Printing Royal Mail Labels at Home (UK Guide)

Printing Royal Mail labels at home is simple once you know which format to pick. You can use a normal printer and plain paper, sticky label sheets, or a 4×6 thermal label printer. And if you have no printer, Royal Mail can print the label for you.

This guide covers postage you buy from Royal Mail online. If your label came from a Vinted sale, the process is a little different, so see how to print Royal Mail labels from Vinted.

Pick your label format

When you buy postage online through Royal Mail’s Click & Drop, you choose a label format in its settings. According to Royal Mail’s help pages, the options are:

A4, one label per page. Prints on a normal home or office printer.
A4, two or four labels per page. Handy for sticky label sheets, and you can choose which position on the sheet each label prints in.
6×4. For a thermal label printer, the same size thermal printers use for most couriers.
4×3. A smaller label for label printers.

If you are not sure, start with A4, one per page. Every home printer can do it.

Printing on plain paper

Choose the A4 format and print the label.
Cut it out with a small border.
Stick it to the parcel with glue or clear tape.

Royal Mail says glue or clear sticky tape is fine, as long as the label is not covered or damaged and the barcode can still be scanned. Tape around the edges, or over the whole label with clear tape, and keep the barcode flat and uncreased.

Printing on sticky label sheets

A4 sheets of sticky labels save the cutting and taping. Match the format to your sheet (one, two or four labels per page) and print. If the label lands in the wrong place on the sheet, check the format and the label position you picked.

Printing on a 4×6 thermal printer

If you post often, a thermal printer is cheaper and quicker, because there is no ink and the labels peel straight off the roll. Choose the 6×4 format and set your printer to 4×6 with no margins. If you are choosing a printer, our best label printer for Vinted guide applies to Royal Mail postage too, and we cover common models in printing on a Rollo, Zebra or Polono. For the size in millimetres, see what size a shipping label is.

No printer? Use a QR code

Royal Mail can give you a QR code instead of a label to print. You show it on your phone at a drop-off point, they scan it and print the label for you. Royal Mail’s help pages list Post Office branches, other parcel shops, parcel lockers and Royal Mail delivery offices as places that can do this, but check the options listed in your confirmation, because not every location offers every service. Our guide to how to scan a Royal Mail QR code explains what happens at the counter.

Where to stick the label

Put it on the largest flat side of the parcel, flat and smooth, not wrapped around a corner or over a seam. Cover or remove any old labels and barcodes so there is only one to scan. For letters and large letters, the postage normally goes top right on the front.

Quick answers

Can I print a Royal Mail label on normal paper? Yes. Print it, cut it out and attach it with glue or clear tape, keeping the barcode readable.

What size is a Royal Mail label? Thermal labels are 6×4 inches (about 100 × 150 mm). The A4 formats put the label on a normal sheet of paper.

Do I need a label printer? No. A normal printer works. A thermal printer just makes it quicker if you post a lot.

Can I print a Royal Mail label without a printer? Not at home, but you can choose a QR code and have it printed at a drop-off point.