![[PREV]](img/prev.gif)
![[NEXT]](img/next.gif)
![[HOME]](img/smallhom.gif)
postal rates from germany (valid from 1.4.93) ---------------------------------------------
maximum weight europa world air air surface ---------------------------------------------- mm til DM DM DM ------------------------------------------------------------------------- postcard 148x105 500g/m**2 0.80 2.00 2.00 aerogramme 220x110 5g ---- 2.00 ---- standard-letter 235x125x5 20g 1.00 3.00 2.00 compact-letter 235x125x10 50g 2.00 4.00 2.00 maxi-letter international length + 50g 3.00 6.00 3.00 width + 100g 5.00 10.00 5.00 height = 250g 8.00 16.00 8.00 900 mm 500g 12.00 24.00 12.00 maximal 750g 16.00 32.00 16.00 length = 1000g 20.00 40.00 20.00 600 mm 1500g 28.00 56.00 28.00 2000g 36.00 72.00 36.00
Dave Gomberg writes:
Postal rates to Netherlands: (Scandanavia and Great Britain are different)
<---------- AIR ------------> <------ Surface -------->
Weight (pounds) Letter Express Parcel M bag Letter Packet Book Parcel
1 12.65 16.00 9.25 6.31 3.20 1.36 6.55 2 25.13 21.00 14.25 11.59 5.08 2.32 6.55 4 37.61 34.00 24.25 21.59 8.38 4.12 10.75 8 53.80 41.25 7.72 19.15 16 93.00 73.25 64.00 14.92 35.95
William Krebs writes:
There are several choices of return addresses I employ in the U.S.A.
1. Pre-printed - these are usually supplied free by charity organizations who hope you send a contribution. They are rather small and consist in two or three pads of 25--50 - they usually contain the organization logo (these can be trimmed off). Address about 1/2 inch by 1 inch.
Sometimes there are ads for 100--200 address labels by companies that advertise in magazines. The cost about $2.00 per hundred + postage. These too are small and rather than an organization logo, they can have a picture to the side of the address.
2. Address Stamp - a pre-inked address stamp. I ordered mine through a magazine ad for about $3.00 plus postage. This too is rather small.
John Farrell ([email protected]) replied: $3! We're looking at $40! (in Australia)
3. Custom printed - obtain some blank labels and print them using a computer. You will have to obtain labels on sheets which could be feed into a computer. These will contain larger print sizes depending on the computer print size. Unless you can obtain inexpensive labels this is the most costly option.
Company printed labels are geared to a USA (and in some cases Canadian) addresses - 3 lines. Line 1 - your name, line 2 - your street address, line 3 - your City and State (Province) along with Zip (Zone) code.
Kenneth B. Streeter writes: A fourth choice, available to US mail users, is to order pre-printed, pre-stamped envelopes from the USPS. Preprinted with up-to four lines, a box (50) of #6 3/4 envelopes are $17.20, and 50 #10 envelopes are $17.40. Remember that this includes the envelopes, printing, and first-class postage. (50 * $.29 = $14.50)
Bruce Werner writes: There are several companies selling pre-printed address labels, used mostly for return address (I also use them for the address on SASE). They have self-stick, lick- adhesive, and some even offer clear self-stick.
These companies are (among others): Current (selling all sorts of stationery supplies), Walter Drake and Harriet Carter (both selling trinkets and other stuff). Also check the back of home or women's magazines. They usually have ads for address labels. Most will offer a variety of styles and sizes, and with up to 5 (maybe even 6) lines of text.
This is a general description of the postal code formats used in various countries of the world. This is not a worldwide listing of postal codes, but rather an idea as to general structure and format, plus the major code zones and special interest items.
This file may be obtained via the WWW
The country is listed, followed by the format (a # represents a number, an @ represents an alphabetic character), then other details on the format.
The format may have a preceding country code as indicated in thr format in brackets (such as [A-] for Austria). Within the CEPT (Communaute Europeenne des Postes et Telegraphes?) number-only postal codes may be prefixed with the country code as defined by the UN Convention on Road Traffic (1949, in force 1952) in lieu of the name of the country on the last line. See individual countries for an indicator of a country code preceding the postal code. (1)
Descriptions may contain "wild card" characters of # or @, representing digits or letters accordingly. Thus 3### means postal codes from 3000 to 3999. Such wild card designations are only an indication of format; not all of the possible numbers are necessarily assigned postal codes within a given country.
The [postfix] identifier after the format will indicate which countries have their postal code as a "postfix" after the city/town name. Otherwise, postal codes appear before the place name. (1)
The rest of the net is invited to pitch in and fix/embellish this listing so that more countries are represented and that those countries have their postal coding systems described in sufficient detail.
Updates: mail to [email protected]
........................................................................ Algeria ##### (2) ........................................................................ Argentina ####========================================================================1000 Buenos Aires 2000 Rosario 3000 Santa Fe' 9000 Comodoro Rivadavia
(1,2) ........................................................................ Armenia ###### (2) ........................................................................ Australia #### [postfix]
The first digit identifies the state. The four digits as a whole will identify a place or post office.
