Can I send documents and photos to the United Kingdom?
Allowed
Yes.
Personal papers, letters, and photos are fine.
More rules for the United Kingdom
Allowed with conditions
- Fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds to eat
- Allowed from the EU, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein for your own use. From elsewhere, most fresh fruit and vegetables need a phytosanitary certificate from the origin country's plant health authority. Exceptions include bananas, citrus fruit, mangoes, pineapples, dates, coconuts, peeled or processed nuts, and rice.
- Plants, seeds for planting, and wood
- The plant rules also cover plants that arrive by post, and a phytosanitary certificate should be packed with the item. From outside the EU, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, you need one for plants and plant products, including all plants for planting, cut flowers and foliage, tree parts used as decoration, and natural (non-manufactured) wood. From the EU, you still need one for plants for planting, some seeds (such as tomato, chili, onion, beans, and peas), and some bark and wood. More than 2 kg of plants for planting must be inspected on arrival. Anything that needs no certificate must still be pest-free and for your own use. Northern Ireland has different rules.
Quantity limits
- Medicines with controlled drugs (travelers only)
- Up to a 3-month supply, lawfully prescribed and carried on your person, ideally with a letter from your doctor. These medicines can't be posted to the UK.
Before you ship to the United Kingdom
- Tax-free limit
- Gifts from one individual to another worth £39 (about $53) or less pay no VAT or duty, unless they are alcohol or tobacco, which always pay excise duty. There is no general tax-free limit: other goods, including your own used things sent without Transfer of Residence relief, pay VAT from the first pound. Customs duty is not charged on goods worth £135 (about $183) or less in total, except alcohol and tobacco, which pay duty at any value. The government plans to remove this £135 duty relief on a date still to be set, by October 2028 at the latest.
- Receiver ID
- No UK tax number is needed for a personal shipment. If you claim Transfer of Residence relief, the courier needs your ToR unique reference number for the declaration. Without a valid one, you may be billed for import duties and administration charges.
- Transit
- 1-3 business days from Europe; 2-4 from North America; 3-6 from Asia
Questions
Can I send documents and photos to the United Kingdom?
Yes. Personal papers, letters, and photos are fine.
Ask about a specific item
Official sources
- 1.
HM Revenue & Customs
Tax and customs for goods sent from abroad (opens in a new tab) - 2.
HM Revenue & Customs
VAT rates (opens in a new tab) - 3.
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Animal and Plant Health Agency, and Border Force
Bringing food into Great Britain (opens in a new tab) - 4.
Animal and Plant Health Agency, Border Force, and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Bringing plants and wood into Great Britain (opens in a new tab) - 5.
- 6.
Border Force and HM Revenue & Customs
Bringing goods into the UK for personal use (opens in a new tab) - 7.
HM Revenue & Customs
Transfer of residence to the UK (opens in a new tab) - 8.
- 9.
HM Revenue & Customs (UK Integrated Online Tariff)
September 2026 HMRC currency exchange monthly rates (opens in a new tab)
General guidance, not legal advice. Customs in the United Kingdom makes the final decision on every box.