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Delivery exceptions
Why Royal Mail may have to suspend delivery
Royal Mail delivers to 99.9% of UK addresses and are the only service to offer this level of coverage
The mail service includes every permanently occupied home, premises or approved delivery point every working day, except where:
- delivery puts the health and safety of staff at risk
- the address is difficult to access
Protecting the health and safety of staff
If an address can only be reached by crossing dangerous terrain, Royal Mail would suspend delivery on a long-term basis. Delivery may also be suspended to an address on a short-term basis following a specific incident, such as a staff member being attacked by a dog.
Delivery to addresses that are difficult to reach
Royal Mail will suspend delivery to addresses that are difficult to access. This includes:
- addresses that can only be reached by boat or air
- addresses on poorly maintained roads that require more than a 15-minute round trip by vehicle or foot
- cases where access to the address is blocked, for example, there is no letterbox
If an address is only reachable by boat or air, delivery will be on days with scheduled plane or ferry service, whenever operationally possible. If there are no scheduled services Royal Mail will try to deliver at least once a week, where a contractor can be found.
Requesting delivery to an alternative location
If you want privacy or choose not to improve the condition of your private access route, you can ask for fewer deliveries a week or request delivery to an alternative location such as:
- a customer or Royal Mail roadside box
- a central point such as a site office in a caravan park
- a local Post Office® branch using Local Collect™
You will have to pay for the costs of arranging an alternative delivery point. You may also have to pay for costs if an alternative delivery point is necessary because of circumstances within your control, such as dangerous dogs or private roads that are in poor condition.
