Postal Service Publishes Delivery Standards and First Statistical Release

The Postal Service of the Velocity Interoperability Network today published the delivery standards it undertakes to meet from Monday 7 September 2026, together with its first statistical release. The standards set the proportion of mail the Service aims to deliver within the time allowed for each rate: 93 per cent of priority letters and parcels on the next working day, 95 per cent of ordinary letters within two working days and 95 per cent of ordinary parcels within three working days. Performance against the standards will be published quarterly.

The first statistical release covers the transition period from 10 August to 5 September 2026, during which member organisations transferred their internal mail arrangements to the Service, and records the position at establishment. During the transition period 186,400 items were handled under interim arrangements: 151,200 letters and 35,200 parcels. At establishment the Service serves 9,800 delivery points in six postcode districts through 38 delivery rounds, with a staff of 142.

Delivery and collection times, the standards for each rate and the procedure for tracing an item are set out on the Delivery Standards and Tracking page of this site. The full statistical release is set out on the Statistics page. The next release, covering the quarter ending 30 September 2026, will be published in October and announced in the Newsroom.