Howerver performance has improved on the previous quarter, with 75.9% of First Class mail delivered the next working day, up from 74.2% in Q4 last year. In total, 97% of First Class mail arrived within three days.

Second Class performance remained broadly stable compared to Q4 last year, with 89.3% of mail delivered within three working days, and 98.2% delivered within five days.

In July 2025, the postal regulator Ofcom announced changes to postal regulations which will allow Royal Mail to deliver non-First Class mail every other weekday, whilst continuing to deliver First Class mail six days a week.

Royal Mail is currently piloting these changes. The nationwide roll out will take time given the scale and complexity of its UK operations.

Royal Mail Interim Chief Operating Officer, Jamie Stephenson, said: “Timely letter deliveries really matter to our customers, and they matter to us too. We are taking targeted steps to improve reliability, and we remain focused on delivering a better service for all our customers, every day.”

Tom MacInnes, Director of Policy at Citizens Advice, said: “It’s no surprise that paying consumers are still being let down by our country’s postal service. For more than half a decade, late deliveries have disrupted lives – causing people to miss medical appointments and benefit decisions – while stamp prices soared.