The Hague, 28 May 2026 – The price of a standard stamp will remain €1.40 from 12 July. As from that date, PostNL will deliver letterbox mail within two delivery days as standard. It will also remain possible to have mail delivered within one day. For this priority mail, a new logistics process will be set up via the parcel network, with a different tariff. The new rates remain within the annual scope granted by the government to PostNL to adjust postal tariffs. Earlier today, PostNL reported a loss of €35 million on the legally required postal service (Universal Service Obligation, USO) in 2025.
Maurice Unck, Director Mail at PostNL: “For many people mail remains important, for example for personal cards. PostNL wants postal services to remain accessible to everyone in the Netherlands. The price of the standard stamp will remain unchanged, so people can continue to send personal mail at the same rate.
At the same time, the number of letters sent has declined by 70% over the past twenty years. Where multiple items used to be delivered to almost every address every day, a mail deliverer now sometimes skips entire streets. As PostNL is still required to maintain a nationwide postal network and mail delivery is labour-intensive, costs are rising. Even with the tariffs announced today and the transition to delivery within two and later three days, the USO, the legally required postal service, will remain loss-making in the coming years.”
Under the new Universal Service Obligation (USO) regulations, mail will be delivered within two days from July 2026, with a minimum quality standard of 90%. In addition to standard mail, it remains possible to have mail delivered within one day from 12 July. For this smaller volume of priority mail, such as mourning mail and priority letters, a separate and more intensive process will be set up, using the parcel network and parcel delivery staff.
Priority letters and mourning mail will be delivered within one day. Mourning mail will also receive a special coding, allowing it to be monitored with extra care during processing and delivery.
Bereaved families and funeral directors can also opt for standard delivery from 12 July. In that case, delivery with a mourning stamp will take place within two days via the regular mail network at an unchanged tariff.
Maurice Unck: “Priority mail represents a small share of total mail volumes. This type of delivery requires additional handling and attention and is therefore organised via a separate process. Priority mail can be posted at a PostNL location, processed through our parcel network and delivered the next day by a parcel courier, who makes additional stops along the route. As a result, the cost per item is higher than for standard mail delivery within two days via the postal network.”
More information about the new tariffs can be found on the PostNL website
Earlier today, PostNL reported a negative result of €35 million in 2025 on the Universal Service Obligation (USO). The USO is the statutory task of delivering, among other things, letterbox mail and mourning mail. PostNL is obligated to carry out this public service. Due to declining mail volumes, rising costs and outdated regulations, this service is structurally loss-making.
The USO will remain loss-making in the coming years, despite the adjusted tariffs and the recently announced longer delivery timeframes. Further political decision-making is required before the summer to ensure that postal services remain affordable, reliable and accessible for everyone in the Netherlands who sends and receives mail.