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{{Short description|Numeric postal code used in the US and its territories}}{{About|the postal code system in the United States|the postal code system in the Philippines|ZIP codes in the Philippines|the 2015 Rollings Stones tour|Zip Code (tour)|the 22-Pistepirkko album|Zipcode (album)}}{{
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
[[File:USA-Stamp-1973-ZIPCode.jpg|thumb|A 1974 postage stamp encouraging people to use the ZIP Code on letters and parcels]]
The '''ZIP Code''' system (an acronym for '''Zone Improvement Plan'''<ref>{{cite web |title=Flashing Across the Country: Mr. Zip and the ZIP Code Promotional Campaign |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/flashing-across-the-country |publisher=Smithsonian National Postal Museum |access-date=30 May 2023 |first=Abby |last=Curtin |archive-date=May 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530154715/https://postalmuseum.si.edu/flashing-across-the-country |url-status=live }}</ref>) is the system of [[postal code|postal codes]] used by the [[United States Postal Service]] (USPS). The term ''ZIP'' was chosen to suggest that the [[mail]] travels more efficiently and quickly<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/document-library-files/2015/rarc-wp-13-006_0.pdf|title=The Untold Story of the ZIP Code|date=April 1, 2013|publisher=U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General|access-date=March 11, 2020|quote=When Day unveiled the nationwide 5-digit ZIP Code at a postmasters’ convention in October of 1962, he simultaneously introduced the world to 'Mr. ZIP'—the cartoon character whose body language symbolizes speedy delivery.|archive-date=December 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229123814/https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/document-library-files/2015/rarc-wp-13-006_0.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> ([[wikt:zip#Verb|zipping along]]) when senders
Introduced on July 1, 1963, the basic format comprised five digits, the first designating a region of the country and subsequent digits localizing the destination further.<ref name="mlcdintr">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ubNWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0-gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7238%2C4744197 |work=Spokesman-Review |___location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Post office readies new area mailing code |date=June 30, 1963 |page=9}}</ref><ref name="lblsccs">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-LZWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7OgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3401%2C1173278 |work=Spokesman-Review |___location=Spokane, Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=ZIP Code is labeled a success |date=October 4, 1963 |page=6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Terrell |first=Ellen |title=This Month in Business History: ZIP Code Introduced |url=https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/july/zip-code-introduced |access-date=2022-07-31 |work=Library of Congress Research Guides |language=en |date=June 28, 2013 |archive-date=October 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029214050/https://guides.loc.gov/this-month-in-business-history/july/zip-code-introduced |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1983, an extended code was introduced named ''ZIP+4''; it included the five digits of the ZIP Code, followed by a hyphen and four digits that designated a ___location even more specific than the original five.
Private carriers as well as the USPS use ZIP Codes to route deliveries. In addition, ZIP Codes have come to be used as a basis for breaking down demographic, marketing, and sales data for analytical purposes.
== History ==
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