Evri, Royal Mail, DPD and Yodel Confirm Safe Places for Parcels

Delivery couriers Evri, Royal Mail, DPD and Yodel advise customers on safe places to leave parcels when they are not home, including porches, sheds and garages.

Brit Brief 26/07/2026 06:41

Evri, Royal Mail, DPD and Yodel Confirm Safe Places for Parcels — Major UK Couriers List Safe Places for Parcel Delivery

Major delivery couriers have confirmed the safe places they advise people to mark down if they are expecting a parcel. This option allows households to have a guaranteed place for delivery if they are not home when the postal worker arrives. However, many people do not realise that delivery services have specific policies and suggestions for selecting a safe place.

Royal Mail's Safeplace Policy

Royal Mail states on its website that it does not consider recycling bins suitable for a safe place and instead recommends a secure, weatherproof area. Its website reads: “With the Royal Mail App, you can set a Safeplace so we know where to leave your items if you’re not in. The link below will explain how to do this.”

“Your chosen Safeplace should be a secure, weatherproof area of the property that is out of sight and easily accessible for us. Requests to place parcels in recycling bins are not considered as a Safeplace by Royal Mail.”

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Parcels can be left in a Safeplace location without specific instructions if the recipient is not home. However, Royal Mail added that this will only be done if their “postie deems the location to be within [their] guidelines”.

Other Couriers' Recommendations

Evri advises customers to keep in mind three things: shelter, out of view, and easy for the courier to find. DPD tells its customers to “specifying a secure deposit location in the shipment tracking function”. Yodel, now under InPost, advises customers that safe places be “Out of sight from the street, Protected from rain or bad weather,” listing front porch, back porch, shed, garage, greenhouse, and outbuilding as examples.