Giving friends a copy of the opt-out form will probably work – but there's no guarantee. To the best of my knowledge Royal Mail doesn't record the details of people asking for an opt-out form. In fact, you can send a blank e-mail to optout@royalmail.com and you will get the form via its auto-reply system – which means they can't know for sure whether or not the person sending a form has first requested it.

The only thing you need to make sure is that you give your friends a copy of the official opt-out form (the one you got via e-mail). Some people, me included, have designed their own opt-out forms. Royal Mail will treat such forms as a request for the official form.

As an aside, Royal Mail does keep track of the number of opt-out forms returned to them. It seems they simply calculate this by comparing the number of forms sent with the number of registrations. About 50% of the people asking for a form never register, which suggests that many people are either put off by the draconian warnings on the form and/or because the opt-out process is too lengthy and off-putting. Giving forms to friends is an excellent way of making it easier to sign up to the scheme.