Royal Mail Barcode Scanner

What is a UK Royal Mail code?

RM4SCC (Royal Mail 4-State Customer Code) is a barcode character set created by Royal Mail. Under the Mailmark scheme, this barcode system is designed for mail sorting and delivery in the United Kingdom. It encodes postal information for efficient automated processing of mail.

The RM4SCC was formerly used for the 9-character Customer Barcode, or CBC.

Today, Royal Mail uses two barcodes: The Mailmark, which is based on a Data Matrix barcode, and the Mailmark 4-State (based on the RM4SCC system).

	RM4SCC / Mailmark 4-State	Mailmark
Barcode type	1D, 4-state barcode	2D Data Matrix (Type 7, 9 and 29)
Total data capacity	L: 26 characters C: 22 characters	Type 7: 51 characters Type 9: 90 characters Type 29: 70 characters
Information encoded	Mailing class, sender information (SCID), unique item ID, UK postcodes, Delivery Point Suffixes (DPS)	Unique item ID, postcode, delivery point, sender info
Use case	Mail automation and tracking	Mail automation and tracking
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While primarily used in the UK, Royal Mail barcodes serve a similar purpose to other national and international postal barcodes, helping with mail sorting and tracking. Royal Mail introduced them to enable automation, reduce errors, and improve delivery efficiency.

Structure and components

A 4-state Mailmark barcode contains the following elements:

• Format: 1 character identifying the format of the item (Letter, Large Letter, etc.)
• Version ID: 1 character indicating the barcode version (currently “1” for Mailmark)
• Class: 1 character identifying the class of mail (1C, 2C, etc.)
• Supply Chain ID: Either 2 digits (for Consolidator barcode C) or 6 digits (for barcode L) identifying the unique group of customers involved in the mailing
• Item ID: 8 digits identifying the unique item within the Supply Chain
• Destination Post Code plus DPS: 9 characters containing the Postcode of the destination with Delivery Point Suffix

Encoding

The Mailmark 4-State employs a special encoding system based on four distinct bar states. These are:

• Tracker (T): Occupies the middle section of the barcode’s height
• Tracker, Descender (D): Occupies the two lower sections
• Tracker, Ascender (A): Occupies the two upper sections
• Tracker, Ascender, Descender (full bar, F): Occupies the entire height

Mailmark 4-State barcodes can represent all 10 digits (0–9), 26 letters (A–Z), and the space character, for a total of 37 symbols. The data is encoded in several steps, which includes adding Reed-Solomon error correction codes. The final barcode characters consist of 3 bars each.

Applications of Royal Mail codes

Postal service

The Royal Mail barcode system is primarily used to automate mail sorting, tracking, and delivery within the UK. The barcode is located above the delivery address. Customers can use the contained tracking codes for mailing analytics.

Advantages of Royal Mail barcodes

• Flexible size: Mailmark barcodes come in three different sizes (Data Matrix type 7, 9 and 29) and an additional 1D format.
• Error correction: All Royal Mail Mailmark barcodes use Reed-Solomon error correction, ensuring reliable reading in demanding postal environments.
• Scalability: Royal Mail barcodes can encode both numeric digits (0-9) and uppercase letters (A-Z). The 2D Mailmark barcodes offer increased data capacity of up to 90 characters, 45 of them customizable.
• Versatility: Royal Mail barcodes support various mail types such as letters and large letters. Mailmark barcodes enable tracking and delivery status information, and can be used by mailers to frank their own mail in-house.

Why choose the Scanbot SDK for Royal Mail barcode scanning?

The Scanbot Barcode Scanner SDK is specifically designed to handle the challenges of decoding Royal Mail barcodes in real-world scenarios.

What sets us apart:

• Exceptional performance: Reliably decodes even damaged, low-contrast or distorted barcodes.
• High-speed scanning: Read Royal Mail barcodes in as little as 0.04 seconds.
• Cross-platform compatibility: Easily integrate with Android, iOS, cross-platform, web, Windows, and Linux platforms.
• Customizable UI: Customize the ready-to-use components to match your app or website design.
• Privacy-first: Operates offline for complete data security.

Whether your use case involves Royal Mail barcodes, UPC codes or any other barcode, the Scanbot SDK delivers the accuracy, speed, and reliability you need to succeed.

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