Special Delivery Next Day Rates 1998-date

At first the Special Delivery, Registered, and Registered Plus services were kept nominally distinct with their own suitably inscribed labels, but from 12th October 1998 they were all combined into a single rebranded service under the Special Delivery banner.

All services offered a guaranteed delivery time, usually 12.30pm, noon, or 1pm on the next working day for most destinations in the UK (although for some remote Scottish locations it was 5.30pm one, two, or even three days later). In 2003 an additional service was introduced for a higher fee, which offered delivery by 9.00am on the next working day to virtually all the locations covered by the standard delivery service (now referred to as "Special Delivery Next Day").

From 2006 to 2011 an additional guarantee of Saturday delivery could be obtained for a further flat fee (listed at the bottom of the page). However, the charges were affected by the court decision that made a number of Royal Mail services liable to VAT, The basic Special Delivery Next Day service was exempt from VAT, but when bought in combination with an additional service that was liable, such as Saturday Guarantee, the total price now became subject to VAT at the standard rate (20% throughout). These prices therefore now varied considerably according to weight and whether the mail was stamped or franked (latter available on "smart meters" only), and are listed separately below.

These tables cover only stamped or franked mail with rates that are visible on the cover, not the lower rates for contract deliveries.

Saturday Guarantee Rates 2006-2011

The additional guarantee of Saturday delivery was originally a further flat fee, until VAT was imposed on this service from 31st January 2011. The fees in this period are listed below.

Saturday Guarantee Rates from 2011

Although the Saturday Guarantee fee itself continued to be independent of weight (with VAT added), use of this service made the main Special Delivery rate liable for VAT also, and so the overall cost with this option varied by weight. For simplicity, the rates below are the total rate including the Saturday Guarantee fee (they were published this way in the Post Office leaflets).