight, piece count and the reference barcode, which is all a courier or a pickup point needs to route it.
Straight answers · United Kingdom
What this does, and what it does not
Is this an official postal label for the United Kingdom?
No, and no website can produce one. An official label from Royal Mail or from a courier carries a tracking number issued against your account with them. This is an address and handling label: it puts the recipient in the right format, states the weight and pieces, and carries your own order reference as a barcode. Print it, tape it to the box, and add the carrier’s tracking label beside it at drop-off.
Which address format does the United Kingdom use?
The locality line reads: City on its own line, postal code on the line below it. Labelbench applies that automatically the moment you pick the United Kingdom as the destination, so you do not have to remember whether the postal code comes before or after the city.
Do I need a customs form for the United Kingdom?
Only if the parcel starts in a different country. Domestic shipments inside the United Kingdom need no customs paperwork. For inbound international parcels, a CN22 is required below roughly 300 SDR and is added to the label automatically; heavier or more valuable consignments need a CN23 on a separate sheet.
Does a parcel sent to the United Kingdom need a customs form?
The United Kingdom is outside the EU customs union, so every parcel arriving from abroad needs a customs declaration. Below roughly 300 SDR in value that is the CN22, printed on the label itself; above it, a CN23 on a separate sheet.
Can I write the address in Latin alphabet?
Addresses in the United Kingdom are written in the Latin alphabet, so nothing needs transliterating. Write the street line exactly as the recipient gave it to you.