![Farrer post code](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Farrer_post_code.jpg)
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or
digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a
postal address
An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used to give the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along w ...
for the purpose of sorting
mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...
.
the
Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to t ...
lists 160 countries which require the use of a postal code.
Although postal codes are usually assigned to geographical areas, special codes are sometimes assigned to individual addresses or to institutions that receive large volumes of mail, such as government agencies and large commercial companies. One example is the French
CEDEX system.
Terms
There are a number of synonyms for postal code; some are country-specific;
*
CAP
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
: The standard term in Italy; CAP is an acronym for ''codice di avviamento postale'' (postal expedition code).
*
CEP: The standard term in Brazil; CEP is an acronym for ''código de endereçamento postal'' (postal addressing code).
*
Eircode
A "postal address" in Ireland is a place of delivery defined by Irish Standard (IS) EN 14142-1:2011 ("Postal services. Address databases") and serviced by the universal service provider, '' An Post''. Its addressing guides comply with the ...
: The standard term in Ireland.
*
NPA in
French-speaking Switzerland
Romandy (french: Romandie or )Before World War I, the term French Switzerland (french: Suisse française) waalso used german: Romandie or , it, Romandia, rm, Romanda) is the French-speaking part of western Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 milli ...
(''numéro postal d'acheminement'') and
Italian-speaking Switzerland
The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. German, French, and Italian maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation, ...
(''numero postale di avviamento'').
*
PIN
A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together.
Pin or PIN may also refer to:
Computers and technology
* Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system
** PIN pad, a PIN entry device
* PIN, a former Dutch ...
: The standard term in India; PIN is an acronym for Postal Index Number. Sometimes called a PIN code.
* PLZ: The standard term in Germany, Austria,
German-speaking Switzerland
The German-speaking part of Switzerland (german: Deutschschweiz, french: Suisse alémanique, it, Svizzera tedesca, rm, Svizra tudestga) comprises about 65 percent of Switzerland (North Western Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Central Switz ...
and
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
; PLZ is an abbreviation of ''Postleitzahl'' (postal routing number).
* Postal code: The general term is used in Canada.
* Postcode: This
solid compound is popular in many English-speaking countries and is also the standard term in the Netherlands.
* Postal index: This term is used in Eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus etc.
*
PSČ: The standard term in Slovakia and Czech Republic; PSČ is an acronym for ''Poštové smerovacie číslo'' (in Slovak) or ''Poštovní směrovací číslo'' (in Czech), both meaning postal routing number.
*
ZIP Code: The standard term in the United States and the Philippines; ZIP is an
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
for ''Zone Improvement Plan''.
History
![Stamp Soviet Union 1977 CPA 4775](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Stamp_Soviet_Union_1977_CPA_4775.jpg)
The development of postal codes reflects the increasing complexity of postal delivery as populations grew and the
built environment
The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...
became more complex. This happened first in large cities. Postal codes began with postal district numbers (or postal zone numbers) within large cities.
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
was first subdivided into 10 districts in 1857 (EC (East Central), WC (West Central), N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, and NW), four were created to cover
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in 1864 and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
/
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
was split into eight numbered districts in 1867/68. By
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, such postal district or zone numbers also existed in various large European cities. They existed in the United States at least as late as the 1920s, possibly implemented at the local post office level only (for example, instances of "Boston 9, Mass" in 1920 are attested
) although they were evidently not used throughout all major US cities (implemented
USPOD-wide) until
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
By 1930 or earlier the idea of extending postal district or zone numbering plans beyond large cities to cover even small towns and rural locales was in the air. These developed into postal codes as they are defined today. The name of US postal codes, "ZIP codes", reflects this evolutionary growth from a zone plan to a zone improvement plan, "ZIP". Modern postal codes were first introduced in the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
in December 1932, but the system was abandoned in 1939. The next country to introduce postal codes was Germany in 1941, followed by Singapore in 1950,
Argentina in 1958, the United States in 1963 and Switzerland in 1964. The United Kingdom began introducing its current system in Norwich in 1959, but they were not used nationwide until 1974.
Presentation
Character sets
The characters used in postal codes are:
* The
Western Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals are the ten numerical digits: , , , , , , , , and . They are the most commonly used symbols to write decimal numbers. They are also used for writing numbers in other systems such as octal, and for writing identifiers such as c ...
"0" to "9"
* Letters of the
ISO basic Latin alphabet
The ISO basic Latin alphabet is an international standard (beginning with ISO/IEC 646) for a Latin-script alphabet that consists of two sets (uppercase and lowercase) of 26 letters, codified in various national and international standards and u ...
* Spaces, hyphens
Reserved characters
Postal codes in the Netherlands
Postal codes in the Netherlands, known as ''postcodes'', are alphanumeric, consisting of four digits followed by two uppercase letters. The letters 'F', 'I', 'O', 'Q', 'U' and 'Y' were originally not used for technical reasons, but almost all exi ...
originally did not use the letters 'F', 'I', 'O', 'Q', 'U' and 'Y' for technical reasons. But as almost all existing combinations are now used, these letters were allowed for new locations starting 2005. The letter combinations "SS" (), "SD" (), and "SA" () are not used, due to links with the
Nazi occupation in World War II.
Postal codes in Canada
A Canadian postal code (french: code postal) is a six-character string that forms part of a postal address in Canada. Like British, Irish and Dutch postcodes, Canada's postal codes are alphanumeric. They are in the format ''A1A 1A1'', where ' ...
do not include the letters D, F, I, O, Q, or U, as the
optical character recognition
Optical character recognition or optical character reader (OCR) is the electronic or mechanical conversion of images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a photo of a document, a scen ...
(OCR) equipment used in automated sorting could easily confuse them with other letters and digits. The letters W and Z are used, but are not currently used as the first letter. The Canadian Postal Codes use alternate letters and numbers (with a space after the third character) in this format: A9A 9A9
In Ireland the
eircode
A "postal address" in Ireland is a place of delivery defined by Irish Standard (IS) EN 14142-1:2011 ("Postal services. Address databases") and serviced by the universal service provider, '' An Post''. Its addressing guides comply with the ...
system uses the following letters only: A, C, D, E, F, H, K, N, P, R, T, V, W, X, Y. This serves two purposes:
* to avoid confusion in OCR, and
* it also helps to avoid accidental double-entendres by avoiding the creation of word look-alikes, as Eircode's last four characters are random.
Alphanumeric postal codes
Most of the postal code systems are numeric; only a few are alphanumeric (i.e., use both letters and digits). Alphanumeric systems can, given the same number of characters, encode many more locations. For example, while a two digit numeric code can represent 100 locations, a two character alphanumeric code using ten numbers and twenty letters can represent 900 locations.
The independent nations using alphanumeric postal code systems are:
* Argentina (
see table)
*
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
(
see table)
* Canada (
see table)
*
Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
* Ireland (
see table)
*
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
(
see table) (suspended in 2007)
*
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
(since 2015)
*
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
(
see table)
* Netherlands (
see table)
*
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
(
see table) The postal code format in Peru was updated in February 2011 to be of the format of five digits.
*
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
* United Kingdom (
see table)
Countries which prefix their postal codes with a fixed group of letters, indicating a country code, include
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
,
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
and
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...
.
Country code prefixes
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of ...
country codes were recommended by the
European Committee for Standardization
The European Committee for Standardization (CEN, french: Comité Européen de Normalisation) is a public standards organization whose mission is to foster the economy of the European Single Market and the wider European continent in global tr ...
as well as the
Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to t ...
to be used in conjunction with postal codes starting in 1994,
but they have not become widely used.
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
,
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
,
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
and
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea wh ...
use the
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of ...
as a prefix in their postal codes.
In some countries (such as in
continental Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
, where a numeric postcode format of four or five digits is commonly used) the numeric postal code is sometimes prefixed with a
country code
Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes (geocodes) developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications. Several different systems have been developed to do this. The term '' ...
when sending international mail to that country.
Placement of the code
Postal services have their own formats and placement rules for postal codes. In most English-speaking countries, the postal code forms the last item of the address, following the city or town name, whereas in most continental European countries it precedes the name of the city or town.
When it follows the city it may be on the same line or on a new line.
In
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
,
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
, Russia,
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
it is written at the beginning of an address. In
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
it is written at the start of the address when written in Japanese, but at the end when the address is written in the Latin alphabet.
Geographic coverage
Postal codes are usually assigned to geographical areas. Sometimes codes are assigned to individual addresses or to institutions that receive large volumes of mail, e.g. government agencies or large commercial companies. One example is the French
Cedex system.
Postal zone numbers
Before postal codes as described here were used, large cities were often divided into postal zones or postal districts, usually numbered from 1 upwards within each city. The newer postal code systems often incorporate the old zone numbers, as with
London postal district
The London postal district is the area in England of to which mail addressed to the London post town is delivered. The General Post Office under the control of the Postmaster General directed Sir Rowland Hill to devise the area in 1856 and thro ...
numbers, for example. Ireland still uses
postal district numbers in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. In New Zealand,
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
,
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
and
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
were divided into postal zones, but these fell into disuse, and have now become redundant as a result of a new postcode system being introduced.
Codes defined along administrative borders
Some postal code systems, like those of
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
and
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, show an exact agreement with the hierarchy of administrative
country subdivisions
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
.
Format of six digit numeric (eight digit alphanumeric)
postal codes in Ecuador Postal codes in Ecuador have six numeric digits. The first two specify the province, the next two the district and the final two the zip code. For example, in the postal code 170515, 17 is Pichincha Province, 05 is the district and 15 the ZIP.
Exte ...
, introduced in December 2007: ECAABBCC
: EC -
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of ...
country code
: AA - one of the 24
provinces of Ecuador
Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces ( es, provincias, singular''provincia''). The provinces of Ecuador and their capitals are:
List
1 Population as per the census carried out on 2010-11-28
In addition, there were four areas that were non-del ...
(24 of 100 possible codes used = 24%)
: BB - one of the 226
cantons of Ecuador
The Cantons of Ecuador are the second-level subdivisions of Ecuador, below the provinces. There are 221 cantons in the country, of which three are not in any province. The cantons are further sub-divided into parishes, which are classified as ...
(for AABB 226 of 10000 codes used, i.e. 2.26%. Three cantons are not in any province)
: CC - one of the
parishes of Ecuador
The Parishes of Ecuador ( es, Parroquias) are the third-level administrative units of Ecuador. The Cantons of Ecuador are divided into parishes which are similar to municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division havi ...
.
Format of five digit numeric
Postal codes in Costa Rica Postal codes in Costa Rica are five digit numeric, and were introduced in March 2013, they are associated with and identifies a unique district in the country. They are managed by the Correos de Costa Rica, a government controlled institution that p ...
, introduced in 2007: ABBCC
: A - one of the seven
provinces of Costa Rica
According to Article 168 of the Constitution of Costa Rica, the political divisions are officially classified into 3 tiers of sub-national entities.
Overview
The Constitution of Costa Rica states, ''"For Public Administration purposes, the nation ...
(7 of 10 used, i.e. 70%)
: BB - one of the 81
cantons of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean ...
(81 of 100 used, i.e. 81%)
: CC - one of the
districts of Costa Rica
According to the Administrative divisions of Costa Rica, Territorial Administrative Division the Cantons of Costa Rica, cantons of Costa Rica are subdivided into 488 districts (''distritos''), each of which has a unique five digit postal code.
...
.
In Costa Rica these codes were originally used as district identifiers by the
National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica
The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica (''Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos de Costa Rica'', or ''INEC'', in Spanish) is the governmental institution entrusted with the running of censuses and official surveys in t ...
and the
Administrative Territorial Division, and continue to be equivalent.
The first two digits of the
postal codes in Turkey
Postal codes in Turkey ( tr, Posta kodu) consist of five digits starting with the two digit license plate code of the provinces followed by three digits to specify the location within the districts of the province.
See also
* ISO 3166-2:TR
Ex ...
correspond to the
provinces
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
and each province has assigned only one number. They are the same for them as in
ISO 3166-2:TR.
The first two digits of the
postal codes in Vietnam
Postal codes in Vietnam have five digits.
The exact postal code designated for local government areas, local post offices, government offices or embassies and consulates can be searched oNational Postal Code Website
References
External link ...
indicate a
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
. Some provinces have one, other have several two digit numbers assigned. The numbers differ from the number used in
ISO 3166-2:VN.
Codes defined close to administrative boundaries
![MAPA DAS REGIÕES DE CEP](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/MAPA_DAS_REGI%C3%95ES_DE_CEP.JPG)
In France the numeric code for the departments is used as the first two digits of the postal code, except for the two departments in
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
that have codes 2A and 2B and use 20 as postal code. Furthermore, the codes are only the codes for the department in charge of delivery of the post, so it can be that a location in one department has a postal code starting with the number of a neighbouring department.
Codes defined indirectly to administrative borders
The first digit of the
postal codes in the United States comprises discrete states. From the first three digits one can infer the state, with a few exceptions where an area is served by a central office in an adjacent state.
Similarly, in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the first letter indicates the province or territory, although the provinces of
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
are divided into several lettered sub-regions (e.g. H for
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
and
Laval
Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of:
People
* House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne
* Laval (surname)
Places Belgium
* Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...
), and the
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
and
Nunavut
Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...
share the letter X.
Codes defined independently from administrative areas
The first two digits of the
postal codes in Germany
Germany introduced postal codes on 25 July 1941, in the form of a two-digit system that was applied initially for the parcel service and later for all mail deliveries. This system was replaced in 1962 in West Germany by a four-digit system; three ...
define areas independently of administrative regions. The coding space of the first digit is fully used (0-9); that of the first two combined is utilized to 89%, i.e. there are 89 postal zones defined. Zone 11 is non-geographic.
Royal Mail
, kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga
, logo = Royal Mail.svg
, logo_size = 250px
, type = Public limited company
, traded_as =
, foundation =
, founder = Henry VIII
, location = London, England, UK
, key_people = * Keith Williams ...
designed the
postal codes in the United Kingdom
Postal codes used in the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies are known as postcodes (originally, postal codes). They are alphanumeric and were adopted nationally between 11 October 1959 and 1974, having been dev ...
mostly for efficient distribution. Nevertheless, people associated codes with certain areas, leading to some people wanting or not wanting to have a certain code. See also
postcode lottery
In the United Kingdom, the postcode lottery is the unequal provision of services such as healthcare, education and insurance prices depending on the geographic area or postcode. Postcodes can directly affect the services an area can obtain, such ...
.
In Brazil the
8-digit postcodes are an evolution of the five-digit area postal codes. In the 1990s the Brazilian five-digit postal code (illustrated),
DDDDD
, received a three-digit suffix
DDDDD-SSS
, but this suffix is not directly related to the administrative district hierarchy. The suffix was created only for logistic reasons.
QuadrasExemplo-CEP.png, City block
A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design.
A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...
s surrounded by streets, some streets with a different eight-digit postal code (suffixes 001 to 899).
QuadraExemplo-CEP.png, Faces of a city block
A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design.
A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...
and their extension into its interior. Each color is an eight-digit postal code, usually assigned to a side (odd or even numbered) of a street.
QuadraFaces-CEP.png, Faces of a city block and their extension between city blocks. The same colors (polygons) indicate the same postal codes.
220px, In the code spatialization it is an error to associate the postal code to an individual ''land lot'' area: a lot may have 0, 1, 2 or more delivery points, with different codes.
The postal code assignment can be assigned to individual
land lot
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ...
s in some special cases — in Brazil they are named "large receivers" and receive suffixes 900–959. In any other case it is an error to associate the postal code with the whole land lot area (illustrated).
A postal code is often related to a
land lot
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ...
, but this is not always the case. Postal codes are usually related to access points on streets. Small or middle-sized houses, in general, only have a single main gate which is the delivery point. Parks, large businesses such as shopping centers, and big houses, may have more than one entrance and more than one delivery point. So the semantic of an address and its postal code can vary, and one
land lot
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ...
may have more than one postal code.
Precision
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia introduced Postal Routing Numbers (PSČ - poštovní směrovací čísla) in 1973. The code consists of 5 digits formatted into two groups: NNN NN. Originally, the first group marked a district transport centre, the second group represented the order of post offices on the collection route. In the first group, the first digit corresponds partly with the region, the second digit meant a collection transport node (sběrný přepravní uzel, SPU) and the third digit a "district transport node" (okresní přepravní uzel). However, processing was later centralized and mechanized while codes remained the same. After separation Slovakia and the Czech Republic kept the system. Codes with an initial digit of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 are used in the Czech Republic, while codes with an initial digit of 8, 9, or 0 are used in Slovakia
A code corresponds to a local postal office. However, some larger companies or organizations have their own post codes. In 2004–2006 there were some efforts in Slovakia to reform the system, to get separate post codes for every district of single postmen, but the change was not realized.
India
![Example of Indian Postal Index Number](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Example_of_Indian_Postal_Index_Number.svg)
Postal codes are known as
Postal Index Number
A Postal Index Number (PIN; sometimes redundantly a PIN code) refers to a six-digit code in the Indian postal code system used by India Post. On 15 August 2022, the PIN system celebrated its 50th anniversary.
History
The PIN system was intro ...
s (PINs; sometimes as PIN codes) in India. The PIN system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by India Post. India uses a unique six-digit code as a geographical number to identify locations in India. The format of the PIN is ZSDPPP defined as follows:
: Z — Zone
: S — Sub-zone
: D — Sorting District
: P — Service Route
: PP — Post Office
There are nine total zones consisting of eight regional zones and a functional zone which are represented by the first digit.
Ireland
In Ireland, the new postal code system launched in 2015, known as
Eircode
A "postal address" in Ireland is a place of delivery defined by Irish Standard (IS) EN 14142-1:2011 ("Postal services. Address databases") and serviced by the universal service provider, '' An Post''. Its addressing guides comply with the ...
provides a unique 7-character alphanumerical code for each individual address. The first three digits are the routing key, which is a postal district and the last four characters are a unique identifier that relates to an individual address (business, house or apartment). A fully developed API is also available for integrating the Eircode database into business databases and logistics systems.
With a single exception, these codes are in the format:
ANN XXXX
The single exception is the Dublin D6W postal district. It is the only routing key area in the country that takes the format ANA instead of ANN:
D6W XXXX
While it is not intended to replace addresses, in theory simply providing a seven-character Eircode would locate any Irish delivery address. For example, the Irish Parliament
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
is: D02 A272
Netherlands
Postal codes in the Netherlands
Postal codes in the Netherlands, known as ''postcodes'', are alphanumeric, consisting of four digits followed by two uppercase letters. The letters 'F', 'I', 'O', 'Q', 'U' and 'Y' were originally not used for technical reasons, but almost all exi ...
, known as postcodes, are alphanumeric, consisting of four digits followed by a space and two letters (NNNN AA). Adding the house number to the postcode will identify the address, making the street name and town name redundant. For example: 2597 GV 75 will direct a postal delivery to Theo Mann-Bouwmeesterlaan 75,
's-Gravenhage (the International School of The Hague).
Singapore
Since 1 September 1995, every building in Singapore has been given
a unique, six-digit postal code.
United Kingdom
For domestic properties, an individual postcode may cover up to 100 properties in contiguous proximity (e.g. a short section of a populous road, or a group of less populous neighbouring roads). The postcode together with the number or name of a property is not always unique, particularly in rural areas. For example, GL20 8NX/1 might refer to either 1 Frampton Cottages or 1 Frampton Farm Cottages, roughly a quarter of a mile (400 metres) apart.
The structure is alphanumeric, with the following six valid formats, as defined by
BS 7666:
A9 9AA
A9A 9AA
A99 9AA
AA9 9AA
AA9A 9AA
AA99 9AA
There are always two halves: the separation between outward and inward postcodes is indicated by one space.
The outward postcode covers a unique area and has two parts which may in total be two, three or four characters in length. A postcode area of one or two letters, followed by one or two numbers, followed in some parts of London by a letter.
The outward postcode and the leading numeric of the inward postcode in combination forms a postal sector, and this usually corresponds to a couple of thousand properties.
Larger businesses and isolated properties such as farms may have a unique postcode. Extremely large organisations such as larger government offices or bank headquarters may have multiple postcodes for different departments.
There are about 100 postcode areas, ranging widely in size from
BT which covers the whole of Northern Ireland to
WC for a small part of
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...
. Postcode areas occasionally cross national boundaries, such as
SY which covers a large, predominantly rural area from
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
and
Ludlow
Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...
in
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
, England, through to the seaside town of
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
,
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...
on
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
' west coast.
United States
In the United States, the basic
ZIP Code is composed of five numbers. The first three numbers identify a specific
sectional center facility
A destination sectional center facility (SCF) is a processing and distribution center (P&DC) of the United States Postal Service (USPS) that serves a designated geographical area defined by one or more three-digit ZIP Code prefixes. A sectional ...
—or central sorting facility—that serves a geographic region (typically a large part of a state). The next two numbers identify a specific post office either serving an area of a city (if in an urban area or large suburban area) or an entire village, town, or small city and its surrounding area (if in a small suburban or rural area).
There is an extended format of the ZIP Code known as the
ZIP+4
Zip, Zips or ZIP may refer to:
Common uses
* ZIP Code, USPS postal code
* Zipper or zip, clothing fastener
Science and technology Computing
* ZIP (file format), a compressed archive file format
** zip, a command-line program from Info-ZIP
* Z ...
, which contains the basic five-digit ZIP Code, followed by a hyphen and four additional digits. These digits identify a specific delivery route, such as one side of a building, a group of apartments, or several floors of a large office building. Although using the ZIP+4 offers higher accuracy, addressing redundancy, and sorting efficiency within the
USPS
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
, it is optional and not widely used by the general public. It is primarily only used by business mailers.
For high volume business mailers using automated mailing machines, the USPS has promulgated the
Intelligent Mail barcode
The Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb) is a 65-bar barcode for use on mail in the United States. The term "Intelligent Mail" refers to services offered by the United States Postal Service for domestic mail delivery. The IM barcode is intended to provi ...
standard, which is a barcode containing the ZIP+4 code plus a two digit
delivery point
In a postal system, a delivery point (sometimes DP) is a single mailbox or other place at which mail is delivered. It differs from a street address, in that each address may have several delivery points, such as an apartment, office department, ...
. This 11-digit number is theoretically a unique identifier for every address in the country.
States and overseas territories sharing a postal code system
French overseas departments and territories use the five-digit
French postal code system
Postal codes were introduced in France in 1964, when ''La Poste (France), La Poste'' introduced Optical character recognition, automated sorting. They were updated to use the current 5 digit system in 1972.
France uses five-digit numeric postal ...
, each code starting with the three-digit department identifier.
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
is also integrated in the French system and has no system of its own.
The British
Crown Dependencies of
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
,
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
and the
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
are part of the UK postcode system. They use the schemes AAN NAA and AANN NAA, in which the first two letters are a unique code (GY, JE and IM respectively).
Most of the Overseas Territories have UK-style postcodes, with a single postcode for each territory or dependency, although they are still treated as international destinations by Royal Mail in the UK, and charged at international rather than UK inland rates. The four other Overseas Territories
Anguilla
Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The territo ...
,
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
,
British Virgin Islands
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = Territorial song
, song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands"
, image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg
, map_caption =
, mapsize = 290px
, image_map2 = Brit ...
and
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...
have their own separate systems and formats.
The Pacific island states of
Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...
,
Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
and the
Federated States of Micronesia
The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...
remain part of the US
ZIP code system, despite having become independent states.
San Marino
San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...
and the
Vatican City
Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—'
* german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ')
* pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—'
* pt, Cidade do Vati ...
are part of the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
postcode system, while
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
similarly uses the
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
*Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
*Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internation ...
system, as do the Italian exclave of
Campione d'Italia
Campione d'Italia ( Comasco: , ) is a ''comune'' of the Province of Como in the Lombardy region of Italy and an enclave surrounded by the Swiss canton of Ticino (it is also an exclave). At its closest, the enclave is less than from the rest of ...
and the German exclave of
Büsingen am Hochrhein
Büsingen am Hochrhein (, "Büsingen on the Upper Rhine"; Alemannic: ''Büesinge am Hochrhi''), commonly known as Büsingen, is a German municipality () in the south of Baden-Württemberg and an enclave entirely surrounded by the Swiss cantons ...
, although they also form part of their respective countries' postal code systems.
The
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
still use the codes of the former
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
, their ranges not overlapping. In 2004–2006, Slovakia prepared a reform of the system but the plan was postponed and maybe abandoned. In the Czech Republic, there was no significant effort to modify the system.
Non-geographic codes
In the United Kingdom, the non-conforming postal code GIR 0AA was used for the
National Girobank
National Girobank was a British public sector financial institution run by the General Post Office that opened for business in October 1968. It started life as ''National Giro'' then ''National Girobank'' and finally ''Girobank plc'' be ...
until its closure in 2003. A non-geographic series of postcodes, starting with BX, is used by some banks and government departments.
