Item Has Left Our International Processing Centre – Royal Mail

You’re expecting a delivery from Royal Mail and you have received an “Item has left our International Processing Centre” tracking update.

What does this mean exactly? Where is your package when you receive this update and how long until it arrives?

Let’s take a look…

Item Has Left Our International Processing Centre – Guide

To elaborate on the summary above, there are actually two directions a shipment could be going after leaving the international processing center.

For an inbound shipment, the delivery destination will be an address in the U.K.

This means that after the update is triggered, the package will be in transit toward a Royal Mail regional sort facility, before being sorted and dispatched for final delivery.

If you receive the “Item has left our International Processing Centre” update on an outbound shipment, (with the destination address being outside of the U.K), the next step for the package will be transit abroad.

• Related Content: Royal Mail Tracking: “Item Leaving the UK”

How Long Until Delivery After the Update

We shall take the inbound scenario as an example of delivery speeds after the update, as is the most common reason someone may check up on an “Item has left our International Processing Centre” alert.

The fact is, the international shipment is close to delivery when it has reached an inbound status.

The lion’s share of the journey has already taken place, (overseas transit), and receiving this update means inbound customs clearance has been granted too.

Assuming the transfer (i.e transit) toward the regional Royal Mail facility is carried out to standard dispatch times, you can expect your package within 1 to 3 days of receiving this alert.

In the example screenshot above, the time between the alert and final delivery was just 24 hours.

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Tracking Stuck on “Item Has Left Our International Processing Centre”

A problem arises when your tracking becomes stuck on this alert.

The package has left the international processing center, yet there is no update or indication that it has been scanned at a Royal Mail destination closer to the delivery address.

I recommend that if your tracking doesn’t update for three full days after you receive this alert, you contact Royal Mail.

Essentially, the package has not reached the regional facility for final distribution, and you will need the help of a Royal Mail representative to get to the bottom of the delay.

Common reasons include transport and/or technical issues, high seasonal volumes meaning your item is waiting to be scanned inside the regional facility, or the package has missed a scan and is closer to delivery than you thought.

• Related Content: Royal Mail: Item Has Left the Overseas International Processing Centre

Outbound Shipments

There are far more variables at play to determine the delivery time of a Royal Mail outbound shipment leaving the U.K.

Clearly, the service speed purchased can indicate a proposed delivery window, other than that it can be difficult to know.

Essentially, after customs clearance, the shipment will be handed over to the local postal service within the destination country.

That service will then be the one to carry out the final delivery.

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Final Words

Overall, the “Item has left our International Processing Centre” update is a good one to receive.

You have been waiting on an international delivery and it has now arrived inside the U.K, passed customs checks, and is inside the Royal Mail delivery network making its way to final delivery.

That being said, if the tracking remains on this alert for several days, you will need to contact Royal Mail to start making inquiries.

• Related Content: What Does “Inward MC” Mean? (Royal Mail)

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