postcodes in New Zealand
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Postcodes in New Zealand consist of four digits, the first two of which specify the area, the third the type of delivery (street,
PO Box A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office. In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door to door delivery ...
,
Private Bag A private mail bag (PMB), locked bag or caller service is a term for a special form of postal delivery in some countries, usually a government department or large private company, which receive large volumes of mail. Private mail bag addresses are o ...
, or
Rural delivery Rural delivery service refers to services for the delivery of mail to rural areas. In many countries, rural mail delivery follows different rules and practices from that in urban areas. For example, in some areas rural delivery may require homeow ...
), and the last the specific lobby, RD (rural delivery) number, or suburb. The present postcode system was introduced in
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in June 2006, which, unlike the previous system, applies to all items of mail with effect from June 2008. In October 2008,
New Zealand Post NZ Post ( mi, Tukurau Aotearoa), shortened from New Zealand Post, is a state-owned enterprise responsible for providing postal service in New Zealand. The New Zealand Post Office, a government agency, provided postal, banking, and telecommunica ...
launched a 'remember your postcode' campaign, offering a
NZ$ The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...
10,000 prize for remembering a postcode. This replaced a previous system, introduced in 1977, in which New Zealand Post did not require individual items of mail to include the postcode in the address.
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) enabled automated sorting machines to scan entire addresses, rather than just postcodes, as was the case with older machines. This was very similar to the case in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. OCR technology was introduced in 1992; when the first of seven OCR machines were installed in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch Mail Centres, most mail was sorted manually.


Allocation

There are 1856 postcodes, each of which may serve up to 10,000 individual locations. Postcodes are generally allocated north to south. * 00 – ''unused'' * 01 – Whangarei, Marsden Point, Ngunguru * 02 – Kawakawa, Kerikeri, Moerewa, Paihia, Russell * 03 – Dargaville * 04 – Kaikohe, Kaitaia * 05 – Mangawhai, Waipu * 06 – North Shore, West Auckland (urban); West Auckland (PO box); south-western Central Auckland * 07 – North Shore, West Auckland (rural); North Shore (PO Box) * 08 – Helensville, Kumeu * 09 – Hibiscus Coast, Warkworth, Wellsford, Snells Beach; Great Barrier Island * 10 – Central Auckland, Waiheke Island (urban), Rakino Island * 11 – Central Auckland (PO box, central) * 12 – Central Auckland (PO box, western bays) * 13 – Central Auckland (PO box, inner south-west) * 14 – Central Auckland (PO box, outer south-west) * 15 – Central Auckland (PO box, inner south-east) * 16 – Central Auckland (PO box, outer-south-east) * 17 – Central Auckland (PO box, eastern bays) * 18 – Waiheke Island (PO box) * 19 – Waiheke Island (rural) * 20 – South Auckland (urban, north and east) * 21 – South Auckland, Pukekohe, Tuakau, Waiuku (urban, south); South Auckland (PO box, north and east) * 22 – South Auckland (PO box, south) * 23 – Pukekohe, Tuakau, Waiuku (PO box) * 24 – Pokeno, Mercer, Mangatawhiri * 25 – South Auckland (rural) * 26 – Pukekohe, Tuakau, Waiuku (rural) * 27 – ''unused'' * 28 – ''unused'' * 29 – ''unused'' * 30 – Rotorua, Murupara * 31 – Tauranga, Whakatane, Edgecumbe, Katikati, Kawerau, Opotiki, Te Puke, Matakana Island * 32 – Hamilton, Raglan * 33 – Taupo, Morrinsville, Te Aroha, Turangi * 34 – Cambridge, Tokoroa, Mangakino, Matamata, Putaruru * 35 – Coromandel, Ngatea, Tairua, Thames, Whitianga * 36 – Paeroa, Waihi, Waihi Beach, Whangamata * 37 – Huntly, Ngāruawāhia, Te Kauwhata * 38 – Te Awamutu * 39 – Otorohanga, Taumarunui, Te Kuiti * 40 – Gisborne, Ruatoria * 41 – Hastings, Napier, Wairoa * 42 – Waipawa, Waipukurau * 43 – New Plymouth, Eltham, Inglewood, Stratford, Waitara * 44 – Palmerston North * 45 – Whanganui, Patea * 46 – Hawera, Ohakune, Opunake, Raetihi * 47 – Feilding, Marton, Taihape * 48 – Ashhurst, Bulls, Foxton, Shannon, Waiouru * 49 – Dannevirke, Pahiatua, Woodville * 50 – Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Kapiti, Porirua, Tawa (urban); Lower Hutt (PO Box). * 51 – Upper Hutt (PO Box) * 52 – Kapiti, Porirua (PO Box) * 53 – Kapiti, Lower Hutt, Porirua, Upper Hutt (rural) * 54 – ''unused'' * 55 – Levin, Ōtaki * 56 – ''unused'' * 57 – Carterton, Featherston, Greytown, Martinborough * 58 – Masterton * 59 – ''unused'' * 60 – Wellington (urban) * 61 – Wellington (PO box, central & west) * 62 – Wellington (PO box, south & east) * 63 – ''unused'' * 64 – Wellington (PO box, north) * 65 – ''unused'' * 66 – ''unused'' * 67 – ''unused'' * 68 – ''unused'' * 69 – Wellington (rural) * 70 – Nelson, Richmond, Brightwater, Mapua, Wakefield * 71 – Motueka, Takaka * 72 – Blenheim, Picton * 73 – Cheviot, Kaikoura, Hanmer Springs * 74 – Rangiora, Amberley, Oxford * 75 – Akaroa, Darfield * 76 – Kaiapoi, Leeston, Lincoln, Prebbleton, Rolleston * 77 – Ashburton, Methven, Rakaia * 78 – Greymouth, Hokitika, Reefton, Westport * 79 – Timaru, Geraldine, Temuka, Twizel, Waimate * 80 – Christchurch (urban); Chatham Islands * 81 – Christchurch (PO Box, central) * 82 – Christchurch (PO Box, south) * 83 – ''unused'' * 84 – Christchurch (PO Box, west) * 85 – Christchurch (PO Box, north) * 86 – Christchurch (PO Box, central-east) * 87 – ''unused'' * 88 – Christchurch (PO Box, north-east and south-east) * 89 – Christchurch (rural and PO Box, rural) * 90 – Dunedin, Mosgiel, Port Chalmers * 91 – ''unused'' * 92 – Balclutha, Milton * 93 – Queenstown, Alexandra, Arrowtown, Cromwell, Ranfurly, Wanaka * 94 – Oamaru, Palmerston * 95 – Clinton, Lawrence, Roxburgh, Tapanui * 96 – Nightcaps, Ohai, Otautau, Tuatapere; Fiordland, Te Anau * 97 – Gore, Lumsden, Mataura, Winton * 98 – Invercargill, Bluff, Edendale, Riverton, Wyndham; Stewart Island * 99 – ''unused''