First digits and States (a few exceptions exist):
08## NT 2### NSW+ACT 3### Vic. 4### Qld. 5### SA 6### WA 7### Tas.
Example exceptions include 0872 for Ernabella and Fregon in SA (rather than in NT), or 4825 Alexandria NT (rather than in Qld).
(6) ........................................................................ Austria [A-]####
Vienna street address codes are 1##0, where ## is the Bezirk number (from 01 to 19).
(1) ........................................................................ Azerbaijan ###### (2) ........................................................................ Bahrain ### ####
Variable 3-4 digit codes apparently.
(2) ........................................................................ Bangladesh #### (2) ........................................................................ Belarus (unknown)
Had former USSR post codes. UPU & ITU sources give addresses without codes.
(2) ........................................................................ Belgium [B-]####
Code ranges:
10## Brussels 2000 Antwerpen 3500 Hasselt 5000 Namur 6000 6700 Arlon 7000 9000 Gent
(1) ........................................................................ Bermuda @@ ## @@ @@ (for post box addresses)
The first two letters indicate post office:
BY Baileys Bay CR Crawl DD St David's DV Devonshire FL Flatts GE St George HM Hamilton HS Harrington Sound MA Mangrove Bay PG Paget SB Somerset Bridge SN Southampton WK Warwick
The last two characters are numbers indicating the route of delivery. If the address is a postal box, the last two characters are usually "BX" except in Hamilton where the code is "AX" to "JX" (last character is X) depending on box number. "GE CX" represents the Airport box numbers (under St George post office).
The old postal code system format was #-##.
(2) ........................................................................ Bolivia ####
Information on these codes doubtful.
(2) ........................................................................ Bosnia and Hercegovina #####
Numbering ranges 7####, 80###, 88###
(2) ........................................................................ Brazil #####-###
Old code was just ##### (5 digit code). No word if the 5-digit format is still in use or still usable.
Code Ranges:
01000 Sao Paulo 77000 Brasilia
(1,2) ........................................................................ Brunei Darussalam #### (2) ........................................................................ Bulgaria [BG-]####
BG country coding not generally used - appears very rarely in other countries lists of country codes.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Canada @#@ #@# [postfix]
The first letter of a Canadian Postal Code identifies a province, or part of a province:
A = Newfoundland B = Nova Scotia C = Prince Edward Island E = New Brunswick G = eastern Quebec H = Metro Montreal, Quebec J = western Quebec K = eastern Ontario L = central Ontario M = Metro Toronto N = southwestern Ontario P = northern Ontario R = Manitoba S = Saskatchewan T = Alberta V = British Columbia X = Northwest Territories Y = Yukon Territory
In the second position (the first number), a 0 indicates that the postal code is for a whole post office, usually indicated for rural communities. The 6th character (last number) is also usually a 0 in such cases (as in L0M 1S0). All addresses for the community have that postal code, whether these are rural routes, postal boxes or in some cases, smaller towns with letter carrier routes.
Other numbers for the 2nd position indicate the postal code is in a larger urban community with letter carrier service. The postal code is thus precise enough to identify street blocks, particular rural routes or groups of postal boxes.
Postal Codes are always separated into two blocks of three characters. The first three characters are the Forward Sortation Area (FSA), an "area code" to identify a district. The last three characters thus identify the block, postal box set, or post office within the FSA.
Some special FSAs: K1A is for federal government activities in Ottawa; M7A represents the Ontario provincial government, G1A represents the Quebec provincial government. One code document indicated that A9W, A9X and A9Z were used as test FSAs (these would not be for actual locations; likely to check equipment, etc).
H0H 0H0 is a special code used to write to "Santa Claus". This is a special promotion prior to the Christmas holidays.
The letters D, F, I, O, Q and U are never used in a Canadian Postal Code, due to potential conflicts with other letters or numbers.
Canada Post Corporation announced plans to extend the Postal Code by adding extra numeric digits. This is intended to identify the exact street number on a block. or the particular postal box. As of this writing, none of these extended postal codes have been announced.
........................................................................ Chad #####
A country coding of 'E' was noted, though this conflicted with Spain's code, and was thus suspect.
(2) ........................................................................ Chile ######## (2) ........................................................................ China ###### (2) ........................................................................ Christmas Island #### (2) ........................................................................ Cocos (Keeling) Island #### (2) ........................................................................ Colombia
Colombia Definitely only a city code. Not a national system
Single digit city codes for use within cities only. There is no known national postal code system yet.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Costa Rica ####
1000 San Jose'
(1,2) ........................................................................ Cote d'Ivoire
Only a city code for Abidjan of format ##. No national system exists yet.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Croatia #####
Codes found in 4#### and 5#### series. (No country code used for mailing purposes, although HR would be Croatia's country coding)
(1,2) ........................................................................ Cuba #####
A Havana town district code (format ##) may still be used.
