Sending Mail
This page sets out how to address, pack and post a letter or parcel with the Postal Service of the Velocity Interoperability Network. It applies to every item posted within the Velocity Interoperability Network, at any post office, counter or post box, at the ordinary and priority rates alike. An item that is correctly addressed, properly packed and posted before the last collection of the day is delivered within the period published for its rate.
The sender is responsible for the address, for the packaging and for the contents. The Service will not open an item except where it is required to establish the address of an item that cannot be delivered, or where there is reason to believe that the item contains something it does not accept. Items refused for that reason are returned to the sender, where a return address is given, and the postage is not refunded.
Postage of the Service is required from Monday 5 October 2026
Addressing an item. The steps below apply to letters and parcels alike.
Step 1: Write the address on the largest flat face
Use the largest flat face of the item, and keep the address clear of the edges, of any fold and of the space reserved for postage in the upper right corner. Write in dark ink or print the address on a label. Do not write across a seam or a join in the packaging.
Step 2: Set the address out in the order used by the Service
Begin with the name of the person or organisation, then the room, desk or building, then the site, and finish with the postcode on a line of its own. Each element goes on its own line, and nothing is written after the postcode.
Step 3: Write the postcode in capitals on the last line
The postcode is the element on which sorting depends. Write it in capital letters, with a single space between the outward and inward codes, and do not add punctuation. An item without a postcode is sorted by hand and may be delayed by a working day.
Step 4: Add a return address
Write the sender's name and postcode on the reverse of a letter, or on the back of a parcel, prefixed by the word RETURN. An item that cannot be delivered and carries a return address is returned to the sender free of charge; one that carries none is held at the Central Exchange sorting office for three months and then destroyed.
Step 5: Attach the postage
Fix postage in the upper right corner of the address face, or hand the item in at a counter, where postage is printed on the item. Account customers may frank the item or apply an account label.
Step 6: Post the item
Place the item in a post box before the last collection time shown on the plate, or hand it in at a post office or counter. Items requiring a signature, insurance, registration or a proof of posting must be handed in and cannot be placed in a post box.
How an address is set out. An address within the Network has four elements, each on a line of its own, ending with the postcode.
| Line | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name of the person, or of the organisation and the person within it | The Registrar |
| 2 | Room, desk, unit or building | Records Office, Building 4 |
| 3 | Site within the Network | Eastfield Campus |
| 4 | Postcode, in capitals, with one space | EF2 7HL |
Where an item is addressed to a post office box, the box number replaces the second and third lines, and the postcode of the post office holding the box is written on the last line. Where an item is addressed to a person at an organisation, the name of the organisation is written on the second line and the room or building on a line added between the second and third.
Packing an item. The guidance below reflects the way items are carried, sorted and delivered within the Network. Sorting is mechanised for letters and manual for parcels; an item may be handled a dozen times between posting and delivery.
- Letters and large letters
- Use an envelope of a weight that will not tear in sorting, and seal it along its whole edge. Fold the contents so that they lie flat; a letter that will not pass through a 5 millimetre gauge is charged as a large letter. Do not fasten letters with staples, pins or metal clips.
- Parcels
- Use a rigid box with at least 30 millimetres of packing material on every side of the contents, and seal every opening with adhesive tape along its full length. Boxes in three sizes are sold at every post office and counter. Do not reuse a box that carries an old address or label unless every mark is removed or covered.
- Fragile items
- Wrap each item separately, fill the space around it so that nothing moves when the box is turned, and mark the box FRAGILE on two faces. The Service does not sort fragile items by hand or give them separate handling; the marking is a warning to those who carry the item, not an undertaking by the Service.
- Documents and official correspondence
- Documents that must be proved to have been sent and received should be sent by the registered service, which provides a dated proof of posting, secure handling throughout and a proof of delivery. Member organisations are asked to send statutory notices by this means.
- Items of value
- Insure any item whose replacement would cost more than 20 credits. Compensation for the loss of or damage to an uninsured item is limited to the postage paid and, for tracked or signed-for items, to 20 credits. Cash above 50 credits is not accepted at any rate.
What may not be sent. The categories below are not accepted at any rate or in any packaging, whether the item is handed in or placed in a post box. The list applies to account customers and to bulk mail as it applies to a single item.
| Not accepted | Examples |
|---|---|
| Flammable liquids and gases | Fuels, solvents, paint, lighter refills, camping gas |
| Compressed gas cylinders | Cylinders of any size, whether full or reported empty |
| Explosives and pyrotechnics | Fireworks, flares, detonators, ammunition |
| Corrosives and oxidising agents | Acids, alkalis, bleach in bulk, pool chemicals |
| Live animals | Animals, birds, fish and insects of every kind |
| Perishable food | Fresh meat and fish, dairy produce, prepared meals |
| Cash above 50 credits | Notes, coin and bearer instruments above that value |
| Human and animal remains | Remains, specimens and clinical samples of every kind |
What may be sent under conditions. The items below are accepted only when the conditions shown are met. A counter clerk may ask what a parcel contains and may decline an item where the conditions are not satisfied.
| Item | Conditions |
|---|---|
| Lithium batteries | Accepted only when fitted in the equipment they power, with the equipment switched off and protected against operation in transit. Loose cells and spare batteries are not accepted. |
| Aerosols and pressurised containers | Accepted up to 250 millilitres for personal toiletry articles only, capped, taped and packed so that the valve cannot be depressed. |
| Medicines | Accepted when sent to or by a person for their own use, or between the health services of member organisations, in the original container and packed so as not to break. |
| Alcohol | Accepted up to two litres a parcel, in a container that is sealed and packed to withstand a fall of one metre. The item must be handed in at a post office and cannot be placed in a post box. |
| Sharp instruments | Accepted when the point and edge are covered and the item is fixed within the packaging so that it cannot move or pierce it. |
| Magnetic and electrical equipment | Accepted when packed so that the item cannot come into contact with other mail, and marked with the word MAGNET where a field is present at the surface of the package. |
If an item cannot be delivered. An item that is wrongly addressed, refused by the recipient or not collected within fifteen working days is returned to the sender at no charge. Where no return address is given, the item is sent to the Central Exchange sorting office, opened by two officers in order to establish an address, and held for three months. Items that remain unclaimed are destroyed, and any money or valuable found in them is held for a further twelve months against a claim.
The prices of postage and of the signed-for, tracked, insured and registered services are set out on the Services and Prices page; the periods within which items are delivered on the Delivery Standards and Tracking page; and the postcode scheme on the Postcodes page. Enquiries may be sent to contact@postal.gov.vin, and common questions are answered in the frequently asked questions.