DAO, Denmark’s new national mail carrier, has been overwhelmed with 15,000 complaints since taking over letter distribution from PostNord on January 1, 2026. The company is now struggling to deliver letters on time, with delays affecting bank cards, hospital mail, and vulnerable populations who rely on physical post.
Test Shows Major Delivery Problems
A recent test conducted by tvSyd revealed the extent of Dao’s delivery issues. The media outlet sent batches of letters to recipients in southern Denmark using both PostNord and Dao to compare delivery times.
While PostNord delivered 15 out of 17 letters within five days, none of the letters sent through Dao arrived within the same timeframe. The average delivery time for Dao was 8.5 business days, far exceeding the company’s promised two to five day window.
Steen Breiner, head of communications at Dao, acknowledged the problem. He stated that when the company promises delivery within two to five days, it must meet that standard. He added that 8.5 business days is simply not acceptable and apologized for the delays. The company now plans to review its procedures to fix the issues as quickly as possible.
Banking Cards Never Arrive
Since Dao took over mail distribution at the start of 2026, the company has faced intense criticism from both citizens and businesses experiencing delays of several weeks. One affected person is Gitte Hauerberg Svendsen from Vanløse.
Her daily life came to an abrupt halt when she found herself without a valid payment card one morning. She could not pay in stores, use her travel card app, or withdraw cash as usual. The new card her bank had sent through the mail never arrived.
Without a payment card, modern life becomes extremely difficult. She explained that it is nearly impossible to function today without a card since payment is required for almost everything.
The card was automatically sent from her bank via Dao when her old payment card expired. When it failed to arrive, the bank sent a replacement. However, that second card also never reached Gitte Hauerberg Svendsen.
Hospital Letters Delayed
Region Syddanmark has also experienced problems with delayed or missing letters to patients, according to a press release from the region. The same issues have affected Region Midtjylland and Region Nordjylland, though both told DR that the situation is now improving.
Meanwhile, Region Hovedstaden faced specific problems with the distribution of cancer screening samples that patients sent to hospitals. Several samples were dropped off at PostNord locations and remained stuck in their terminals without reaching the hospitals.
A solution has now been found. Dao collects the samples from PostNord and ensures they are forwarded to the hospitals, Region Hovedstaden confirmed to TV 2 Kosmopol.
DAO Admits Direct Mistakes
Hans Peter Nissen, managing director at Dao, explained to TV 2 Kosmopol that the delays primarily stem from a large number of letters being routed to manual handling, even though machines normally process most mail.
He noted that many letters cannot be read by machines because the addresses are not clearly written. This creates the main bottleneck, as these letters must be sorted manually.
At the same time, there has been significant pressure related to picking up letters from parcel shops. In some cases, vehicles could not carry all the letters at once.
Finally, the company made a major error in handling letters containing credit cards. Nissen admitted that they made some direct mistakes by accidentally placing letters in the manual sorting pile that should not have been there. This resulted in three boxes of bank letters containing new payment cards sitting unprocessed.
He believes the problem is now resolved and that the last batch of payment card letters from banks has been sent out.
DAO is Working to Clear Backlog
Dao expects to deliver letters on time going forward, provided that addresses are clearly written, Hans Peter Nissen explained. However, there is still a backlog of letters that require manual handling.
He stated that the company still has a pile of letters with hard to read addresses, and it will take another two to three weeks to clear them.
To address the situation, Dao is hiring more staff and establishing both night and day shifts to speed up the manual sorting process. Nissen emphasized that the company is working hard to fix its problems. People need to be able to trust Dao, and he freely admits the company has made mistakes.
Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen provided a written statement to TV Syd. He acknowledged that there have been challenges in January and that Dao must correct them. As part of the postal agreement, the government will continue to monitor that postal law requirements are met, ensuring that people can send and receive mail in all parts of the country.
Background on the Transition
The transition from PostNord to Dao followed years of declining mail volume in Denmark. Letter volume dropped from 1.44 billion in 2000 to just 122 million in 2024. In response, the universal service obligation known as befordringspligten was abolished in 2024, freeing PostNord from nationwide delivery duties.
Dao took over the interim role with backing from 110 million kroner in state funding at 2025 prices. The company now handles all standard letters domestically and internationally, plus recommended and legal notice letters, at uniform prices.
Interestingly, Dao distributed 4.5 million letters in January 2026 alone while receiving 15,000 complaints during that same period. Approximately 250,000 Danes are exempt from digital mail and rely exclusively on physical post. This vulnerable population, particularly the elderly, has been disproportionately affected by the delivery delays.
Senders now use red Dao mailboxes located in Dao shops or can arrange home pickup for a fee through DaoPICKUP. International letters cost 46 kroner, slightly less than PostNord’s previous rate of 50 kroner. PostNord still handles international registered letters, valuables, and packages, while traditional red PostNord mailboxes are being removed.
Government Monitoring Performance
Trafikstyrelsen, the Danish transport authority, monitors Dao’s performance through annual quality tests using test shipments across regions. As of early 2026, the agency had received only 14 formal complaints but remained in dialogue with Dao about timeliness issues.
Despite the current challenges, Dao maintains that newly submitted letters will be delivered on time, as long as addresses are written clearly. However, the existing backlog of difficult to read letters will take additional weeks to process completely.
Sources and References
The Danish Dream: DAO Leads Denmark in Reliable Mail Delivery
The Danish Dream: Best Credit Card in Denmark for Foreigners
TV2: Dao lagt ned af henvendelser
