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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.
Usage conventionsPostal 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, whereas in most continental European countries it precedes the name of the city or town. National prefixesIn some countries (for instance continental Europe, where many countries use the same postcode format of four or five numeric digits) it is advisable to prefix the numeric postal code with a country code to avoid confusion when sending international mail to or from that country. The codes used are generally based on Licence plate codes — for instance "D-" for Germany or "F-" for France — rather than ISO 3166-1 alpha-2. Note the ISO Alpha 2-codes are recommended. Alphanumeric postal codes
Postal zone numbersBefore 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 numbers, for example. Dublin, Ireland, still uses postal district numbers, although a postcode system is due to be rolled out for the whole country by 2008. (An Post relies on OCR analysis of the entire address instead.) In New Zealand, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were divided into postal zones, but these have fallen into disuse. Postal codes in particular countriesAlgeriaIn Algeria, the postal codes of province capitals are composed of the province code and three zeros, for example: 16000 for Algiers, while the postal codes of other cities, towns, and villages in the province are the provincal code follwed by three numerals. See "list of postal codes of Algerian cities" for the postal codes of all of Algeria's 1,541 municipalities, and other places with their own postal code. AustraliaAustralian postcodes are numeric, consisting of four digits. They were introduced in 1967 by the Postmaster-General's Department (PMG), the predecessor of Australia Post. For a history of the PMG / Australia Post see here. BelgiumBelgian post codes are numeric and consist out of 4 numbers, although the last one is often zero. The first digit indicates the province (except for the 3xxx and 1xxx numbers that are shared), the other numbers were given more or less at random. The more zeros though the higher the number of inhabitants of that city in the province. For example: Brugge is the capital and largest urban centre of the coastal province of West Flanders so it gets the 8000 code, the second city is Kortrijk and gets 8500. Special numbers are reserved for the EU institutions, NATO headquarters, public broadcaster VRT, the different parlaiments and other public institutions. Check out: List of postal codes in Belgium. BrazilPostcodes in Brazil follow a nationwide scheme known as CEP (Código de Endereçamento Postal) (Postal Addressing Code) introduced in 1972 as a sequence of five digits. To keep mail services up with economic growth, a three-digit suffix was added in 1992. Most cities with population around 100,000 and above have a CEP assigned to every public place and to some high-occupancy private spaces, like major commercial buildings and large residential condos. Small towns are assigned a general code, usually with attributed town code followed by the suffix -000. Correios, Brazil's mail service, requests (but not requires) that the code be placed in the last line of the address and although totally unrequired (and even unwanted by automatic sorting machines) the acronym CEP is usually placed before the code, e.g. CEP 29145-586. Valid examples for mailing in Brazil are: Editora Peixes S.A. or Editora Peixes S.A. Any CEP code can be obtained from Correio's website, if you have a Flash plugin [2] (in Portuguese). CanadaA Canadian postal code is a string of six characters in the format X9X 9X9, where X is a letter and 9 is a digit, with a space separating the third and fourth characters. An example is K1A 0B1, which is for Canada Post's Ottawa headquarters. The postal code H0H 0H0 is reserved for letters to Santa Claus. ChinaPostal codes in the People's Republic of China have six digits. The first two digits show the province, province-equivalent municipality, or autonomous region; the third digit the postal zone; the fourth digit the prefectures or prefecture-level city; the last two digits the delivery post office. Hong Kong and Macau have no postal codes. The Republic of China (Taiwan) has a separate set of postal codes. CyprusCyprus postcodes are numeric, consisting of four digits. Czech Republic and SlovakiaThese two countries still keep the same system of postal codes (PSČ in both languages, it stands for Czech: Poštovní směrovací číslo or Slovak: Poštovné smerové číslo respectively) even though they separated in 1993. The postal code consists of five digits, usually written in the form XXX XX, with a space). Originally the first digit indicated a region: regional divisions have changed, but the codes have not. Thus the capital of the Czech Republic, Prague, is assigned codes starting with 1 and the Slovak capital, Bratislava, is assigned codes starting with 8. When writing the address, the postal code is put in front of the town name, e.g.: Na Příkopě 28 On envelopes and postcards there are usually five rectangular boxes below the address field for the postal code digits. DenmarkDanish postal codes have four digits, except for five special purpose 3-digit codes. The self-governed territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands have 4- and 3-digit codes, respectively. New regulations add the country code DK to the postal codes, but in practice it is most often omitted. The code is written before the city name. Examples: The postal codes follow a geographic pattern and most Danes can tell which region an address belongs to based on the postal code alone. FinlandSince 1971 Finland has used five-digit numeric postal codes. The first two digits designate the municipality or group of municipalities, the next two digits the district or village. The