A Good Delivery gold bar. It weighs about 12.4 kg, or about 400 troy ounces.A Good Delivery silver bar. It weighs about 31.1 kg, or about 1000 troy ounces.
Good Delivery is a set of rules for large bullion bars. The rules are issued by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). They describe the size, weight, purity, shape, and marks of gold and silver bars used in the wholesale bullion market. The rules also say which places that refine metal can be put on the LBMA Good Delivery List.
Good Delivery bars are large and have high purity. They usually have a shape like a trapezoid prism. This shape comes from the mould used to cast the bar. It helps make the bar even and gives it sloping sides.
Good Delivery Rules
The full Good Delivery rules are in an LBMA document called The Good Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars: Specifications for Good Delivery Bars and Application Procedures for Listing. The document gives rules for purity, weight, size, look, marks, and production of gold and silver bars. It also gives rules for weighing, packing, and delivery. It explains how the LBMA checks that refineries follow the rules.
The current edition of the Good Delivery Rules was published in January 2026.
Basic rules
Gold bars
Purity: at least 995.0 parts per thousand pure gold
Marks: serial number, refiner's mark, purity, and year of making
Gold content: 350–430 troy ounces, or about 11–13 kg
Recommended size:
top length: 210–290 mm
top width: 55–85 mm
height: 25–45 mm
Silver bars
Purity: at least 999.0 parts per thousand pure silver
Marks: serial number, refiner's mark, purity, and year of making
Silver content: 900–1100 troy ounces, or about 28–34 kg, from 1 January 2025; 750–1100 troy ounces, or about 23–34 kg, for bars made after 1 January 2008; and 500–1250 troy ounces, or about 16–39 kg, for bars made before 1 January 2008
Recommended size:
top length: 250–350 mm
top width: 110–150 mm
height: 60–100 mm
The weight should not usually be stamped on gold or silver bars. This is because the bars are officially weighed when they are delivered. That weight is the official weight. It may be different from the weight first marked on the bar. The weight can also change if the bar is handled or sampled.
Non-Good Delivery
Bars that do not follow the Good Delivery rules are called Non-Good Delivery bars. If they look like Good Delivery bars but do not fully follow the rules, they must be marked "NGD". This shows that they are not Good Delivery bars.
LBMA Good Delivery List
The LBMA keeps two Good Delivery Lists of approved refineries: one for gold and one for silver. These refineries must meet minimum rules, such as time in business, net worth, and production amount. They must also show that they can make Good Delivery bars. Companies on the list agree to be checked by the LBMA. Companies that do not take part in regular checks are removed from the Good Delivery List and moved to the Former List.
Good Delivery Referees
Five companies are approved by the LBMA as Good Delivery Referees. They help supervise the Good Delivery system and check companies with Good Delivery certification. Their main tasks are:
checking companies that apply to be listed;
checking refineries already on the Good Delivery List;
giving technical advice.
The companies approved as Good Delivery Referees are:
