In short
- Some UK alcohol deliveries are permitted under specific service rules: the Post Office postal guide allows spirits above 24% and up to 70% ABV within the UK with at most 1 litre per item and 2 items per parcel. Drinks above 70% ABV are prohibited in that guide; separate beer and wine instructions, courier acceptance, age verification and compensation still need checking.
- Evri lists alcohol as excluded from compensation for UK destinations. Permission to carry something does not establish cover for a damaged bottle.
- A Royal Mail service name alone does not show that its Age Verification option has been selected.
- Use the actual contract and booking channel, rather than applying one carrier’s postal rules to every courier.
- AirPost is a peer-to-peer fulfilment network: online shops have their orders packed and dropped at a parcel point by verified people near their customers, who earn a fee per parcel from home. No warehouse, no minimum order volume.
Your drinks shop wants to offer a delivery price before the customer reaches checkout. A single wine bottle, a mixed case of beer and a three-bottle spirits bundle look like similar parcels, but they do not necessarily qualify for the same dispatch process. Start with the complete basket and the exact service you intend to buy. This article uses official pages opened on 14 October 2026. It focuses on domestic UK dispatch; international acceptance and destination taxes require an additional decision.
Which ABV and bottle details change the postal decision?
The Post Office guide separates drinks above 70% ABV, drinks above 24% but not above 70%, and drinks below 24%. The first group cannot go through its listed UK or international mail route. The middle group can use the described UK route under quantity and preparation restrictions, while its international route is prohibited. The lower group, including beer and wine, has a separate set of instructions. Read the entry for the product you actually sell, rather than using a generic alcohol rule.
For the spirits group, check the individual container and then the number of items. Three sealed 700-ml bottles fail the two-item limit even though no bottle is above one litre. A single 1.5-litre bottle fails the individual limit even though it is only one item. These are hypothetical basket checks, not approved shipments. The exact 24% boundary is not cleanly assigned by the headings on the checked Post Office page, so obtain confirmation for that edge case instead of silently choosing a category.
The checked lower-ABV entry says volume should not exceed one litre per item. It does not display the spirits entry’s two-item cap. Do not import that cap from an old online answer, and do not read its absence as approval for an unlimited beer case. The selected product still has its own weight, dimensions and acceptance conditions. Record the ABV and capacity of each SKU, including samples and promotional additions. An extra miniature is a physical item even when its sales price is zero.
| Hypothetical shop basket | Relevant published check | Action before dispatch |
|---|---|---|
| Two 700-ml spirits bottles at 40% ABV | Within the spirits quantity limits | Check packaging, counter handover and selected service |
| Three 700-ml spirits bottles at 40% ABV | More than two items in one parcel | Replan with an accepted service or compliant parcel arrangement |
| One 1.5-litre spirits bottle at 40% ABV | Above the individual one-litre limit | Do not use this published postal arrangement |
| One drink above 70% ABV | Prohibited in the listed mail route | Stop and obtain a separate lawful solution |
| Beer or wine below 24% ABV | Separate lower-ABV instructions | Apply that entry and confirm service limits |
Does a courier’s alcohol permission include breakage cover?
Evri’s public list puts alcohol under items excluded from compensation for UK destinations. Its glass-items section also excludes glass and fragile items containing glass parts from compensation. The same liquids section prohibits liquids over 1000 ml and tells senders to check the flammable-products rules. Internationally, it prohibits all liquids. Read these entries together: the word alcohol in an exclusion list is not an unrestricted promise to accept every strength, bottle or mixed carton.
Ask two separate questions when comparing a booking: will this exact content be accepted, and what happens financially if it is damaged or lost? A general parcel compensation figure cannot answer the second question when the contents are excluded. Obtain the applicable conditions for your actual contract, including any business arrangement that differs from a public booking page. Keep the answer with the service record. You need to know what was bought, rather than relying on a previous delivery of a similar-looking bottle.
For a multi-bottle Evri proposal, do not guess whether the liquids threshold applies to your intended combined parcel in the way you hope. Describe the capacities, count, total liquid volume and ABV when seeking acceptance. An ambiguous basket should remain unquoted until the service is confirmed. Your fulfilment operator should not have to split or relabel it at the last moment. If a courier excludes breakage compensation, decide whether you can carry that exposure before you publish the delivery choice.
What preparation and handover does the postal guide require?
The spirits instructions call for polythene wrapping sealed with tape, absorbent material, cushioning against breakage, a FRAGILE marking for glass bottles and a clearly visible sender name and return address. They also require presentation at a Post Office counter. The guide advises a suitable rigid outer container. Translate these instructions into a repeatable packing recipe with identified materials. A retail gift box is part of the product presentation; it does not automatically provide the required postal protection.
