Since September last year, the Post Office has offered a freepost service to enable you to send mail to friends and family serving in Iraq and Afghanistan at no charge. This was then extended to wider destinations in November 2007 by the provision of a pre-Christmas free postage scheme.   

This applies only to named service personnel or entitled Ministry of Defense deployed civilians at the following BFPO numbers:  210, 221, 276, 368, 375, 434, 452, 632,  635, 639, 641, 661, 684, 715, 755, 758, 764, 767, 772, 792 

The free service applies to first class items weighing less than 2kg and excluding Special Delivery. In order to claim the free postage, you need to use the Post Office Counter and not the post boxes. Please conform to the usual BFPO restrictions regarding dimension and contents. The following items may not be sent. Â

• Class 1: Explosives
• Class 2: Gases
  compressed, liquefied or dissolved under pressure
• Class 3: Flammable liquids
• Class 4: Flammable solids
• Class 5: Oxidising Substances and Organic Peroxides
• Class 6: Toxic and Infectious Substances
• Class 7: Radioactive Material
• Class 8: Corrosives
• Class 9: Miscellaneous Dangerous Goods
• Controlled Drugs
• Arms and Ammunition
• Counterfeit Currency and Postage Stamps
• Indecent or Obscene Articles
• Lottery Tickets

 This service cannot be used by commercial firms or support groups but is intended for the use of friends and family only.  

This service is in addition to the existing freepost services to hospitals that support the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tags: Armed Forces, Free Mail, Ministry of Defense, Postal Delivery, The Post Office