(2) ........................................................................ Cyprus [CY-]####
Cyprus adopted postcodes 1 Oct 1994.
The number ranges for the administrative areas are:
Nicosia: 1000-2999 Limassol: 3000-4999 Famagusta: 5000-5999 Larnaka: 6000-7999 Pafos: 8000-8999 Keryneia: 9000-9999
Note that the system covers the WHOLE island, including that area currently called North Cyprus. There are only a few numbers detailed for Famagusta and none at all for Keryneia.
Note also that the address instructions for incoming foreign mail ask for the use of CY- preceding the postcode.
(2) ........................................................................ Czech Republic ### ##
Not sure if country code used now (was CS-).
(1,2) ........................................................................ Denmark (including Greenland) [DK-]####
Denmark uses various town codes: C, F, J, L, M, N, NO0(N O slash), NV, O (O slash, Unicode 00D8), S, Sj, SO0(S O slash) SV, V. These apply in quite a number of towns - not just Copenhagen & Frederiksberg.
39## is Greenland range of numbers
(1,2) ........................................................................ Egypt ##### (2) ........................................................................ El Salvador ##### (2) ........................................................................ Estonia [EE-]####
###### was the old USSR code format. Codes found in 2### and 3### series.
Old USSR codes were in the 20#### series.
(2) ........................................................................ Faroe Islands [FR-]### (1,2) ........................................................................ French Guiana ##### (2) ........................................................................ Finland [FIN-]#####
FIN-22### Aland Islands
Formerly SF-##### country code prefix format, until 1 January 1993 when the ISO-3 code of FIN came into effect.
For example, the code FIN-80140 represents Joensuu, with the "14" in the 3rd and 4th digits representing the 14th zone, in this case being the suburb Noljakka.
Practically all codes end in 0, except for P.O. Box addresses, which is that of the office, but ends in 1 instead of 0.
(1,2,4) ........................................................................ France [F-]#####
The first two digits of the five digit code will identify the region, or "de'partement". This is the same de'partement numbering as used on car registration plates, and was originally based on an alphabetical sort of the names (as established in Napoleon's times). Later, some de'partements (90 and above) were added, and some names were changed.
A Capital (pre'fecture) normally gets a code of the form xx000.
Other main cities (including but not limited to the sous-pre'fectures) tend to get codes of the form xxx00.
Some large cities have codes based on the "arrondissement" (neighbourhood) within the city (formats 750##, 6900#, 1300# for Paris, Lyon, Marseille respectively). Within Paris, the Northern half of the 16th arrondissement is 75116 instead of 75016.
Known de'partement code ranges follow:
01### Ain (Bourg-en-Bresse, Gex, Nantua) 02### Aisne (Laon) 03### Allier 04### Alpes de Haute Provence 05### Hautes Alpes (Gap, Briancon) 06### Alpes Maritimes (Nice) 07### Ardeche (Privas) 08### Ardennes 09### Ariege (Foix) 10### Aube 11### Aude 12### Aveyron (Rodez) 13### Bouches du Rhone (Marseille, Aix-en-Provence) 14### Calvados (Caen) 17### (Angouleme) 20### Corse (Ajaccio, Bastia, Corte, Calvi) 21### Cote d'Or (Dijon) 22### Cotes du Nord 23### Creuse (Gueret) 25### Doubs (Besancon) 26### Drome (Valence) 29### Finistere (Brest, Quimper) 30### Gard (Nimes) 31### Haute-Garonne (Toulouse) 32### Gers 33### Gironde (Bordeaux) 34### Herault (Montpellier, Nimes) 35### Ille et Vilaine (Rennes) 37### (Tours) 38### Isere (Grenoble) 39### Jura (Lons-le-Saunier) 40### Landes (Mont-de-Marsan) 41### Loir-et-Cher 42### Loire (Roanne) 44### Loire-Atlantique (Nantes) 45### (Orleans) 48### Lozere 49### Maine 50### Manche (St Malo, Cherbourg) 54### (Nancy) 57### (Metz) 59### Nord (Lille, Valenciennes) 63### Puy-de-Dome (Clermont-Ferrand) 67### Bas Rhin (Strasbourg) 68### Haut Rhin (Colmar, Mulhouse) 69### Rhone (Lyon) 72### Sarthe (Le Mans) 73### Savoie (Chambery, Albertville, Aix-les-Bains) 74### Haute-Savoie (Annecy, Annemasse, Thonon, Evian, Cluses) 75### Paris 78### Yvelines (St-Germain-en-Laye, Versailles) 80### Somme (Amiens) 83### Var (Toulon) 84### Vaucluse (Avignon) 88### Vosges (Epinal) 90### Territoire de Belfort 91### Essonne (Evry) 92### Hauts de Seine (Boulonge, St-Cloud) 93### Seine-St-Denis (Bobigny) 94### Val de Marne (Creteil) 95### Val d'Oise (Cergy-Pointoise) 971## Guadeloupe 972## Martinique 973## 974## Reunion 975## St Pierre et Miquelon 980## Principaute' de Monaco (uses MC-980##, not F-980##)
(1,2) ........................................................................ Gaza Strip ##### (1,2) ........................................................................ Georgia ###### (2) ........................................................................ Germany [D-]#####
New 5-digit scheme introduced 1 July 1993, following re-unification of Germany. Previously, the separate systems were in effect, with a letter to identify the West (W) and East (O = Ost) systems.
