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Postal code

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A postal code is a series of letters and digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. Every postal service (usually having their service area defined by national borders) has a different format and placement for the postal code. In most English-speaking countries, the postal code goes after the name of the city or town, whereas in most European countries it goes before it and is often prefixed with a country abbreviation.

Though usually postal codes are assigned to geographical areas, sometimes this is not the case: special codes may be assigned to institutions with large volumes of post, such as government agencies and large commercial companies. One example is the French Cedex system.

Before postal codes as described here were used, large cities were often divided into postal zones, usually numbered from 1 up within each city. Postal code systems often incorporate the old zone numbers, as in London, for example.

Formats

Key: Ds are digits. Ls are letters.
Australia
known as the post code: DDDD. In general, the first digit identifies the state. 1 = Sydney NSW PO Box and large users, 2 = New South Wales (NSW) & Australian Capital Territory (ACT), 3 = Victoria (Vic), 4 = Queensland (Qld), 5 = South Australia (SA), 6 = Western Australia (WA), 7 = Tasmania ((Tas), 8 = (Melbourne Vic PO Box and large users), 9 = Brisbane Qld PO Box and large users), 0 = Northern Territory (NT).
Austria
DDDD (the first digit denotes almost one of the nine provinces -- called Bundesländer -- , the last the nearest post office in the area)
Belgium
DDDD (in general, the first digit gives the province) list of Belgian postal codes
Argentina
LDDDDLLL
Brazil
DDDDD-DDD
Canada
LDL DLD. The first letter is for a province or a region, generally in order from east to west: A = Newfoundland and Labrador; B = Nova Scotia; C = Prince Edward Island; E = New Brunswick; G = (eastern) Quebec; H = Montreal, Quebec; J = (western) Quebec; K = (eastern) Ontario; L = (southern-central) Ontario; M = Toronto, Ontario; N = (southwestern) Ontario; P = (northern) Ontario; R = Manitoba; S = Saskatchewan; T = Alberta; V = British Columbia; X = Northwest Territories & Nunavut; Y = Yukon. The next two characters represent a rural district, a city, or a section of a major metropolitan area, and the remaining characters represent an entire small town, a single large building (or part of a very large one), a single (large) institution such as a university or hospital, or one side of a city block. The later in urban areas may be a specific postal carriers route. In rural areas where direct door to door delivery doesn't happen, a postal code describes a set of postal boxes. W and Z are not used as the first letter of a postal code; while D, F, I, O, Q, and U are never used anywhere.
China, People's Republic of (based in Mainland)
Known as youbian (邮编): DDDDDD, a subordinate division will have the same first two numbers as its governing one (see Political divisions of China#Levels).
China, Republic of (based on Taiwan)
Known as youdi chyuhao (郵遞區號): DDD, the first number increases from north to south, and townships of a county all have the same first number, although some counties share the same first numbers. 0 can be found in any position except the first. 1 -9 can exist anywhere. The Sekaku Islands, though Japanese-governed, are assigned 290; the Pratas Islands are 817 and the Spratly Islands 819.
Finland
DDDDD. A lower first number indicates a place in south (for example 00100 Helsinki, a higher indicates a place in far north (99800 in Ivalo). The last number is always 0, exception are the mail boxes in which it is 1.
France
DDDDD, the first two digits give the département number
Cedex
NB: In the case of Paris, you can determine the arrondissement of an address from its postal code. The last two digits of a Paris address give the arrondissement; 75018 is the eighteenth for example. The exception to this rule are addresses with the word "CEDEX" appearing in them. See Right Bank.
Germany
DDDDD since 1993. Before that date, both the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) used 4 digit postal codes.
Japan
DDD-DDDD. See Japanese addressing system for more.
Mexico
DDDDD. The first two digits identify the state (or a part thereof), except for Nos. 00 to 16, which indicate delegaciones (boroughs) of the Federal District (Mexico City).
Netherlands
DDDD LL. The letters 'F', 'I', 'O', 'Q', 'U' and 'Y' are not used, nor are the letter combinations 'SA', 'SD' and 'SS'.
New Zealand
DDDD, the first two digits are for the geographical area, and the last two digits may indicate the mode of delivery in the case of cities and large towns, e.g in Palmerston North: street addresses - 5301 ; PO Box address - 5315; Private Bag - 5320; and Rural Delivery -5321. However, postcodes in New Zealand are intended for bulk mailing and are not needed for addressing individual items.
Poland
DD-DDD
Portugal
DDDD-DDD
Romania
DDDDDD since 2003. Before that, only 5 digits
Sealand
DDDD.
1001: the main sorting office
1002 to 1009: geographical area other than the main fortress areas
1010 to 1019: reserved for commercial purposes such as bulk mailing
others: unallocated
Serbia and Montenegro
DDDDD
Singapore
DDDDDD Each building has its own unique postcode.
South Africa
DDDD The last two digits may indicate the mode of delivery in the case of cities and large towns, eig Cape Town: street addresses - 8001; PO Box addresses - 8000.
Spain
DDDDD The first two digits are for the province, in alphabetical order, hence 08xxx is Barcelona, 28xxx is Madrid.
Switzerland
DDDD
United Kingdom
known as the postcode: LD DLL, LLD DLL, LDD DLL, or LLDD DLL but other variants are also used. In general the first letter(s) indicate the town, or area, or part of London. See London postal districts for more.
United States of America
known as the ZIP Code with five digits DDDDD or the ZIP+4 Code with nine digits DDDDD-DDDD (while the minimum requirement is the first five digits, the U.S. Postal Service encourages everyone to use all nine). The first digit represents the geographical area:
Other U.S. territories have codes starting with 9. The next two digits represent the metropolitan distribution point (e.g. 432xx = Columbus OH), and the fourth and fifth digits represents the area of the city (if in a metropolitan area), or a village/town (outside metro areas): 43209 (4=Ohio,32=Columbus,09=Bexley). The additional four digits identify a city block, office building, or other unit that further aids in sorting and delivering mail.

See also

Universal Postal Union (UPU)

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