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Royal Mail vs. Royal Mail v3: Key Differences

Updated

The Royal Mail integration will be replaced by the Royal Mail v3 API in 2026. This article highlights the key differences between the two integrations, including onboarding, required credentials, approval processes, label generation, rate cards, predefined packages, and other features. 

Existing EasyPost customers will receive an email with the credentials needed to migrate to Royal Mail v3, beginning March 4, 2025.

Onboarding and Credentials

Feature Royal Mail Royal Mail v3
OBA Access Code Acquisition Acquired from Royal Mail Assigned after carrier account is added in EasyPost and approved by Royal Mail.
Credentials Required account_number, username(OBA Email Address, posting_location_number account_number, oba_email_address, posting_location_number, oba_access_code(optional), contact_name, contact_phone, dispatch_street1, dispatch_street2, dispatch_city, dispatch_zip, dispatch_state, dispatch_country
Approval Process EasyPost support team contacts Royal Mail for account approval. Intersoft contacts Royal Mail for approval instead of EasyPost support.
Emails Sent to Users Sent from EasyPost's monolith, requiring users to provide additional information. Sent from ROYALMAILV3, informing users of approval process and timeline without requesting additional information.
Approval Confirmation Email Not automatically sent. Sent from ROYALMAILV3upon account approval.

 

Rates

Rates are available for select basic Royal Mail and Royal Mail v3 services. All other services will return placeholder rates (e.g., $0.01). To enable full rating, submit a rate card to the EasyPost support team for upload. 

Feature Royal Mail Royal Mail v3
Rate Method Rate Card (.csv) Rate Card (.csv) New Format
Rate Card Format Standard bespoke Royal Mail .csv rate card Rate Card (.csv)

 

Note: If you are an existing customer and have received an email from EasyPost containing migrated credentials, the rate card data has already been migrated to the new Royal Mail v3 format. No further action is needed.

Commercial Invoices

In the original Royal Mail integration, the commercial invoice was generated by EasyPost. In the Royal Mail v3 integration, Intersoft will assume the responsibility for drawing the commercial invoice. 

EasyPost Commercial Invoice

Royal Mail v3 Intersoft Commercial Invoice

 

Service Levels

Royal Mail v3 introduces updates to service-level names, with some being condensed or renamed. Expand the sections below to view a focused table for the most commonly used services, as well as a complete list of all service levels.  

 

Predefined Packages

Royal Mail Royal Mail v3
LETTER LETTER
LARGELETTER LARGELETTER
SMALLPARCEL PARCEL
MEDIUMPARCEL PARCEL
PRINTEDPAPER PRINTEDPAPERS (changed to plural)

 

Options

Option Royal Mail Royal Mail v3
label_date Sets shipment date but does not restrict auto-manifesting. Cannot be in the past or more than 28 days in the future. 
delivery_confirmation Limits services by signed/unsigned Restricts rated and bought services by delivery confirmation type (e.g., NO_SIGNATURE, ADULT_SIGNATURE
carrier_notification_sms Same behavior Treated as a boolean, limiting services to those supporting SMS notifications. Note: SMS notifications are not supported for international services.
carrier_notification_email Same behavior Treated as a boolean, limiting services to those supporting SMS notifications. 
hazmat Only used for Tracked48 service levels. Accepts all values but does not restrict service levels. 
hazmat_un_number, hazmat_class, liquid_volume_fl_oz Not used. Fields required for hazardous material shipments. 
currency Not used. Specifies currency for monetary values like freight_charge.
handling_instructions Safeplace delivery location Same functionality, but limits rating and buying to supported services. 
hold_for_pickup Not used. Enables Post Office pickup by setting the delivery address to a post office.
carrier_insurance_amount Insurance through Royal Mail. Same behavior, restricting service to those supporting insurance.
freight_charge Not used. Specifies the total shipping cost, required for some international shipments with DDP incoterms.
invoice_number Same behavior. Used for international shipments and displayed on commercial invoices.
label_format PNG, PDF, or ZPL Same behavior.
shipment.reference Printed on label depending on service level. Same behavior.
saturday_delivery Limits services to those supporting Saturday delivery. Not used.

 

Tax Identifiers

Identifier Royal Mail Royal Mail v3
IOSS  Various fields used. tax_identifiers object (type: IOSS, entity: SENDER
EORI options.license_number tax_identifiers object (type: EORI for sender and recipient
VAT tax_identifiers object tax_identifiers object (type: VAT for sender and recipient
AIRN options.import_federal_tax_id tax_identifiers object (type: CNP, CPFentity: RECEIVER

 

Generating Shipping Labels

Feature Royal Mail Royal Mail v3
Required Fields to_address.country does not require state field. to_address.state required if shipping to AU, CA, or US.
Label Formats PNG, PDF, or ZPL Same formats supported
Commercial Invoice Drawn by EasyPost Drawn by Intersoft.
Returns Handling No specific field for returns is_return: true limits service levels to return services.

 

Label Examples

The following images provide examples of labels from both Royal Mail and Royal Mail v3 to illustrate the differences in format and structure. 

Royal Mail

Royal Mail v3

 

Manifesting

Feature Royal Mail Royal Mail v3
Automatic Manifesting Occurs daily at 1:00 AM UTC Same behavior.
Manual Manifesting Available through scan_forms or batch endpoints. Same behavior.
Returns Manifesting Allowed Not supported.

 

Manifest Format Examples

The following images provide examples of manifests from both Royal Mail and Royal Mail v3 to illustrate the differences in format and structure. 

Royal Mail

Royal Mail v3

 

Voiding

Feature Royal Mail Royal Mail v3
Voiding Can void before manifesting. Identical for users.

 

Tracking

Feature Royal Mail Royal Mail v3
Tracking Identical for users. Identical for users.
QR Codes Identical for users. Identical for users.

 

Additional Resources

Royal Mail v3 Carrier Guide

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