Overview
- The Bundesnetzagentur published a draft on Monday, October 12, 2026, that would allow average increases of 20.35 percent for letters and 10.72 percent for parcels for 2027–2028.
- The draft opens a required industry consultation, after which Deutsche Post must choose how to allocate the permitted rise across letter categories and the regulator will carry out a final review before rates take effect.
- If Deutsche Post applied the letter cap evenly, a standard domestic letter would cost about €1.14 from January 2027, and the company has historically used the full permitted increases.
- Regulators point to a long decline in mail volumes — from 16.9 billion letters in 2005 to roughly 9.4 billion in 2025 — while universal-service delivery obligations keep fixed costs high and raise per-item prices.
- The change would hit both household senders and businesses differently because roughly 85 percent of Deutsche Post’s letter volume comes from firms and public bodies, and parcel rivals are not bound by the postage cap.