Estonia to slow and raise price of universal postal service

Estonia’s universal postal service will become slower and more expensive this autumn, ERR reported. Letters sent through the service will be delivered within three working days, compared with the current next-working-day standard, and the service will cost 2.10 euros.

Domestic letter delivery prices will rise by an average of 6 percent, while fees for sending international letters and parcels will increase by an average of 10 percent.

The service will also be changed. The current registered-value shipment service will be replaced by an insurance add-on that can be purchased for registered letters. Domestic parcels will no longer be included in the universal postal service and will instead be offered as a commercial service.

Several logistics companies offer parcel services alongside Eesti Post. Their prices are generally lower than those in the state-set universal postal service price list. Parcels can still be sent and collected at post offices, parcel machines or through courier services.

Sigrid Soomlais, deputy chancellor for regional development at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, said the changes were intended to adapt the service to changing usage habits while keeping it available throughout Estonia.

“People’s daily communication has increasingly moved to digital channels, and the volume of letters sent has declined year by year. At the same time, the universal postal service must remain available to everyone across Estonia,” Soomlais said. She added that the service’s terms and fees needed to reflect its actual operating costs and people’s needs.

Traditional postal services declining

The ministry said one in three letters was sent in December last year. Almost 98 percent of letters were sent using a service with an expected delivery time of no more than three working days.

More than 560,000 letters were sent through the universal postal service in 2025, 18 percent fewer than a year earlier. The volume of traditional postal services has fallen by more than 75 percent over the past five years.

Soomlais said people would still be able to send letters to every part of Estonia.

The Competition Authority proposed the changes after assessing the service’s cost price and the impact of the new price list on consumers. The main reasons for updating the price list are higher service costs since the previous price change, including increased fuel costs.

Eesti Post will inform customers when the new price list takes effect and provide the exact schedule.

Eesti Post, which operates under the Omniva brand, holds licences to provide the universal postal service and to deliver domestic and international letters and parcels. The provider of the universal postal service is selected through a public competition organised by the Competition Authority for a five-year term. The current contract runs until 2029.