Royal Mail issues delivery delay warning - full list of 87 areas affected

2 months ago 81

The postal services issued an update on its website regarding the delays that will affect thousands of UK households.

18:50, Sat, Aug 1, 2026 Updated: 18:56, Sat, Aug 1, 2026

A Royal Mail worker sorting mail sacks in a postal van in central London, UK.

Royal Mail has confirmed that over 80 UK postcodes could face delays (Image: Getty)

Royal Mail has warned that thousands of UK households will not receive their post on time this weekend due to delays. The postal service confirmed the news in an update via its website, informing customers of delays impacting various areas, including Ashington, Barry, and Dudley.

It comes as the postal service is already under fire for failing to meet its 93% target for delivering first-class letters on time. Last year, only 77% of the first-class letters arrived when supposed to.

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Regarding this round of delays, Royal Mail said that delivering mail to all addresses it has on file might be impossible due to several factors. And apologised for any inconvenience caused.

The update reads: “We aim to deliver all addresses we have mail for six days a week.

“In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absences, resourcing, or other local factors. In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers.”

Earlier this week, a similar update was issued for 90 postcodes, whilst 153 experienced delays last week.

Royal mail postal delivery.

The postal service failed to hit its delivery target last year (Image: Getty)

Royal Mail has also changed its “something for you cards” for deliveries that cannot be made directly to a customer’s door. The updated cards will include both a QR code and a nine-digit number to identify your parcel details.

You can check service updates for your local area using the Royal Mail’s online tool. The postal service updates its list daily so you can see the latest postcodes affected by any delays.

The full list of 87 postcodes affected by the delays this weekend can be found below: