Royal Mail: postal service confirms second-class letter delivery change delayed until 2026 – here’s what it means

Regulator Ofcom gave Royal Mail the go-ahead to begin a wider rollout of its plans to stop second-class letter deliveries on Saturdays from July this year.

But now the scheme will not be rolled out across the country until early 2026, giving households a temporary reprieve before the shake-up to postal services begins. 

The change was due to have come as part a major overhaul of how letters are delivered in the UK, with Royal Mail aiming to modernise operations and cut costs as letter volumes continue to fall. 

But the decision to delay comes amid concerns over missed delivery targets, mounting fines, and ongoing questions about whether the postal service can still meet its obligations to customers. 

What’s changing – and when?

Under pilot schemes running across 35 Royal Mail delivery offices, second-class letters are no longer being delivered on Saturdays.

Instead, they arrive every other weekday, a move designed to focus resources on the faster-growing parcel side of the business. 

But parent company International Distribution Services (IDS) has confirmed it won’t expand the scheme nationwide until early next year at the earliest.

IDS chief executive Martin Seidenberg said the reforms were a “massive task” and that the company would “take the time to get this right” rather than rush into sweeping changes.

It has not yet revealed which of its 1,200 delivery offices will be next to adopt the new system.

The delay follows a £21 million fine issued by Ofcom in October, after Royal Mail failed to hit its annual delivery targets, with millions of letters arriving late.

What it means for you

For now, customers across most of the UK will continue to receive both first- and second-class letters on Saturdays as usual.

But once the changes are introduced nationwide, weekend second-class post could become a thing of the past, and Ofcom has already adjusted Royal Mail’s delivery targets to reflect the reforms.

First-class post now only needs to reach its destination the next day 90 per cent of the time (down from 93 per cent), while second-class letters must arrive within three days in 95 per cent of cases (down from 98.5 per cent).

But Ofcom has also introduced a new “backstop” rule, and 99 per cent of all mail must be delivered no more than two days late to prevent widespread delays.