Special Delivery™ Next Day

We deliver most items the next working day by 1pm on Mondays to Fridays (except public and bank holidays). We sometimes deliver on Saturdays if the item arrives at our local delivery office that day, but we can't guarantee delivery.

We deliver by 5.30pm the next working day in the following postcode areas:

Mainland
AB30-56 Aberdeen
IV21-28, 40, 52, 54 Inverness
KW1-14 Orkney
PA28-38 Argyll
PH15, 17-26  Perthshire
PH31-40 Perthshire
PH49 Ballachulish
PH50 Kinlochleven
Islands
HS1 Stornoway (Lewis)
HS3 Harris
HS4 Scalpay
HS5 Leverburgh
HS6 N Uist
HS7 Benbecula
HS8 S Uist
HS9 Castlebay (Barra)
IV41-51, 55-56 Skye
KA27 Arran
KA28 Cumbrae
PA41 Gigha
PA42-49 Islay
PA60 Jura
PA77 Tiree
KW15 Kirkwall Town
KW16 Stromness Town only
GY9 Alderney (Channel Islands)
ZE1 Lerwick (Shetlands)
HS3 Harris

We deliver within two working days by 5.30pm to the following islands:

GY1 Herm only (Channel Islands)
GY9 Sark (Channel Islands)
HS2 Lewis
PA61 Colonsay
PA62-75 Mull
PA78 Coll
ZE2-3 Shetlands

We deliver within three working days by 5.30pm to the following islands:

KW16-17 Orkney
PH30 Corrour
PH41 Mallaig
PH42 Eigg & Kuck
PH43-44 Rhum & Canna

If you use Special Delivery™ Next Day then your mail is automatically covered for up to £500 compensation. If you’re sending an item that’s more valuable then we advise that you increase your cover to £1,000 or £2,500, in the unlikely event that it is lost or damaged in transit. For a small additional fee you can insure your item for up to £2,500. Find out how little additional compensation costs.

Learn more about compensation.

If you send an item that could be costly if it is lost, damaged or delayed in transit, then take advantage of our consequential loss cover of up to £10,000. The cover is particularly useful for important documents, such as contracts that could result in financial expense for you or your company if they are lost, or your tax return that may incur an expense if it is not delivered on time.

Learn more about consequential loss.

Benefit from the convenience and efficiency of setting up a business account with us. Make routine mail orders and payments simple and fast, with a service customised to meet your needs.

Learn more about setting up an account

Apply for an account online

View the Special Delivery™ pricing guidelines in our online document library

Please keep your proof of posting receipt. If your item is not delivered on time we’ll refund your money providing you have your proof of posting and claim within 14 days of posting.

If your item gets lost or damaged while it’s in our care, you can make a claim for compensation or consequential loss. Learn more about compensation.

Take a look at our Customer Service section  for answers to many of your questions.

Alternatively, you can call Customer Services on 08457 740 740 or, if you are a business customer, contact us on 08457 950 950

If you believe your item is lost or has been delivered late you can make a claim  through Customer Service.

If your item was delivered but has been damaged while in our care you can make a claim through Customer Service.

Customers posting over 400,000 items/annum from a single site now have access to our Special Delivery™ Late Access product for items posted from that site. The Late Access product allows customers to post a proportion of their items after the standard LAT for that area for a premium charge. 

This service is only available where Royal Mail staff are present on the customer’s premises (in order to process the mail before collection at the later time). In order to qualify for on site processing the customer must comply with the following:

1. Provide a suitable site which Royal Mail has ascertained meets with RM Health and Safety regulations.
2. Post a minimum of 400,000 items/annum from a single site.
3. Provide a regular workflow throughout the day.
4. Provide a regular volume of traffic throughout the year.
5. Provide a forecast of daily, weekly and monthly volumes and give at least 24 hours notice of any change in these forecasts.

The revised customer specific latest acceptance time will depend in each case on the despatch time for the local Mail Centre and the distance of each customer’s premises from that mail centre. Please contact your account handler for more details and to discuss whether you are eligible for this service.

Charges
The premium charges for items processed by Royal Mail on the customer’s site and posted after the current standard LAT are as follows:

1. £920* per calendar month for the late collection.
2. A per item charge for all items posted of: