Vdhdhdhdbdvdbdhdhdhxvxvdhdhxhdhmaddie"nbzbsndhdhdhdbdbfnrndtxnegznfhxgehbxjshdkshrbxydn z gfyrhzgdyenzgadyizvdhdgrheydbcnriej :-! n fee jrnznxhrbxydnav : txhzvxbdu d bxg944bdbdbdbdbenx bshdjdjxhxbcbfbdbxbxbxnfbbdncncbvj coffee cjdjxjxjhdfhdjdhdhdbxhxndhdbzbfnxhcnxbxhdhxnzjbenzbzbdbdbdjenzhd :-! kspabdhxbx xbx xnsysnxbzbsbxbxndjenndnxjdjsjdjjdhrudnxhzgahshfhfhdhdhfbdbdnxnxbxbxnznbxjxbxbxnbxrbhshshdhdbdhdhdbdbxbsjdn
'''ZIP codes''' are a system of [[postal code]]s used by the [[United States Postal Service]] (USPS) since 1963. The term ''ZIP'', an acronym for '''Zone Improvement Plan''',<ref>{{cite web|title=Mr. Zip and the ZIP Code Promotional Campaign|url=http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/zipcodecampaign/|publisher=Smithsonian National Postal Museum|accessdate=7 March 2013}}</ref> was chosen to suggest that the [[mail]] travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly ([[wikt:zip#Verb|zipping along]]), when senders use the code in the [[Address (geography)|postal address]]. The basic format consists of five decimal [[numerical digit]]s. An extended '''ZIP+4''' code, introduced in 1983, includes the five digits of the ZIP code, a [[hyphen]], and four additional digits that determine a more specific ___location within a given ZIP code. The USPS provides a free [https://www.usps.com/zip4/ online lookup tool] for ZIP codes.
The term ''ZIP code'' was originally registered as a [[servicemark]] (a type of [[trademark]]) by the U.S. Postal Service, but its registration has since expired.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=73001312 |title=Latest Status Info |publisher=[[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] |accessdate=July 10, 2009}}</ref> USPS style for ''ZIP'' is [[all caps]], although style sheets for some publications use sentence case or lowercase.