Examples

In cities and large towns, the last two digits indicate one of the four modes of delivery, as illustrated by addresses in
Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
: *
Street 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 ...
, in which mail is delivered directly to homes by the 'postie'; :43 Vogel Street :Roslyn :Palmerston North 4414 *
PO Box A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office. In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door to door delivery ...
address, in which mail is delivered to a private box, usually at a Post Shop (formerly Post Office), for collection; :PO Box 400 :Palmerston North Central :Palmerston North 4440 *
Private Bag A private mail bag (PMB), locked bag or caller service is a term for a special form of postal delivery in some countries, usually a government department or large private company, which receive large volumes of mail. Private mail bag addresses are o ...
, in which a private mail bag is delivered to an organisation such as a large company or a government department :Private Bag 11222 :Manawatu Mail Centre :Palmerston North 4442 *
Rural Delivery Rural delivery service refers to services for the delivery of mail to rural areas. In many countries, rural mail delivery follows different rules and practices from that in urban areas. For example, in some areas rural delivery may require homeow ...
, used in rural areas for home deliveries. :Railway Road :RD 10 :Palmerston North 4470


Previous system

Although postcodes were first introduced in New Zealand in 1977, these were used entirely for pre-sorting large volumes of mail in
bulk Bulk can refer to: Industry * Bulk cargo * Bulk liquids * Bulk mail * Bulk material handling * Bulk pack, packaged bulk materials/products * Bulk purchasing * Baking * Bulk fermentation, the period after mixing when dough is left alone to f ...
,New Zealand Post reviewing postcode system
''Post & Parcel'', Wednesday, 4 August 2004 similar to the
Mailsort Mailsort was a five-digit address-coding scheme used by the Royal Mail (the UK's postal service) and its business customers for the automatic direction of mail until 2012. Mail users who could present mail sorted by Mailsort code and in quantities ...
system used by
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 ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Consequently, postcodes were not usually seen in addresses: :New Zealand Post :Private Bag 39990 :Wellington Mail Centre :Lower Hutt Under the old system,
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, which were incorporated into the postcode system for use in bulk mailings. For example, for the former Wellington 4: :Flat 2 :173 Park Road :Johnsonville :Wellington 6004 In cities and large towns, the last two digits indicated the mode of delivery, as illustrated by addresses in
Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
: Street address: :43 Vogel Street :Palmerston North 5301 Post Office Box address: :P O Box 4000 :Palmerston North 5315 Private Bag address :Private Bag 11222 :Palmerston North 5320 Rural Delivery address :Railway Road :R D 10 :Palmerston North 5321 NB: Prior to the changeover, New Zealand Post also required that a space be inserted between the letters 'P' and 'O' in 'PO Box' or 'R' and 'D' in 'RD'.


Māori names

New Zealand Post recognises
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
names for cities and towns in New Zealand; for example, the
Māori Language Commission The Māori Language Commission ( mi, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori) is an autonomous Crown entity in New Zealand set up under the Māori Language Act 1987 with the following functions: # To initiate, develop, co-ordinate, review, advise upon, an ...
's address is: :Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori :Pouaka Poutāpeta 411 :Te Whanganui a Tara 6140 In
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
, this translates as: :Māori Language Commission :PO Box 411 :Wellington 6140 In spite of the considerable difference between the two languages, there was no need to add the postcode under the old system, which in this case would have been 6015.


Freepost

Mail to members of the
New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...
is delivered free of charge for individuals (organisations must pay regular rates). The cost is deducted from the Member's budget. :Rt Hon
Jacinda Ardern Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern ( ; born 26 July 1980) is a New Zealand politician who has been serving as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party since 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the member of ...
:
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
:Private Bag 18888 :Parliament Buildings :Wellington 6160 Other
Freepost Freepost is a postal service provided by various postal administrations, whereby a person sends mail without affixing postage, and the recipient pays the postage when collecting the mail. Freepost differs from self-addressed stamped envelopes ...
mail includes a unique number as well as the PO Box or Private Bag number: :Freepost 112002 :CARM :PO Box 913 :Dunedin 9054


Third-party registered postal operators

Until recently NZ Post has had the majority of influence on Private Box rentals. But now DX Mail and
Private Box Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...
provide an alternative solution for people who need a remote box address. Along with the new competitors in the marketplace NZ Post may find it difficult to keep up with the new addressing system, which is why they have set a standard for addressing mail.


References


External links


New Zealand Post

New Post Code finder

How postcodes work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Postcodes in New Zealand Postal addresses
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...