After more than 400 years of service, the Danish postal service stops delivering letters to people’s home mailboxes as of 1 January 2026. Half a year prior to this date, PostNord – formerly known as PostDanmark – will start removing the 1,500 characteristic red mailboxes of the streets as well.
The remarkable decision by the Danish mail services illustrates how few letters are still being sent through “snail mail” to justify keeping up the infrastructure and manpower. According to PostNord’s own number, the sending of letters dropped by 90 percent since 2000. In 2024 the decrease was 30 percent compared to 2023. Nowadays, people mainly use e-mail and mobile apps to send messages.
How to send letters in Denmark from now on?
People that still want to send normal letters in the future still have two alternatives thought: ship it as a package via PostNord or choose its competitor DAO that takes payments for letter delivery.
Other companies might step in for letter delivery to the villages and small towns in Denmark, which the state has committed itself to of keeping up ever since an official parliamentary decision on this was taken in 2023. For sending or receiving letters abroad, a series of international delivery services can be used, similar to package delivery.
Stop on letter delivery affects 2,200 jobs
The decision to stop letter delivery means the end of about 2,200 jobs at PostNord in Denmark, although the company says it believes the lay-offs will be limited to 1,500. For 700 workers, a new job within PostNord Danmark might be possible.
PostNord is fusion of Denmark and Sweden
PostNord was formed in 2009, as a fusion of the privatised state postal services of Denmark (PostDanmark) and Sweden (Posten). The legacy state company PostNord is also active in Sweden, where delivery of letters will – for the time being – continue as usual. The group has financial challenges for quite some time, reporting a deficit of about EUR 40 million in the first three quarters of 2024 alone.
PostNord Danmark currently has 4,600 employees. The Danish national letter delivery service was commissioned in the year 1624. | © 2025 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com. Featured image: Letter delivery in Denmark (Press photo: Lars Mikkelsen/PostNord)