PostNL estimates its universal service obligations at over €148 million for 2025-2027 and urges The Hague to legislate
In a statement published on October 20, 2026, PostNL called on Dutch policymakers to urgently address the new postal law, whose draft has been awaiting parliamentary examination since 2020. The operator stated that it remains subject to universal service requirements inherited from the 2009 law, while mail volumes have declined by 70% over twenty years.
In the absence of a decision, the group specified that it will not be able to implement significant changes in mail distribution the following year.
Three-day distribution possible at the earliest in early 2028
In July 2026, the standard mail delivery period was extended to two delivery days, a first step described as "necessary" by PostNL to adapt the service to declining volumes. The group believes a second change is required to maintain "reliable, accessible and affordable" distribution: a three-day delivery period.
Mail would then be distributed four days a week throughout the Netherlands, with no weekend deliveries. According to the operator, this transition requires a major overhaul of the logistics system, computer systems and operational processes, and also concerns employees, whom PostNL wishes to inform and involve beforehand.
These preparations require at least one year and cannot begin without political clarity. Implementation would therefore only be possible at the earliest in early 2028, provided that a political decision is made by January 2027 at the latest.
More than €148 million in costs related to obligations for 2025-2027
Maurice Unck, Mail Director for the Netherlands at PostNL, stated that postal distribution under current rules will cost the group more than 148 million euros in total over 2025, 2026 and 2027. By comparison, the Mail segment in the Netherlands recorded a result of 2 million euros in 2025.
The executive notably cited the obligation to maintain full weekend delivery, a day when very little mail is distributed, as well as a large number of increasingly empty mailboxes. "PostNL cannot be required to bear the costs arising from a legal obligation," he stated, adding that this uncertainty also weighs on the group's competitiveness and investment capacity as a whole.
The compensation claim covers the net additional costs of the obligation for 2027. PostNL relies on the European directive on postal services, which allows member states to compensate the designated provider when legal obligations constitute an individual and disproportionate financial burden, and recalls that providers in neighboring countries are compensated for these costs. The group had already submitted claims for 2025 and 2026, which are the subject of ongoing legal proceedings.