The former West German system used 4-digit codes.
The former East system also used 4-digit codes with DDR country code that could precede the post code.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Greece [GR-]### ## (1,2) ........................................................................ Guadeloupe #####
Based on France system. Numbering range 971##.
(2) ........................................................................ Guatemala ##### (2) ........................................................................ Guinea-Bissau ####
Information doubtful/unconfirmed.
(2) ........................................................................ Hungary [H-]#### (1,2) ........................................................................ Iceland [IS-]### (1,2) ........................................................................ India ### ### [postfix]
110000 New Delhi 190000 Srinagar 400000 Bombay 700000 Calcutta 744000 Port Blair
The PIN codes are an all-numeric code where the first digit identifies the general region. An example code is 400 001.
(1) ........................................................................ Indonesia #####
10000 Jakarta
(2) ........................................................................ Iran ##### (2) ........................................................................ Ireland
# or #@ format city codes in Dublin, though this represents a zone system for use within Dublin rather than a national postal code system.
(2) ........................................................................ Israel #####
91### Jerusalem 94### Jerusalem
Five digit scheme. Other details unknown. There was possibly an old ## ### format in use, or may be in use in limited areas. The present standard is not to use spacing within the post code number, likely to ensure consistent machine sorting.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Italy (including San Marino, Vatican) [I-]#####
001## Roma 00120 Vatican (use V-00120 with country code) 061## Perugia 091## Cagliari 101## Torino 111## Aosta 131## Vercelli 161## Genova 201## Milano 301## Venezia 341## Trieste 371## Trento 391## Bolzano/Bozen 401## Bologna 471## Forli 47031 San Marino (use RSM as country code: i.e. RSM-47031) 501## Firenze 601## Ancona 701## Bari 901## Palermo
First two digits indicate a postal district. There are about 90 provinces, or postal districts. The main city of the province is usually ##1##. ##0## is reserved for smaller centres near that city.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Japan ###(-##) [postfix]
06# Sapporo 1## Tokyo 53# Osaka 56# Osaka 73# Hiroshima
(2) ........................................................................ Kazakhstan ###### (2) ........................................................................ Korea (South) ###-### [postfix] (2) ........................................................................ Kuwait #####
13### code range found. 35002 is also a known Kuwait code (Marian Nelson example via Alan Pritchard).
Possibly integrated with the Saudi Arabia scheme?
(1,2) ........................................................................ Kyrgystan ###### (2) ........................................................................ Laos #### (2) ........................................................................ Latvia [LV-]####
Latvia formerly had USSR six-digit codes, mostly of the form 22#### (though other number ranges may have been used).
(2) ........................................................................ Lesotho ### (2) ........................................................................ Liberia #### (2) ........................................................................ Liechtenstein [FL-]####
See Switzerland.
(1) ........................................................................ Lithuania ####
Old Russian code with 1st 2 digits dropped. According to the postal authorities, the country code should NOT be used.
(,12) ........................................................................ Luxembourg [L-]#### (1,2) ........................................................................ Macedonia #####
Numbering range 9####
(2) ........................................................................ Madagascar ### (2) ........................................................................ Malaysia ##### (1,2) ........................................................................ Maldives ## ## ##-## ####
Four numbers used; all formats given might be acceptable.
(2) ........................................................................ Malta @@@ ## @@@ ### (Gozo)
(2) ........................................................................ Marshall Islands ##### (2) ........................................................................ Martinique #####
Based on France system. Numbering ranges 972##, 973##.
(2) ........................................................................ Mayotte ##### (2) ........................................................................ Mexico ##### #####-CR##### (bulk mail code) (1,2) ........................................................................ Micronesia (Federated States of) ##### (2) ........................................................................ Moldova ###### (2) ........................................................................ Monaco [MC-]#####
Codes are 9803# - perhaps only a single code used throughout Monaco.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Montenegro #####
Numbering ranges 81###, 84###, 85###
(2) ........................................................................ Morocco ##### (2) ........................................................................ Myanmar ###### (2) ........................................................................ Namibia ####
Namibia was once ruled by South Africa but became independent in 1990. Until then it used part of the South African system, but immediately dropped the codes (as well as the old ZAF administrative subdivisions) on independence. A new post code system may be developed in the future.
