You don’t usually need photo ID to pick up a parcel

“If I go to collect a parcel at the Post Office now, I need to take my driving licence or my passport.”

Speaking on the BBC, Conservative MP Gillian Keegan said you need to show photo identification in order to collect a parcel. Similar comments were made by the Prime Minister’s spokesperson earlier this week. 

They were both speaking in defence of the government’s plan to require voters to show photo ID when voting, announced in the Queen’s Speech at the state opening of parliament on Tuesday.

Currently, when people in Great Britain go to vote they just need to give their name and address, which is checked against the electoral register. Voter ID is already required when voting in Northern Ireland.

While ID is required to collect a parcel from the Post Office, photo ID is not usually required.

The Post Office accepts various forms of non-photographic ID including a bank card or a utility bill.

Royal Mail also accepts a credit card or bank statement when collecting a parcel from one of its depots. Photo ID is only required if the parcel was sent through certain age verification services or you’re collecting on someone else’s behalf. 

Other delivery companies have different policies. Yodel does not require photo ID for collection either. UPS does require a form of photo ID but that does not need to be “government-issued”, like a driving licence or passport, if the person also has proof of address like a utility bill. DPD does require photo ID as well as proof of address. 

In 2015, the Electoral Commission estimated that almost a quarter of the electorate did not have either a passport or a driving licence, while 7.5% had no photo ID whatsoever.