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What’s the difference between Royal Mail Special Delivery and Royal Mail Signed For?

Does Royal Mail track items at every step of the journey with both services?

Signed For used to be called Recorded Delivery. And I’ve heard people say it is as safe as Special Delivery for items up to the compensation limit of £50. If they say that they’d be wrong because the two services are not the same.

To put that in context, Royal Mai loses less than one in a thousand letters sent by ordinary mail. And that includes mail where the sender addressed the letter incorrectly. Theft is very rare. It is so rare than it makes the headlines when it comes to light. So standard delivery with no tracking at all is going to be safe in 99.9% of cases.

That said, it’s natural to want to protect mail that contains something valuable. And that’s where the services divide.

Special Delivery

Special Delivery means Royal Mail track those items all the way from posting to delivery. The speed of delivery is guaranteed. It’s either 1:00 pm the next day for standard service or 9:00 am the next day for express service.

So it’s obvious that the mail isn’t lumped in with the ordinary mail. If it was, Royal Mail couldn’t track it or deliver it on that strict schedule.

What you get for paying for Special Delivery is compensation up to £750 or more if an item is lost.

Signed For

Signed For is different. It’s not only that the compensation is lower. The mail is not tracked during its journey. It is only tracked when you post it and when it reaches its destination. Once it gets to its destination a signature is required like with Special Delivery.

But between when it is sent and when it arrives it is lumped in with ordinary mail. And for the vast majority of letters that is secure enough because the numbers lost are very small.

That said, sometimes it is not the value of the item that needs protecting. It is the proof of it having reached its destination that matters. And not only that it reach its destination, but also when it reached its destination.

Think of court cases that have strict time limits, or situations where things could turn into a dispute. Being able to prove when Royal Mail delivered an item can be crucial.

And only Special Delivery offers that protection. Signed For will also record when mail is delivered, but if it goes astray after being sent then there’s no protection.

Of course, there are alternatives to Royal Mail. There are courier services that offer tracked services including sending items internationally. In the right situation they may be the best option.

Summary: Special Delivery v Signed For

Special Delivery tracks all along the journey and promises delivery within a fixed time. Signed For is like standard post but with a signature to prove delivery.