Under the South African system, Namibia had codes in the 9### range. Again, such codes are no longer in effect.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Nepal ##### (2) ........................................................................ Netherlands #### @@
10## Amsterdam 12## Hilversum 23## Leiden 62## Maastricht 97## Groningen
The letters provide granularity to about 15 houses (same as UK average).
(1,2) ........................................................................ Netherlands Antilles #### (2) ........................................................................ New Caledonia ##### (2) ........................................................................ New Zealand #### (2) ........................................................................ Norfolk Island #### (2) ........................................................................ Northern Mariana Islands ##### (2) ........................................................................ Norway [N-]####
0### Oslo 10## Oslo 11## Oslo 12## Oslo 4000 Stavanger 5000 Bergen 8099 Jan Mayen Island 9000 Tromso 917# Svalbard Islands
Oslo codes range from 0100 to 1299. Until a few years ago, Oslo was divided into twelve areas.
(1,2,5) ........................................................................ Oman ### (2) ........................................................................ Pakistan ##### (2) ........................................................................ Palau ##### (2) ........................................................................ Panama
# or ## town district format codes are used; this represents a zone system for use within urban areas rather than a national postal code system.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Peru
# or ## format town district codes are used, though this may represent a zone system for use within urban areas rather than a national postal code system.
(2) ........................................................................ Philippines ####
2800 Manila 3000 Quezon City
(1,2) ........................................................................ Poland [PL-]##-###
00-### Warszawa
Some contributions have suggested the presence of ##### format codes, possibly due to misprinting. In official codes, the dash is always used.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Portugal [P-]####
1000 Lisboa 9000 Madeira 9500 Azores
(1,2) ........................................................................ Puerto Rico #####
A U.S. territory. Unknown if the Zip+4 extensions have been assigned here.
(2) ........................................................................ Reunion #####
Based on France system. Numbering range 974##.
(2) ........................................................................ Romania #### (excluding Bucharest) ##### (Bucharest)
Codes in the range 7#### are in Bucharest. No other details about regions/numbering ranges.
(2) ........................................................................ Russia ### ###
11#### Moskva 12#### Moskva 13#### Moskva 183000 Murmansk 191000 Sankt-Peterburg 364000 Groznyj 410000 Kazan 460000 Orenburg
The code then town/city is normally on the first line of the address, before by the specific (street, box, etc) address.
(1) ........................................................................ Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon #####
Based on France system. Numbering range 975##.
(2) ........................................................................ San Marino [RSM-]#####
47031 is apparently the only code in use - based on Italy's system.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Saudi Arabia ##### [postfix]
11### Ar Riyadh 21### Jeddah
(2) ........................................................................ Serbia #####
Code ranges are 1####, 2####, 3####
(2) ........................................................................ Singapore #### [postfix]
(1,2) ........................................................................ Slovakia ### ##
(not sure if country code used now)
Numbering ranges 0## ##, 8## ##, 9## ## are known. Codes were inherited from the former Czechoslovakian system after independence.
(1,2) ........................................................................ Slovenia #####
Codes in the 6#### range. Country code is SI.
(2) ........................................................................ South Africa #### [postfix]
0001 Pretoria 2000 Johannesburg 4000 Durban
Codes may be assigned to such pre-homeland areas of Bophuthatswana and Ciskei (TVBC states). Some uncertainty as to coding plans in adjoining territories such as Namibia. Changes to South African administration may result in renumbered postal codings in the near future.
See also Namibia, which became independent of South Africa in 1990.
(1) ........................................................................ Spain [E-]#####
02000 Albacete 03000 Alicante 08000 Barcelona 28000 Madrid 29000 Malaga 50000 Zaragoza
Assignments done alphabetically.
(1) ........................................................................ Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands ####
See Norway.
(2) ........................................................................ Swaziland @### (2) ........................................................................ Sweden [S-]### ## (1,2) ........................................................................ Switzerland (and Principality of Liechtenstein) [CH-]#### (Switzerland) [FL-]#### (Liechtenstein)
10## Lausanne 11## Vaud 12## Geneve (Geneva) 20## Neuchatel 23## La Chaux-de-Fonds 25## Biel/Bienne 30## Bern 36## Thun 40## Basel 60## Luzern (Lucerne) 70## Chur 80## Zurich 82## Schaffhausen 84## Winterthur 90## St Gallen 97## Liechtenstein
Four digit codes. The following are some general ranges of codes and the major centres and regions these correspond to:
(1,2) ........................................................................ Taiwan ### [postfix] ##### (bulk mail) [postfix] (1,2) ........................................................................ Tajikistan ###### (2) ........................................................................ Thailand ##### [postfix] (1,2) ........................................................................ Tunisia #### (2) ........................................................................ Turkey ##### (2) ........................................................................ Turkmenistan ###### (2) ........................................................................ Uganda #### (2) ........................................................................ Ukraine ###### (2) ........................................................................ United Kingdom @# #@@ [postfix] @#@ #@@ [postfix] @## #@@ [postfix] @@# #@@ [postfix] @@@ #@@ [postfix] @@## #@@ [postfix] @@#@ #@@ [postfix] @@@ #@@ [postfix] (codings vary in length, depending on the first part of the code)
The initial letters indicate the Postcode area. The Postcode area, followed by a number and possibly another letter, makes up the first part of the code called the outward code.
