Good Delivery Gold Explained: Everything You Need to Know

Learn what Good Delivery gold is, the LBMA standards for 400 oz bars, purity requirements, the Good Delivery List, and why it matters for the global gold market.

“Good Delivery” is the global gold industry’s highest and most widely recognised standard for large wholesale gold bars. It is set and maintained by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the trade body that oversees the London bullion market — the world’s primary centre for over-the-counter (OTC) gold trading.

Only bars that meet the strict Good Delivery specifications, and that are produced by refiners on the official LBMA Good Delivery List, are accepted for settlement in the “loco London” market (meaning the physical gold is held and transferred in London vaults). This standard underpins the majority of institutional, central bank, and large-scale commercial gold trading worldwide.

Why Good Delivery Matters

The London market trades enormous volumes of gold every day without every bar needing to be re-assayed or physically inspected on each transfer. This works only because every participant trusts that a Good Delivery bar is consistent in quality, purity, weight, appearance, and provenance.

Bars that fall outside the rules (or come from non-accredited refiners) cannot enter the system freely and usually trade at a discount or require costly re-refining and re-assaying.

Good Delivery therefore provides:

• Guaranteed minimum quality and purity
• Full traceability and chain of integrity
• High liquidity and tight bid-offer spreads
• Acceptance by central banks, major banks, and institutional investors

Exact Specifications for a Good Delivery Gold Bar

A standard Good Delivery gold bar has these required characteristics (based on the current LBMA Good Delivery Rules):

• Fine gold content: Between 350 and 430 troy ounces (approximately 10.9–13.4 kg). The typical or nominal weight is around 400 troy ounces (about 12.4–12.5 kg).
• Fineness (purity): Minimum 995.0 parts per thousand (99.5% pure gold). In practice, many bars are 999.0 or higher.
• Dimensions (approximate permitted ranges):
  • Length (top): 210–290 mm
  • Width (top): 55–85 mm
  • Height: 25–45 mm
  • The bars have a characteristic trapezoidal (slightly tapered) shape with an undercut/slope of 5° to 25° so they stack securely.
• Required markings (stamped clearly on the bar):
  • Unique serial number
  • Refiner’s hallmark / assay stamp
  • Fineness (to four significant figures)
  • Year of manufacture

Bars must be cast (not minted or pressed) in approved moulds, have good surface quality, and meet strict appearance standards. Weight is recorded in troy ounces to the nearest 0.025 oz.

These bars are far larger and more valuable than the small retail bars or coins most private investors buy. At current gold prices a single ~400 oz bar is worth well over a million US dollars, which is why they are almost exclusively held in professional vaults.

The Good Delivery List – Who Can Produce Them

Only refiners that appear on the official LBMA Good Delivery List for gold are authorised to produce bars that qualify. As of recent data there are around 65–70 accredited gold refiners worldwide.

To gain and keep listing, a refiner must meet rigorous criteria, including:

• Been in business for at least five years and refining gold for at least three years
• Annual refined gold production of at least 10 tonnes
• Tangible net worth of at least £15 million
• Passing detailed technical tests of their assaying accuracy and bar quality (tested by independent LBMA referees)
• Compliance with the LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance (covering human rights, conflict minerals, anti-money laundering, and environmental standards)
• Ongoing proactive monitoring and periodic re-testing of sample bars

The List is actively maintained. Refiners can be added, suspended, or removed. Recent updates to the Rules (effective from 2026) include tighter rules on serial-number lettering (non-Roman scripts restricted in certain markings) and requirements that stamps be at least 10 mm from the edge of the bar for new applicants and future bar changes.

Good Delivery vs Retail Gold Products

This is a critical distinction many investors miss. A refiner on the Good Delivery List may also produce smaller bars (1 oz, 100 g, 1 kg, etc.) and coins. Those smaller products benefit from the refiner’s reputation and quality control, but they themselves are not Good Delivery bars. Good Delivery refers specifically to the large ~400 oz wholesale bars that settle loco London trades.

Retail products are perfectly legitimate for private ownership, but they carry higher premiums over the spot price and are less liquid in the wholesale sense.

Chain of Integrity and Vaulting

Once a Good Delivery bar enters an approved London vault, it remains within a tightly controlled chain of custody. Movements between vaults are recorded. If a bar leaves the professional vault system (for example, it is taken into private non-approved storage), it generally loses its automatic Good Delivery status. Returning it to the system usually requires re-assaying and re-certification by an accredited refiner — an expensive process.

This chain of integrity is one reason institutional investors and central banks prefer Good Delivery gold: authenticity and quality are continuously verified by the market infrastructure itself.

Responsible Sourcing

Modern Good Delivery status is inseparable from ethical and responsible sourcing. Accredited refiners must follow the LBMA Responsible Gold Guidance, which aims to prevent gold from funding conflict, human-rights abuses, or money laundering. This has become increasingly important to institutional buyers and regulators.

Practical Implications for Different Participants

• Central banks and large institutions: Almost all official gold reserves and major holdings are in Good Delivery form because of liquidity, acceptance, and low transaction costs.
• Bullion banks and traders: They use these bars for loco London settlement — the backbone of the global OTC gold market.
• Private investors: Most individuals never buy a full Good Delivery bar because of the size and cost. Instead they buy allocated gold in vaults that is held as fractions of Good Delivery bars, or they buy smaller retail products from reputable refiners. Platforms that offer allocated storage often store client metal inside actual Good Delivery bars.
• Miners and producers: Getting Good Delivery accreditation (or selling doré to an accredited refiner) is essential for accessing the highest-value, lowest-friction markets.

Summary of Key Points

Good Delivery gold is the wholesale industry standard for large, high-purity bars (350–430 fine troy ounces, minimum 99.5% pure) produced only by LBMA-accredited refiners. It guarantees consistency, authenticity, ethical sourcing, and maximum liquidity in the London market.

The bars carry specific markings and dimensional requirements and must stay within the professional vault system to retain their status.

While private investors rarely handle the physical bars themselves, understanding the Good Delivery standard helps explain why certain gold is more trusted and more liquid than others, and why the LBMA’s rules form the foundation of the modern global gold market.

This framework has been refined over decades and continues to evolve (with rule updates as recent as 2026) to maintain trust in what remains the world’s most important physical gold trading system.