Inside our operation
Our premises, our warehouse, our staff and our vehicles — photographed on the job. Not stock images.
Moving is part of Service life — a new posting, a return to the UK, or the step into civilian life. This guide explains how BFPO works, where a dedicated shipper fits in, and what to expect when you're moving personal effects or a full household. We're a family-run British shipping company, established in 1998 and based near Heathrow.
We help personnel and families across all the services:
The British Forces Post Office is the official postal service for the UK Armed Forces and their families, separate from Royal Mail. Each base or unit has a unique BFPO number, and mail is addressed to that number rather than to the country. It's run under the Ministry of Defence and handles letters and parcels worldwide.
BFPO is built for letters and parcels — there are weight limits, and it's designed for post, not for moving your life. When you're relocating on posting, leaving the Service, or sending more than the post can carry — furniture, boxes of household goods, excess baggage — a dedicated shipper handles the larger consignments door-to-airport or by sea, with UK collection and customs handling.
Moves made for Service reasons are covered under JSP 752 (the tri-Service allowances regulations) and are co-ordinated by the MOD's appointed removals contractor, with removal and disturbance expenses attached. We are independent and separate from that — we help with private moves, excess baggage, items outside the official allowance, and personnel leaving the Service.
Yes. Parcels through BFPO need a signed CN22 or CN23 customs declaration, and HMRC pays close attention to forces mail entering or leaving the UK. For a full shipment, we handle your UK customs export entry as part of the service, and we'll advise on the documentation your destination needs.
Yes. We collect from anywhere in the UK, and it doesn't have to be you handing over — a partner, family member, storage unit or Service Family Accommodation can do it on your behalf. Just tell us the arrangement when you book.
Yes. We ship out to join you at an overseas posting and bring belongings home again. Note that for shipments into the EU, post-Brexit rules (including ICS2) now apply to forces mail and freight alike, so a bit more paperwork is involved — we handle the UK end for you.
Personal effects, clothing, furniture, boxes of household goods, and general belongings. Some items are restricted or prohibited for air transport (batteries, aerosols, flammables and similar), and destination countries have their own rules — we'll flag anything to watch for when you book.
It depends on volume and destination. As a guide, air freight is about 4–10 working days and sea freight about 4–10 weeks — sea is cheaper for larger, less urgent moves, subject to space and flight availability with the carriers. These sea transit times are approximate — the actual time depends on when your LCL container finishes loading and consolidating, the vessel’s sailing date and route, any transhipment hub before the final destination, and customs clearance, so please allow a week or two either side. Tell us what you're moving and where, and we'll give you a clear, no-obligation quote.
Tell us what you're shipping and where. Clear, no-obligation quote.
Get a quoteExcess Luggage Co. is an independent, family-run shipping company. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ministry of Defence or the British Forces Post Office; official Service relocations are handled by the MOD's appointed contractor. Information here is a general guide — always check current BFPO and destination rules before you send.
Service life moves you, often at short notice and rarely at a convenient moment. Here is the practical detail.
Every carrier limits checked bags to 23kg each, and anything over 32kg cannot be loaded as a checked bag at all — it has to travel as cargo. If you are flying out on posting with more than the airline will take, the choice at the desk is to pay their excess rate, unpack in front of the queue, or leave things behind. Sending it ahead as freight avoids all three.
From a few boxes to a full household. We collect from anywhere in the UK — garrison, station, base, Service Family Accommodation, a storage unit or a family address — wrap and protect everything at our own warehouse near Heathrow, complete the UK export documentation, and ship by air or sea.
Resettlement moves are their own kind of complicated: a new civilian address, possibly a new country, and belongings spread across more than one place. We can collect from multiple UK addresses on separate dates and consolidate them into one shipment.
Partners and families do not always move on the same timeline as the Service Person. We can ship for them independently, to or from an overseas posting, without the Service Person needing to be there.
Kit takes a beating in transit because it is handled many times by people who cannot see inside the box. The single most common mistake we see is packaging that was never designed for international transport — single-wall storage boxes, plastic storage crates, canvas bags, and black bin liners. None of it survives the journey properly.
We recommend double-wall shipping cartons designed for international transport, and we can supply them. For anything fragile or high value we build purpose-made timber crates in-house.
You are charged on actual or volumetric weight, whichever is greater. Volumetric is length × width × height in cm, divided by 6000. A box of bedding weighs little and takes a lot of room, so it prices on volume. Dismantle and flat-pack anything you can — it costs less and it travels better.
Our premises, our warehouse, our staff and our vehicles — photographed on the job. Not stock images.
“I have worked in this industry for more than 40 years, and safety has always been my highest priority. Our responsibility is to protect not only the shipper’s belongings, but also airline staff, carriers, customs authorities, and fellow passengers travelling on the aircraft carrying the shipment.”
Excess Luggage Co. comply with the UK aviation and maritime security act and regulations, we ship all dangerous goods under IATA and IMDG rules, and all our staff are trained in aviation & maritime security for shipping.