The numeric portion in the outward code may be from 0 to 99. CR0 and WC99 are two examples of this that are in use.
The known initial outward codes of type @#@ or @@#@ are: EC#@, WC#@, SW1P, W1@.
@@@ #@@ is a unique code GIR 0AA for the Post office Giro bank.
The second portion of the postal code provides granularity at least down to individual streets. The digit in the second half may be 0.
Initial letter(s) indicate the Postcode area of the UK. A variable set of letters and numbers follow.
Postcode Areas (i.e. the initial letters of a postal code):
AB Aberdeen LN Lincoln AL St. Albans LS Leeds B Birmingham LU Luton BA Bath M Manchester BB Blackburn ME Medway BD Bradford MK Milton Keynes BH Bournemouth ML Motherwell BL Bolton N London North BN Brighton NE Newcastle-upon-Tyne BR Bromley NG Nottingham BS Bristol NN Northampton BT Belfast NP Newport (Gwent) CA Carlisle NR Norwich CB Cambridge NW London North-West CF Cardiff OL Oldham CH Chester OX Oxford CM Chelmsford PA Paisley CO Colchester PE Peterborough CR Croydon PH Perth CT Canterbury PL Plymouth CV Coventry PO Portsmouth CW Crewe PR Preston DA Dartford RG Reading DD Dundee RH Redhill DE Derby RM Romford DG Dumfries S Sheffield DH Durham SA Swansea DL Darlington SE London South-East DN Doncaster SG Stevenage DT Dorchester SK Stockport DY Dudley SL Slough E London East SM Sutton EC London East Central SN Swindon EH Edinburgh SO Southampton EN Enfield SP Salisbury EX Exeter SR Sunderland FK Falkirk SS Southend-on-Sea FY Blackpool (Fylde) ST Stoke-on-Trent G Glasgow SW London South-West GL Gloucester SY Shrewsbury GU Guildford TA Taunton HA Harrow TD Galashiels HD Huddersfield TF Telford HG Harrogate TN Tonbridge HP Hemel Hempstead TQ Torquay HR Hereford TR Truro HU Hull TS Cleveland (Teesside) HX Halifax TW Twickenham IG Ilford UB Southall (Uxbridge) IP Ipswich W London West IV Inverness WA Warrington KA Kilmarnock WC London West Central KT Kingston-upon-Thames WD Watford KW Kirkwall (Orkney) WF Wakefield L Liverpool WR Worcester LA Lancaster WS Walsall LD Llandridnod Wells WV Wolverhampton LE Leicester YO York LL Llandudno ZE Lerwick (Shetland)
Special UK territories and Postcode area codes/formats:
GY# #@@ Guernsey IM# #@@ Isle of Man IM## #@@ Isle of Man JE# #@@ Jersey
(1,2,3) ........................................................................ United States (including possessions) #####(-####) [postfix]
The Zip Code format was originally a 5-digit scheme as in "12345". The first digit represented a general region of the U.S. The first three digits identify a particular region. All 5 digits identify the post office or district of a community.
A 5-digit scheme is not precise enough to indicate particular streets or houses. Thus the "Zip+4" was formed to provide a 9-digit scheme. The original 5-digit format had four digits appended (eg. 12345-6789).
Some US-possessed territories (American Samoa, Guam, etc.) may not have the Zip+4 extended format, and may just have the 5 digit codes in effect.
(2) ........................................................................ Uruguay ##### (2) ........................................................................ USSR (old country) ######
See listings for individual nations for current postal code formats.
(2) ........................................................................ Uzbekistan ###### (2) ........................................................................ Venezuela #### [postfix] (1) ........................................................................ Viet Nam #####
VN-##### format is sometimes seen
(2) ........................................................................ Wallis and Futuna ##### (2) ........................................................................ Yugoslavia (old country) #####
11000 Beograd 21000 Novi Sad 38000 Pris^tina 81000 Titograd
Yugoslavia codes have been inherited by the separate countries involved; there are no known plans to change the code systems.
YU-##### form is no longer used for rum#, given that major governments no longer consider the existence of Yugoslavia as such.
(1,2)
Contributors
Thanks to those who contributed or had additional data:
(1) Sergio Gelato (2) Alan Pritchard (3) Peter Moore (from a file prepared April 1988, from British Post Office
information) (4) Tommi Uschanov (5) Ruben Sogaard (6) David E A Wilson
(From [email protected] on
19 March 1993 via the list 9NOV89-L)
Keep tuned for the changing postcode system in Germany at July 1st, 1993 !!!