last digit is usually 0 in street addresses, except in some small communities where it may be 5; codes ending in 1 are for post office boxes. Corporations receiving large amounts of mail may have an own postal code. The special postal code 99999 is for Korvatunturi, the place where Santa Claus (or Joulupukki in Finnish) is said to live. FranceFrance uses five-digit numeric postal codes, the first two digits normally representing the Département. In Paris, the last two digits indicate the arrondissement. GermanyGerman postal codes are numeric, consisting of five digits. Between 1990 and 1993 the old four-digit codes in the former West Germany were prefixed with the letter "W", and in the former East with "O" (for "Ost", east in German). HungaryHungarian postal codes are numeric, consisting of four digits. The first digit is for the postal region, as listed below (with the postal centre indicated after the number):
Not all of the above are county capitals: Hatvan, Sárbogárd and Szentendre are major cities, but not county capitals. They are, however, all well communicated cities and big junctions. In Budapest postal codes are in the format 1XYZ, where X and Y are the two digits of the district number (from 01 to 23) and the last digit is the identification number of the post office in the district (there are more than one in each district). A special system exists for PO Box deliveries, which do not follow the district system. These special postal codes refer to a specific post office rather than an area. Ironically, the "1000" postal code designates the Countrywide Logistics Centre, which is currently located outside the 1000 region, in Budaörs, which is in the 2000 region. The rest of the country is structured as follows:
Bigger cities were formerly divided into districts, which often lives on in postcodes. This can be confusing, as 3000 designates Hatvan, but 3001 doesn't designate District 1, but it is actually a PO Box postal code. IndiaIndia's postal codes are numeric with six digits, such as Kamboi 384230. They are known as Postal Index Numbers or PIN. IsraelIsraeli post codes (Hebrew מיקוד Mikud) are numeric and consist of five digits. They are assigned from north to south, thus, Metula in the north has 10292 as its postal code, and Eilat in the south was assigned 88xxx. The capital city of Jerusalem postal codes start with the digit 9, though this doesn't correspond with its geographical location. Army units postal codes start with a 0 and are not changed even if a unit is roaming. The postal code is written on the right hand side of the location's name, regardless of which language the address is written in. Thus, Location 00000 both in English (location precedes the postal code) as well as in Hebrew (where it proceeds it). ItalyItalian post codes are numeric, consisting of five digits, such as 20121 Milan. Created in 1967, they are commonly known as CAP (Codice di Avviamento Postale). The first two digits denote the administrative province (two provinces when a new province was created after 1967); the third digit shows if the town is the chief-town of the province (odd number, usually 1 or 9, e.g. 07100 Sassari) or not (even, usually 0 or 8, e.g. 10015 Ivrea); the last two digits the specific town or village or the delivery post office (only in new provinces created after 1992). In main cities like Rome, Milan, Naples, Venice the last digits designate the urban postal district (usually 00 or 70 in minor provincial chief-towns). JapanJapanese post codes are numeric, consisting of seven digits, such as 102-8166 Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo. MalaysiaAll Malaysian postal codes are numeric, consisting of five digits. The first two digits of the postal code denote the state or special administrative area (e.g. 42000 Port Klang, Selangor). MoldovaMoldova's postal codes are alphanumeric, consisting of the letters MD followed by a dash followed by four digits, e.g. Chişinău MD-2001. The first digit refers to a designated postal zones, the rest designates smaller administrative units or districts and streets within the municipal area. See also Official site of Poşta Moldovei MoroccoPostal codes in Morocco consist of five digits, which indicate the wider area (first two digits), and the postal district (last three digits). The present system was introduced on January 1, 1997. NetherlandsImage:Postcode book nl 1978.jpg Dutch postcode book 1978. Introducing postcodes in The Netherlands Postal codes in the Netherlands are alphanumeric, consisting of four digits followed by two letters. 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 the International School of The Hague. New ZealandFrom 1977 to June 2006, New Zealand had a post code system of four-digit codes only for mail sent in bulk. A new system was then introduced for all mail. It has 1800 four-digit codes with a much finer granularity than the old codes, with each suburb and PostShop lobby having its own postal code. The first two digits specify the area, the third digit specifies the type of delivery (street, PO Box Private Bag, or Rural delivery), and the last digit specifies the specific lobby, RD number, or suburb. NorwaySince 18 March 1968 Norway has used a four-digit system: postnummersystemet. The numbers start at 00 and increase with the distance from the capital city Oslo. The highest post numbers are found in the county of Finnmark, near the Russian border, where they start with 99. The lowest post code in use is 0001 (0slo), the highest 9991 (Båtsfjord). PhilippinesThe term "ZIP code" is used by the Philippine Postal Corporation for postal codes. Unlike American ZIP codes, the Philippines' ZIP codes are four-digit numbers without any extensions. While the cities of Metro Manila use more than one code, towns and cities outside Metro Manila are assigned only one code per town or city. See the list of ZIP Codes in the