:HM Revenue and Customs - VAT Controller
:VAT Central Unit
:BX5 5AT
A fictional address is also used by Royal Mail for letters to Santa Claus, more commonly known as Santa or Father Christmas:
:Santa's Grotto
:Reindeerland XM4 5HQ
Previously, the postcode SAN TA1 was used.
In Finland, the special postal code 99999 is for
Korvatunturi
Korvatunturi is a fell in Lapland, on the border between Finland and Russia. Its Finnish part is within Urho Kekkonen National Park in the municipality of Savukoski. In Finnish the name ''Korvatunturi'' means "Ear Fell", referring to the mountai ...
, the place where Santa Claus (''Joulupukki'' in
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
) is said to live, although mail is delivered to the
Santa Claus Village
Santa Claus Village ( fi, Joulupukin Pajakylä) is an amusement park in Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland. It was opened in 1985.
Location and transportation
Santa Claus Village is located about northeast of Rovaniemi and about fr ...
in
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per ...
.
In Canada, the amount of mail sent to Santa Claus increased every
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
, up to the point that Canada Post decided to start an official Santa Claus letter-response program in 1983. Approximately one million letters come in to Santa Claus each Christmas, including from outside of Canada, and all of them are answered in the same languages in which they are written. Canada Post introduced a special address for mail to Santa Claus, complete with its
own postal code:
:SANTA CLAUS
:NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
In Belgium
bpost
Bpost (stylised ''bpost'') also known as the Belgian Post Group, is the Belgian company responsible for the delivery of national and international mail. The Belgian Post Group is one of the largest civilian employers in Belgium. It provides a r ...
sends a small present to children who have written a letter to
Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas () or Sint-Nicolaas () is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include ''De Sint'' ("The Saint"), ''De Goede Sint'' ("The Good Saint") and ''De Goedheiligman'' ("The ...
. They can use the non-geographic postal code 0612, which refers to the date Sinterklaas is celebrated (6 December), although a fictional town, street and house number are also used. In Dutch, the address is
:Sinterklaas
:Spanjestraat 1
:0612 Hemel
This translates as "1 Spain Street, 0612 Heaven". In French, the street is called "Paradise Street":
:Saint-Nicolas
:Rue du Paradis 1
:0612 Ciel
Formats
Non-postal uses and economic aspects
While postal codes were introduced to expedite the delivery of mail, they are very useful tools for several other purposes, particularly in countries where codes are very fine-grained and identify just a few addresses. Among uses are:
* Finding the nearest branch of an organisation to a given address. A computer program uses the postal codes of the target address and the branches to list the closest branches in order of distance
as the crow flies
__NOTOC__
The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel '' Oliv ...
(or, if used in conjunction with street map software, road distance). This can be used by companies to inform potential customers where to go, by
job centre
An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency.
Public employment agencies
One ...
s to find jobs for job-seekers, to alert people of
town planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
applications in their area, and a great many other applications.
* Fine-grained postal codes can be used with
satellite navigation
A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude/elevation) to high pr ...
systems to navigate to an address by street number and postcode.
* Geographical sales territories for representatives in the pharmaceutical industry are allocated based on a workload index that is based upon postcode.
* Population data can be isolated, grouped and/or organized by postal code for statistical analysis
Availability
The availability of postal code information has significant economic advantages. In some countries, the postal authorities charge for access to the code database. , the United Kingdom Government is consulting on whether to
waive licensing fees for some geographical data sets (to be determined) related to UK postcodes.
See also
*
List of postal codes
This list shows an overview of postal code notation schemes for all countries that have postal or ZIP Code systems.
List
; Legend
* A = letter
* N = number
* ? = letter or number
* CC = ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
}) formally. The f ...
*
:Lists of postal codes
*
Address#Format by country and area
*
Postcode Address File
The Postcode Address File (PAF) is a database that contains all known "delivery points" and postcodes in the United Kingdom. The PAF is a collection of over 29 million Royal Mail postal addresses and 1.8 million postcodes. It is available in ...
References
External links
*
Universal Postal Union*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Postal Code
Postal systems
Ukrainian inventions
Soviet inventions