----------------------------(message included)---------------------------
GERMANY - NEW POSTAL CODES - IMI930311
zsv
()()(-)
SUMMARY
This article is derived from a telegraphic report dated 11 March 1993,
written for the U.S. Department of Commerce - Washington, DC. It discusses
new postal codes in Germany. The article consists of 2 pages.
()()(-)
11 MAR 93
USDOC WASHDC
SUBBECT: IMI: NEW POSTAL CODES IN GERMANY
3. SUMMARY: A NEW PLAN TO REVISE UNITED GERMANY'S POSTAL
CODES PROMISES TO STREAMLINE POSTAL DELIVERIES AND SAVE
DEUTSCH MARK (DM) 2 BILLION ANNUALLY. BUT PRIVATE CITIZENS
AND COMPANIES ALIKE ARE BRACING THEMSELVES FOR CHANGES THAT
WILL BE BOTH COSTLY AND COMPLICATED. END SUMMARY
4. BEGIN ARTICLE: ONCE AGAIN. THE GERMAN PUBLIC IS
FEELING THE GROWING PAINS OF UNIFICATION. JUST AS EVERYONE
WAS GETTING USED TO THE TWO-YEAR-OLD SYSTEM OF INSERTING A
QUOTE W ENDQUOTE OR AN QUOTE O ENDQUOTE BEFORE THEIR OLD
FAMILIAR POSTAL CODES TO INDICATE WEST OR EAST. THE FEDERAL
POSTAL SERVICE HAS COME UP WITH A SCHEME TO REVAMP THE
ENTIRE POSTAL CODE NETWORK LATER THIS YEAR. THE MAIN
REASON. THE POST OFFICE MAINTAINS. IS THAT 800 COMMUNITIES
IN EASTERN AND WESTERN GERMANY SHARE A COMMON FOUR-DIGIT
CODE AND CAN BE DISTINGUISHED ONLY BY USE OF THE LETTER
DESIGNATIONS. BUT MORE THAN THAT. POSTAL AUTHORITIES SAY
THEIR PLAN WILL NOT ONLY ELIMINATE ANY REMAINING EAST-WEST
OVERLAP, BUT WILL ALSO SPEED UP DELIVERIES.
THE NEW POSTAL CODES WILL PERMIT AUTOMATED SORTING OF
LETTERS AND PACKAGES AT 83 DIFFERENT LOGISTIC CENTRES TO BE
SET UP AROUND THE COUNTRY. ALTOGETHER. THE POSTAL SERVICE
PLANS TO INVEST DM 4 BILLION IN THE DISTRIBUTION CENTRES.
PLUS DM 120 MILLION TO PRINT THE NEW POSTAL CODE GUIDEBOOK.
THE CHANGEOVER WILL SUPPOSEDLY SAVE THE POSTAL SERVICE DM
1.8 BILLION ANNUALLY. THE NEW SYSTEM WILL REPLACE THE
CURRENT FOUR-DIGIT POSTAL CODES WITH FIVE-DIGIT CODES
BEGINNING JULY 1. AROUND TWO-THIRDS OF THE POPULATION WILL
KEEP THE FIRST DIGIT OF THEIR OLD CODE. THE REST OF THE
CODE. HOWEVER, IS ORIENTED TO A COMPLETELY NEW SYSTEM
DEVISED BY THE POSTAL SERVICE. THE FIRST TWO NUMBERS WILL
SPECIFY ONE OF THE 83 REGIONS INTO WHICH THE SYSTEM DIVIDES
THE COUNTRY. WHILE THE REMAINING DIGITS WILL ENABLE
GERMANY'S MAILMEN TO ZERO IN ON INDIVIDUAL CITIES AND
STREETS.
BEYOND THE SWITCH TO FIVE DIGITS. THE POSTAL SERVICE HAS
CREATED OTHER COMPLICATIONS. THE OLD METHOD OF ATTACHING
EXTRA NUMBERS AFTER THE NAMES OF LARGER CITIES TO DESIGNATE
A PARTICULAR DISTRICT WILL BECOME OBSOLETE. INSTEAD.
AROUND 209 COMMUNITIES WILL SIMPLY HAVE MORE THAN ONE
POSTAL CODE. ANOTHER NEW FEATURE IS THAT COMPANIES THAT
RECEIVE MORE THAN 2.000 PIECES OF MAIL EACH DAY WILL BE
ISSUED THEIR OWN POSTAL CODE. MEANWHILE, POSTAL CUSTOMERS
IN MAJOR COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE BOTH A STREET ADDRESS AND A
P.O. BOX WILL BE ASSIGNED TWO DIFFERENT CODES.
THE TRANSITION WILL BE ANYTHING BUT SIMPLE FOR MANY
COMMUNITIES. TAKE THE CASE OF THE TINY ISLAND OF HELGOLAND
OFF THE COAST OF SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. THE 1,800 RESIDENTS
OF THE POPULAR TOURIST RESORT HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE
ISLAND WILL BE ASSIGNED 13 SEPARATE POSTAL CODES. THE
REASON: ALL OF THE ISLAND'S RESIDENT HAVE THEIR OWN POST
BOX. AND EACH SET OF BOXES WILL GET ITS OWN CODE.
