Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain

Postage stamps and postal history of Great Britain surveys postal history from the United Kingdom and the postage stamps issued by that country and its various historical territories until the present day.

The postal history of the United Kingdom is notable in at least two respects: first, for the introduction of postage stamps in 1840, and secondly for the establishment of an efficient postal system throughout the British Empire, laying the foundation of many national systems still in existence today. As the originator of postage stamps, the UK is the only country that does not need to specify the country on its stamps, but only the denomination.

Until 2022 any postage stamps since the 1971 decimalisation of British currency could be used; old "definitive" design stamps without barcodes will no longer be valid from 1 August 2023, with old ones exchangeable for barcoded ones indefinitely. It was initially announced that stamps without barcodes would not be valid from 1 February 2023. However, Royal Mail decided to add an additional six month grace period.^[1] Special stamps with pictures and Christmas stamps without a barcode will remain valid.^[2]

Images of UK stamps are protected by Royal Mail copyright, therefore images of current stamps are not in this article.^[3]