Dutch postal delivery firm PostNL will be allowed to take two days rather than one to deliver a letter, the economic affairs ministry has agreed.

The measure may be introduced in 2026, the ministry said on Wednesday. PostNL, which is a listed company, had called for the introduction of longer delivery times earlier this year. The change means a letter posted on Wednesday could be delivered on Friday and would still count as being on time.

The company is required by law to ensure a network of letter boxes emptied five days a week and to deliver post five days a week, six days a week for deliveries of medicine and death notices. It is also required to ensure 95% of domestic post is delivered the next day.

But the 95% delivery target has not been achieved since 2019.

“The most important thing to me is that consumers deserve a reliable, affordable and accessible postal service,” said economic affairs minister Dirk Beljaarts. “Unfortunately, reliability has plummeted, even though it is regarded as very important by the Dutch, hence this measure.”

Beljaarts rejected PostNL’s request for government financial support to ensure next day deliveries in the run up to the change.