Postal code: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:49, 14 May 2025

Revision as of 21:57, 24 May 2025

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[[File:Farrer post code.jpg|thumb|300px|Post office sign in [[Farrer, Australian Capital Territory]], showing [[Postcodes in Australia|postcode]] 2607]]

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 [[numerical digit|digits]] or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a [[address (geography)|postal address]] for the purpose of sorting [[mail]].

{{As of|2021|8|post=,|url=https://www.upu.int/en/Postal-Solutions/Programmes-Services/Addressing-Solutions?csid=20&cid=315}} the [[Universal Postal Union]] lists 160 countries which require the use of a postal code.<ref>{{citation|title=General Addressing Issues|date=3 August 2021|access-date=1 June 2022|url=https://www.upu.int/UPU/media/upu/documents/PostCode/General-Addressing-Issues.pdf|publisher=[[Universal Postal Union]]|article=Addressing knowledge centre|article-url=https://www.upu.int/en/Postal-Solutions/Programmes-Services/Addressing-Solutions?csid=20&cid=315}}</ref>

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* '''[[Código de Endereçamento Postal|CEP]]''': The standard term in Brazil; CEP is an acronym for {{lang|pt|código de endereçamento postal}} ('postal addressing code').

* '''[[Eircode]]''': The standard term in Ireland.

* '''[[Postal codes in Switzerland and Liechtenstein|NPA]]''' in [[Romandy|French-speaking Switzerland]] ({{lang|fr|numéro postal d'acheminement}}) and [[Ticino|Italian-speaking Switzerland]] ({{lang|it|numero postale di avviamento}}).

* '''[[Postal Index Number|PIN]]''': 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]] and [[Liechtenstein]]; PLZ is an abbreviation of {{lang|de|Postleit&zwnj;zahl}} ('postal routing number').

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== History ==

[[File:Stamp Soviet Union 1977 CPA 4775.jpg|thumb|1977 Soviet stamp promoting the use of postal codes]]

The development of postal codes happened first in large cities. Postal codes began with postal district numbers (or postal zone numbers) within large cities. [[London]] 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]] in 1864; and [[Manchester]]/[[Salford]] was split into eight numbered districts in 1867/68. By [[World War I]], such postal district or zone numbers also existed in various large European cities. They existed in the United States at least as early as the 1920s, possibly implemented at the local post office level only (for example, instances of "Boston 9, Mass" in 1920 are attested<ref name="1920_advert_Hill_Clarke_Co">{{Cite journal |author=Hill, Clarke & Co., Inc. |title=Advertisement for a drill press, 1920 |journal=American Machinist |page=389 |url=https://books.google.com/books/content?id=ezRMAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA389&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U3XbVXux4rCkbDjlhYwrl2il54vAA&w=1025 |date=1 July 1920}}</ref><ref name="1920_advert_Lynd_Farquhar_Co">{{Cite journal |author=Lynd-Farquhar Company |title=Advertisement for machine tools |journal=American Machinist |page=284 |url=https://books.google.com/books/content?id=ezRMAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA284&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U1mR5dU8XyNygDm5JSX6KkyZidqxQ&w=1025|date=30 September 1920}}</ref>) although they were evidently not used throughout all major US cities (implemented [[United States Post Office Department|USPOD]]-wide) until [[World War II]].

By 1930 or earlier, the idea of extending the postal district or zone numbering plans beyond large cities to cover even small towns and rural locales had started. 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]] in December 1932,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.upns.org/article/85-first-postal-zip-code |title=The First Postal (ZIP) Code in the World |publisher=Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society |date=20 April 2009 |access-date=4 March 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423155849/http://www.upns.org/article/85-first-postal-zip-code |archive-date=23 April 2010 }}</ref> but the system was abandoned in 1939. The next country to introduce postal codes was Germany in 1941,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.deutschepost.de/dpag?tab=1&skin=hi&check=no&lang=de_EN&xmlFile=link1017517_1004711 |work=Deutsche Post|title=The history of the postcode |access-date=10 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716191434/http://www.deutschepost.de/dpag?tab=1&skin=hi&check=no&lang=de_EN&xmlFile=link1017517_1004711 |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref> followed by Singapore in 1950,<ref name="Singapore NLB">{{cite web |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1006_2010-05-27.html |title=Six-digit postal code system |last=Chia |first=Joshua |date=13 July 2016 |website=Singapore Infopedia |publisher=National Library Board |access-date=3 October 2018 }}</ref> Argentina in 1958, the United States in 1963<ref>{{cite web |url=http://glossary.ippaper.com/default.asp?req=glossary/term/2592&catitemid= |title=ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) Code |publisher=International Paper Company |access-date=10 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091119144342/http://glossary.ippaper.com/default.asp?req=glossary%2Fterm%2F2592&catitemid= |archive-date=19 November 2009 }}</ref> and Switzerland in 1964.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/SCHWEIZERISCHE-POST-TELEFON-UND-TELEGRAFENBETRIEBE-Company-History.html |title=Company History: Schweizerische Post-Telefon-und-Telegrafen-Betriebe |publisher=Funding Universe |access-date=10 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909092830/http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/SCHWEIZERISCHE-POST-TELEFON-UND-TELEGRAFENBETRIEBE-Company-History.html |archive-date=9 September 2011 }}</ref> The United Kingdom began introducing its current system in [[Norwich]] in 1959, but it was not used nationwide until 1974.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/money/mortgages/a-short-history-of-the-postcode-751884.html |title=A short history of the postcode |newspaper=The Independent |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225013444/http://www.independent.co.uk/money/mortgages/a-short-history-of-the-postcode-751884.html |archive-date=25 February 2011 |url-status= dead |access-date=25 June 2014 }}</ref>

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=== Character sets ===

The characters used in postal codes are:

* The [[Arabic numerals|Western Arabic numerals]] "0" to "9"

* Letters of the [[ISO basic Latin alphabet]]

* Spaces, hyphens

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{{further|Postal codes in the Netherlands}}

[[Postal codes in the Netherlands]], 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, [[The Hague|'s-Gravenhage]] (the International School of The Hague).

==== Singapore ====

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== Non-geographic codes ==

In the United Kingdom, the non-conforming postal code GIR 0AA was used for the [[Girobank|National Girobank]] until its closure in 2003.<ref>[https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/40-facts-postcode-mark-40th-4113087 40 facts about the postcode to mark 40th anniversary as vital part of daily life] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316214017/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/40-facts-postcode-mark-40th-4113087 |date=16 March 2018 }}, Daily Mirror, 26 August 2014</ref> A non-geographic series of postcodes, starting with BX, is used by some banks and government departments.

:HM Revenue and Customs – VAT Controller

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{{Expand section|date=December 2009}}

While postal codes were introduced to expedite the delivery of mail, they can be used for:

* 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. This can be used by companies to inform potential customers where to go, by [[Public employment service|job centre]]s to find jobs for job-seekers, to alert people of [[town planning]] applications in their area, and for other applications.<ref name=planning>{{cite news |author=Charles Arthur |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/oct/07/newly-asked-question-royal-mail-postzon |title=Guardian newspaper article on postcodes |work=The Guardian|___location=London |access-date=26 February 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043135/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/oct/07/newly-asked-question-royal-mail-postzon |archive-date=1 December 2017 }}</ref>

* Fine-grained postal codes can be used with [[satellite navigation]] 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.