2026Bereavement Stamp Netherlands Prio - Sheetlets

PostNL will issue the Bereavement Stamp Netherlands Prio on Sunday 12 July 2026, bearing the denomination Prio for bereavement mail up to 50 grams with a destination within the Netherlands and a delivery time on the next delivery day (Monday to Saturday). A Bereavement Stamp Netherlands Prio costs €3.25 each and is available in sheets of 20 stamps.

The new bereavement stamps feature the word Prio and are intended for bereavement mail up to 50 grams with a destination within the Netherlands and delivery on the next delivery day.
The stamps can be used in combination with the new collection envelope for funeral cards. Individual funeral cards bearing the Bereavement Stamp Netherlands Prio may be handed in at the counter of Post Offices and PostNL Business Points. For a PostNL location near you, visit postnl.nl/locatiewijzer and select ‘bereavement mail’.

The Bereavement Stamps Netherlands Prio are available at Post Offices and Business Points, via funeral directors and via the webshop or through the Collect Club customer service on telephone number 088 - 868 99 00.

ISSUE

Bereavement mail
PostNL sends millions of funeral cards each year. Due to its great importance for both sender and recipient, this mail flow is handled with the utmost care. Separate procedures therefore apply to bereavement mail to maintain the highest possible quality during collection, sorting and delivery. It is essential that funeral directors or next of kin affix the correct bereavement stamp to the addressed funeral cards. The introduction of the Bereavement Stamp Netherlands Prio has further improved the process.

Delivery time
From 12 July, PostNL will deliver letterbox mail within two delivery days* and, in the longer term, within three delivery days. Bereavement mail will continue to be delivered within one delivery day even after 12 July. This is carried out from Monday to Saturday by the parcel deliverer. This applies only to bereavement mail bearing a Bereavement Stamp Netherlands Prio. This ensures that bereavement mail remains immediately recognisable in the process and can be given priority.

- According to the new UPD regulations, letter post will then be delivered within two days with a quality percentage of at least 90%

Unique identification of each stamp
Each Bereavement Stamp Netherlands Prio is provided with a unique Data Matrix code. This means that no two stamps have the same code. A Data Matrix code is a 2D barcode consisting of black and white blocks. Unlike a traditional barcode, such a code can contain a large amount of information in a small area, such as product type, production batch, security features or serial numbers.
Within the sorting process, the codes are scanned automatically. This optimises the ability to recognise the letter within the PostNL network and give it priority.

DESIGN

Basic design
The first version of the bereavement stamp appeared in 1998, designed by graphic designer Rutger Fuchs from Amsterdam. The reason for this was the need to make bereavement mail more recognisable, as the traditional mourning envelope with a black border had by then fallen out of use.

The design had to meet many conditions. Due to the associations colours can evoke and different religious beliefs, colours such as red, purple and black were not desirable. The same applied to images of people and symbols associated with death. Fuchs therefore mainly had to deal with limitations in the design. ‘That is why I quickly moved towards abstraction, using the word “einder” as a starting point. But a hard horizontal line was not possible, as feedback showed that people would then think of a flatlined hospital monitor. I arrived at a diagonal line that moves upwards across a grey-green-blue colour field. I also wanted to devise something appropriate for the lettering. I split the word NEDERLAND on the stamp.’
At the time, Fuchs had to overcome several objections from the client. ‘For instance, I did not want to use a year, as this would compromise the timeless nature. I also insisted on a square design. Not only because of recognisability, but also because a square symbolises eternity much more than a rectangle.’

Security slits have been incorporated into the stamp. These serve as an important authenticity feature.

Changes
This basic design has remained unchanged since 1998. Fuchs: ‘It is wonderful that the design has proved to be timeless. That is what I aimed for.’ Since then, only details have been adjusted, including the introduction of the euro (double denomination in 2000 and euro denomination in 2002) and the replacement of the euro tariff with the denomination Netherlands 1 (in 2010).
In 2020, PostNL introduced the Bereavement Stamp Netherlands 2 for bereavement mail heavier than 20 grams. Due to the often more luxurious and therefore heavier funeral letters, it was increasingly necessary to affix two bereavement stamps to one letter. The funeral sector found this undesirable, as two separate bereavement stamps with denomination 1 would ‘spoil’ the envelope. In this design, only the colour of the field changed, from grey-green-blue to autumn brown.

For the issue of the Bereavement Stamp Netherlands Prio, Fuchs has changed the colour in the square field once again. It is now twilight blue. Fuchs: ‘With a hint of purple, but still predominantly blue. It is a colour that fits well with the previous two colours.’
The major change in the new issue, the added code, is positioned to the right of the square on the stamp. The code, set within a narrow vertical rectangle aligned at the top and bottom with the square colour field, does not affect the basic design.

Lettering
Fuchs used the typeface Neuzeit S. This sans-serif font was designed in 1928 by C.W. Pischiner for the German type foundry D. Stempel (now part of Linotype).

About the designer
Rutger Fuchs (1970, Leiden) studied graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam (now the Willem de Kooning Academy). In 1992, he started as an independent designer, mainly working on books and corporate identities for the cultural sector (galleries, museums and publishers) in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United States. Previous stamps by his hand include the Bereavement Stamp (Netherlands 1) (1998), the Max Euwe stamp(2001), the Silver Surprise Stamp (2001), Beautiful Netherlands (2014) and the Bereavement Stamp (Netherlands 2)(2020).