The new stamps will include a barcode to access Royal Mail's online services

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Royal Mail are urging customers to check their stamps as millions are set to be unusable in six months.

The old 1st and 2nd class stamps will expire to make way for a new version. People are being advised to use their Swap Out exchange scheme before the stamps become worthless and charges may be incurred for using them.

It comes as barcodes are being added by Royal Mail to all of its regular ‘everyday’ stamps. These are the ones that feature the profile of the Queen on a plain background.

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The barcodes will give customers the ability to use new services through their stamp by accessing the Royal Mail app when they scan them. If you use the old stamps after their expiry date, they will be treated as “insufficient postage” - the same as if you forgot to put a stamp on - and you will have to pay an extra fee or the post will be returned to you.

Special Stamps, which have a different picture on such as to commemorate an event, and Christmas Stamps that don’t have a barcode will still be valid after the end of January and will not need to be swapped out. Non-barcoded stamps will still be valid until 31 January 2023.

But if you don’t use up all of your old stamps before then, don’t worry - you will be able to exchange them for the new barcoded versions through Royal Mail’s ‘Swap Out’ scheme, The Mirror reports.

If you have up to £200 of regular stamps that need swapping out, you will need to fill out a Swap Out form and send it to Royal Mail along with your stamps, putting Freepost Swap Out as the address. Your new barcoded stamps should be with you within seven working days, but Royal Mail has warned that high demand could mean it takes longer.

The Swap Out forms can be printed off from the Royal Mail website, or alternatively you can pick one up from any Delivery Office Customer Service Point. You can’t swap your old stamps over at a Post Office, and swap out forms are not available at Post Offices.

If you have more than £200 worth of stamps to swap, you will need to fill out a Bulk Stamp Swap Out form and send it with your stamps to: Royal Mail, Swap Out, Tallents House, 21 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9PB. If you don’t have a printer you can request a form to be posted to you by filling out a request form online or calling Royal Mail customer services.

Nick Landon, Royal Mail chief commercial officer, said earlier this year: "Please check your kitchen drawers, wallets and purses for older non-barcoded stamps and make sure you use them up by 31 January 2023." For more information on swapping your stamps you can head to the Royal Mail website.