THE RESIDENTS OF THE COUNTRY'S LARGEST CITIES WILL HAVE AN
EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TIME. GERMANY'S FINANCE AND BANKING
CAPITAL. FRANKFURT AM MAIN. USED TO HAVE JUST ONE CODE -
6000. FRANKFURT WILL NOT BE DIVIDED INTO 400 POSTAL
DISTRICTS IN TOW REGIONS. WITH A TOTAL OF AROUND 32
DIFFERENT POSTAL CODES. SEVERAL HUNDRED ADDITIONAL CODES
WILL BE ASSIGNED TO THE CITY'S MOST IMPORTANT CORPORATE
ADDRESSES AND INDIVIDUAL POST BOXES. OTHER LEADING
BUSINESS CENTRES WILL BE SIMILARLY CHOPPED UP. BERLIN IS
TO HAVE AROUND 130 DIFFERENT POSTAL CODES. EXCLUDING THE
SEPARATE CORPORATE CODES. AND MUNICH. THE HOME OF BMW AND
SIEMENS, WILL BE ASSIGNED A GRAND TOTAL OF AROUND 460
INDIVIDUAL CODES, INCLUDING 110 SEPARATE CODES FOR
COMPANIES.
THE COMPLEXITY OF THE NEW POSTAL CODE SYSTEM HAS ALREADY
LED TO PUBLIC OUTCRY. EVEN MANY POLITICIANS IN BONN HAVE
OPPOSED THE CHANGE. ALTHOUGH THEY ARE LITERALLY POWERLESS
ON THIS ISSUE. THE DECISION TO MAKE THE CHANGE WAS MADE
SOLELY BY THE POSTAL SERVICE'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND CAN'T
BE REVERSED -- EVEN BY NEW POSTAL MINISTER WOLFGANG
BOETSCH. IN FACT. THE BUNDESTAG (GERMAN PARLIAMENT) ITSELF
TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST VICTIMS OF THE CONFUSION
WHEN THE INITIAL GUIDEBOOK TO THE NEW POSTAL CODES ASSIGNED
THE WRONG ONE TO THE PARLIAMENT'S OWN ADDRESS. BOETSCH
SHRUGGED OFF THE MISTAKE AS A TECHNICAL ERROR THAT WOULD BE
CORRECTED BY THE TIME THE FINAL EDITION OF THE 1.000-PAGE
GUIDEBOOK IS NATIONALLY DISTRIBUTED IN EARLY MAY. BUT FOR
MANY. THE POSTAL SERVICES' BUNDESTAG BLUNDER WAS A BAD
OMEN.
MANY OF GERMANY'S LEADING CORPORATIONS -- ESPECIALLY ONES
THAT CONDUCT MOST OF THEIR BUSINESS BY MAIL -- ARE ALREADY
SHOULDERING A HEAVY FINANCIAL BURDEN BECAUSE OF THE
CHANGES. ONE OF THE COUNRTY'S TOP MAIL ORDER COMPANIES,
QUELLE, ESTIMATES IT WILL PAY DM 10 MILLION TO CONVERT ITS
ADDRESS FILES. DEUTSCHE BANK SAYS IT WILL SPEND AROUND DM
5.5 MILLION TO CONVERT ITS FILES OF 13 MILLION ADDRESSES.
IN FACT. MANY SKEPTICS HAVE SAID THAT THE ONLY ONES WHO ARE
LIKELY TO PROFIT FROM THE CHANGE ARE SOFTWARE COMPANIES
SELLING CONVERSION PROGRAMMES AND THE PRINTERS WHO WILL BE
FACED WITH FLOODS OF ORDERS FOR NEW BUSINESS CARDS AND
STATIONERY. END ARTICLE.
5. FOR DISTRICT OFFICES' AND NTDB USERS' INFORMATION. THE
ITA GERMANY DESK WILL RECEIVE THE NEW POSTAL CODE DIRECTORY
WHEN IT IS DISTRIBUTED IN GERMANY IN MAY 1993.
(ORIGIN: 4212/IEP/EUR/OWE/FISHER )
()()(-)
---------- End included message ----------
Section 20.3.2 German Postal codes
From soc.culture.german:
> According to Die Zeit of the 10th of July, the Bundespost will introduce the
> new zip codes on July 1, 1993. The five-digit code will be divided as follows:
> the first two are the region, the third the city, and the last two denote the
> type of delivery (mailbox, large customer, etc.). This means that some streets
> may have two or more zip codes. Not only that, the cost of changing software
> and entering data has been estimated by Wirtschaftswoche to be several hundred
> million DM. Sounds like fun!
Chapter 20
![[TOP OF PAGE]](img/topofpag.gif)