Philippines. PolandIn Poland postal codes are numeric, consisting of two digits, a hyphen, then three digits. PortugalThe Portuguese postal code (código postal) is formed by four digits, a hyphen, then three digits, followed by a postal location of up to 25 characters in capitals. This location is the name of the town, sometimes followed by a three-letter abbreviation of the municipality, e.g. 4455-111 PARADELA VNB Postal codes are given at the building block level and also to designated addresses with high volumes of mail. The first digit designates one of nine postal regions; the following two digits designate postal distribution centers; the fourth digit is 0 if it belongs to a capital of municipality, 5 if not, or any other digit if it is a designated address; the last three digits sort building blocks and designated addresses. The more important the city, the more rounded is the number formed by the first four digits. Prior to 1976, only Lisbon had used a system, of six zones (Lisboa 1 to Lisboa 6). In 1976, a national postal code system was introduced, with a four-digit structure, and designated addresses added "CODEX" (abbreviation of código extraordinário) to the postal location (example: 2001 SANTARÉM CODEX). In 1994, three extra digits were introduced and the "codex" expression was dropped. Postal regions (first digit of postal code):
Source: [3]
RomaniaOn 1 May 2003 four-digit postal codes (one for each city) where replaced by six-digit codes. The digits represent (from left to right) the postal area; the county; the city/commune; the last three, depending on the size of the city/commune, represent the commune/city, the street, or the house/building. Source: www.posta-romana.ro RussiaImage:Russian postal codes.png Soviet postcodes: Upper image: The place to be filled with six digits of postal code, at the bottom left corner of the envelope. Bottom image: sample digits, printed on the back of the envelope. Post codes in Russia are six digits long. To assist in their machine reading, envelopes are printed with a nine-segment outline for each digit, which the sender fills in. SerbiaSerbian postal codes consist of five digits. The first two digits roughly correspond to the corresponding district; district seat cities usually have 000 as the last three digits, while smaller towns and villages have non-round last three digits. South AfricaSouth African postal codes are numeric, consisting of four digits. For a list of postal codes or to search by Location or Post Code see South African Post Office. South KoreaSouth Korean postal codes consist of six digits with a dash after the first three digits. The first three digits before dash are region codes, and rest three after dash is minor delivery codes. Short orange bars under the postal codes are also postal codes, used mainly for registered mail. For searching postal codes, use epost on-line postal code service. SpainSpanish postal codes are numeric, consisting of five digits. There are postal codes for each of the 52 provinces. SwedenSince 12 May 1968 Sweden has used five-digit numeric post codes sorted by geographical location. Numbers starting with 10-19 are part of Stockholm; otherwise, the lower numbers are part of the bigger city areas in the south, and increase northwards. When writing a Swedish address the first line is for the name of the person, second is for the name of the street and number of the building (if it's in a city) or the name and/or number of the house (if it's in the country) and third line is for the postal code followed by the name of the city (or even a small village). A typical address would look like this: Name Lastname Streetname 1a 123 45 City SwitzerlandSwitzerland uses four-digit numeric post codes, sorted by geographical location (from west to east, following railways and post car routes). TaiwanThe Republic of China uses postal codes of three + two digits. There are 368 sets of three-digit codes for rural townships, urban townships, county-controlled cities, districts (Hsinchu City and Chiayi City have districts coded 300 and 600 respectively without three-digit subdivisions), Pratas Islands, Spratly Islands, and Diaoyutai Islands (claimed by the ROC, administered by Japan as Senkaku Islands). Omitting the supplementary two digits is ordinarily acceptable, but a five-digit code will speed up the mail. The first digit is for a large postal zone, as follows:
TurkeyTurkey postcodes have five digits. The first two digits are the province code in ISO 3166-2:TR (also first two digits of car licence codes), e.g. postcodes of areas in Istanbul begins with 34. The last three digits represent the area in theprovince. Search Postcodes in Turkey United KingdomUK postcodes are alphanumeric and between six and eight characters long (including a single space separating the outward and inward parts of the code), e.g. the code for the House of Commons is SW1A 0AA. These codes were introduced by the Royal Mail between 1959 and 1974. They have been widely adopted not just for their original purpose of automating the sorting of mail, but for many other purposes — see for example the UK Postcode Lottery. In particular, the EH4 postcode is favoured in the UK, due to recent statistics. The codes do not achieve their objective of primarily identifying the main sorting office and sub-office, and they have been supplemented by a newer system of five-digit codes, called Mailsort. Mail users who deliver mail to the post office sorted by Mailsort code receive discounts, whilst delivery by postcode does not provide any incentive. United StatesThe United States uses five-digit numeric "ZIP codes". Since 1983 the US Postal Service has promoted an extended version called "ZIP+4", which adds a hyphen and four additional digits following the main ZIP code, to identify a smaller geographical area or single large entity.
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