Delivery Standards and Tracking

The Postal Service of the Velocity Interoperability Network publishes the standards it undertakes to meet for every rate it offers, the times at which mail is collected and delivered, and the procedure by which an item may be traced. The standards apply to all mail posted within the Velocity Interoperability Network from Monday 7 September 2026 and are measured from the day of posting.

93%

Of priority mail to be delivered on the next working day

95%

Of ordinary letters to be delivered within two working days

38

Delivery rounds serving 9,800 delivery points

84

Post boxes, emptied at least once each working day

The standards. A standard states the period within which an item should be delivered and the proportion of items the Service undertakes to deliver within it. The proportion is set below one hundred per cent because a small number of items are delayed by causes that cannot be foreseen; it is not a licence to delay any particular item.

Collections. The time at which an item is collected determines the day on which it is treated as posted. Every post box carries a plate showing its number, its collection times and the post office responsible for it.

Deliveries. Mail is sorted overnight at the Central Exchange and Westbrook sorting offices and taken to the delivery rounds by 07:30. The pattern of delivery is set out below and is the same in every district except where stated.

Tracing an item. The steps below apply to every item, whether or not it carries a tracking reference.

1. 1

   Step 1: Allow the full period for the rate used

   An item is not treated as delayed until the period for its rate has passed and one further working day has been allowed. Priority items may therefore be traced from the second working day after posting, ordinary letters from the fourth and ordinary parcels from the fifth.

2. 2

   Step 2: Find the reference, if the item carries one

   Items sent with the tracked, signed-for, insured or registered services carry a fourteen-character reference, printed on the receipt given at the counter and on the label fixed to the item. Items sent without one of those services are traced from the record of posting instead.

3. 3

   Step 3: Write to the Service

   Give the reference, the date and place of posting, the full address including the postcode, the rate used, a description of the item and its contents, and the value claimed if the item was insured. Enquiries about an item may be made by the sender or by the addressee.

4. 4

   Step 4: The Service checks its records

   For a tracked item, the last recorded scan is returned, normally within one working day. For an untracked item, the collection, sorting and delivery records for the day of posting are searched and the delivery round is questioned; this takes up to five working days.

5. 5

   Step 5: Receive the outcome

   The Service replies with the last known position of the item, states whether it has been delivered, held, returned or not found, and, where an item is found, gives the date on which delivery will be attempted again.

6. 6

   Step 6: Claim compensation where the item is lost or damaged

   Where an item is not found, or is delivered damaged, a claim may be made within three months of posting. Claims on insured items are settled within twenty working days of the trace being completed. Compensation for an uninsured item is limited to the postage paid and, for tracked or signed-for items, to 20 credits.

How the standards are applied. The rules below govern the measurement of every standard on this page.

Working days

Monday to Saturday are working days for delivery, and Monday to Friday for collection from post boxes and for the second letter round. There is no delivery on Sunday and no collection on Saturday or Sunday. Where the Network observes a day of closure, it is not counted as a working day for any standard.

The day of posting

An item is treated as posted on the working day on which it is collected or accepted, provided it is placed in the box or handed in before the last collection time. The delivery period begins on the following working day.

Items that fall outside the standards

Items that are wrongly addressed, incompletely addressed, insufficiently paid, refused by the recipient or held at a post office for collection are excluded from the measurement, as are items delayed by circumstances beyond the Service's control. The number excluded is published with each quarterly report.

How performance is reported

Performance against every standard is measured for each quarter and published in the Statistics page and announced in the Newsroom. Where a standard is not met, the report states the reason and the steps taken. The first report will cover the quarter ending 30 September 2026.

Attempted delivery

An item requiring a signature that cannot be delivered is recorded as attempted on the day of the attempt, and the standard is treated as met. The delivery officer leaves a card giving the office at which the item is held; items are held for fifteen working days and then returned to the sender.

The prices of the tracked, signed-for, insured and registered services are set out on the Services and Prices page, and the volume of mail handled on the Statistics page. Guidance on addressing and packing is given on the Sending Mail page. To trace an item, or to ask about a standard, write to contact@postal.gov.vin.