Decide who can make the required handover before selecting a service. A postbox, locker or convenient third-party shop is not automatically a replacement for counter presentation. Give the dispatcher the actual service instructions and an accurate contents description. For beer or wine, read their separate preparation entry rather than copying every spirits requirement unchanged. The dispatch record should connect the order, parcel number and physical posting evidence so a printed label is not mistaken for completed handover.
Do not repair a leaking returned bottle and place it straight back into your outward workflow. Record the state of the closure and packaging, then obtain an appropriate return or disposal decision. A previously accepted unopened product does not establish acceptance for damaged goods. Tell the customer what information you need before issuing a generic label. This keeps an ordinary return conversation from creating a parcel that neither the chosen carrier nor your packer agreed to handle.
How do you choose an age-verification service?
Royal Mail describes Age Verification for items delivered to someone aged 18 or over. Alcohol is among the products for which the sender can use that service. Its explanation names Royal Mail Tracked and Special Delivery Guaranteed and describes Challenge 25 principles. This is a separately selected service feature: ordinary tracking, a signature or the presence of a familiar carrier logo does not prove that your parcel has the age-verification instruction.
Ask your label source which exact product and added option will be booked. Check how that choice survives the path from shop order to printed label and final delivery. Your checkout should give a usable receipt instruction, particularly when the buyer sends a gift. Keep the purchase-stage age process and delivery-stage service aligned with your licence conditions. GOV.UK’s alcohol-licensing guidance provides the regulatory starting point for England and Wales; postal acceptance is only one part of selling the product lawfully.
Describe the whole basket
Send the service provider the product category, ABV, individual capacity, item count and destination. Include free additions.
Obtain the correct terms
Keep the applicable booking-channel rules for acceptance, contents exclusions and compensation. Do not merge different contracts into one promise.
Confirm delivery controls
Verify the selected age feature and permitted receipt arrangements before buying the label or showing the delivery option.
Release one packing recipe
Specify materials and handover. Stop the order when a bottle, carton or booked feature differs from the approved arrangement.
What changes when an order needs more than one parcel?
AirPost’s constants checked on 14 October 2026 give a platform fee of €0.85 and a recommended preparation payment of €2.25 for a small parcel. Their subtotal is €3.10 per qualifying parcel. In a hypothetical planning exercise, two such parcels total €6.20, compared with €3.10 for one. Transport, bottle packaging, age-verification charges and stock delivery are additional; the actual sender payment is agreed.
This is a euro-denominated component calculation, not a UK alcohol-delivery quote or a currency conversion into pounds. Splitting an order may change preparation work, the number of labels and the customer’s receipt experience. It also creates separate tracking references. Decide whether you can present those parcels honestly at checkout. The count limit is not a reason to change bottle contents, understate the item count or call a commercial order a private gift.
On AirPost local fulfilment, shops arrange preparation with people working from home. AirPost’s copy excludes dangerous goods and perishables and does not promise alcohol licensing or automatic Age Verification. Its stock is not insured by AirPost. Establish product eligibility, lawful premises and the exact transport arrangement before assigning drinks orders; suitable ordinary accessories can have their own workflow. Your first outsourced order explains the practical handover of stock and instructions once the task is actually suitable.
Frequently asked questions
Can you send alcohol by post in the UK?
Some products qualify under restrictions. Check ABV, container capacity, parcel count, protective preparation and the selected service. The Post Office guide prohibits drinks above 70% ABV.
Can I send three bottles of whisky in one parcel?
Three items exceed the two-item cap in the checked spirits entry. Confirm a different accepted arrangement before selling delivery; a larger outer carton does not change that count.
Can Evri deliver alcohol for my shop?
Its public UK list excludes alcohol from compensation and contains additional liquid, glass and flammability restrictions. Obtain acceptance for the exact basket and contract rather than treating the exclusion as blanket permission.
Is age verification included with every tracked label?
No such assumption is justified. Royal Mail describes a specific Age Verification service. Confirm the added feature in your real booking channel and align it with your sales and licence requirements.
Can I use the UK spirits rules for an overseas customer?
The checked guide prohibits international mail for the group above 24% and up to 70% ABV. A domestic quantity-compliant basket still needs a separately accepted international solution.
Sources
- Post Office: current alcoholic-beverage entries, quantities, packaging and counter handover; opened 14 October 2026
- Evri: UK compensation exclusions and liquid restrictions
- Royal Mail: Age Verification and named eligible services
- GOV.UK: alcohol licensing in England and Wales
- AirPost: fulfilment model, costs and excluded products; checked 14 October 2026
Define eligible products and packing tasks before choosing a sender, so ordinary accessory orders and any separately approved drinks operation have executable instructions.
Plan suitable fulfilment tasks