На протяжении уже нескольких столетий мы используем бумагу, чтобы писать друг другу письма, хотя в последние пару десятков лет электронные средства связи заметно потеснили своего предшественника – почтовый конверт.
Тем не менее, иногда необходимо написать письмо «по старинке», для этого требуется указать почтовый индекс, и здесь у многих возникают затруднения. Для чего нужен этот самый индекс? Как правильно писать эти диковинные цифры? Что ж, следует ознакомиться с образцом, тогда все будет указано должным образом. Давайте-ка по порядку.
Содержание:
- Что принимаем во внимание
- Адрес
- Как писать индекс в России
- Индекс на международных письмах
- Заключение
- Видео
Что принимаем во внимание
Обязательно следует учитывать:
- Язык. Чтобы корреспонденция дошла к адресату в пределах Российской Федерации, конверт заполняется на русском языке. При необходимости отправки письма в другое государство, адрес следует писать на английском языке. Изучите образец заполнения корреспонденции за границу. При необходимости продублируйте информацию на языке государства-получателя, но данные на английском языке обязательны.
- Адрес. Корректное написание адреса, вероятно, сократит срок доставки письма. Согласно образцу, адрес отправителя находится в верхнем левом углу конверта, а получателя – в его нижней правой части. При написании адреса, указывается ФИО, полный почтовый адрес и индекс. Для получателя и отправителя порядок написания адреса одинаков.
- Аккуратность. Пишите адрес разборчиво, лучше – печатными буквами. Недопустимы исправления, зачеркивания, орфографические ошибки. Чтобы заполнить графы правильно, сверяйтесь с образцом.
Адрес
Написание адреса – это ответственный этап оформления корреспонденции. Если нужно осуществлять многотысячную рассылку писем, целесообразно воспользоваться специализированными программами для печати конвертов. К примеру, редактором «Почтовые Конверты» от AMS Software – качественная, удобная программа для печати конвертов и осуществления рассылок. Внести нужно лишь данные об отправителях и получателях; выбирается шаблон требуемого формата, распечатывается готовый конверт. Программа включает в себя образец заполнения конверта, а поля вводятся из базы автоматически. Русскоязычный интерфейс и подробный справочный материал обеспечивают легкость и удобство в работе с программой.
В нижней левой части почтового конверта располагается кодовый штамп, содержащий почтовый индекс получателя, который пишется стилизованными цифрами.
Цифры можно писать чернилами определенного цвета: желтые, зеленые и красные не допускаются. Из-за них письмо не попадет на сортировку. Поэтому лучше выбрать синюю или черную пасту.
Как писать индекс в России
В разных странах количество цифр в почтовом индексе разное. В РФ сейчас действует 6-значная система почтовой индексации.
- Три первые цифры говорят о принадлежности к тому или другому региону, последние три являются номером такого-то почтового отделения, отделения связи. Таким образом, индекс на почтовом конверте является своеобразным идентификатором отправления.
- С помощью сортировочных аппаратов корреспонденция разбивается по месту отправления. Поэтому писать почтовый индекс следует корректно. Пишут его на поле основного текста, а потом дублируют на специальных полях, определенных точками.
- Высота точек совпадает с высотой сканирующих аппаратов. Индекс пишется по четкой схеме написания, указанной на обороте конверта. Писать нужно так, чтоб аппараты легче считывали необходимую информацию.
- Для написания почтового индекса рекомендуется выбирать чернила, которые не размываются из-за воздействия влаги.
- Декоративные конверты или конверты, выпущенные по случаю праздника, обычно не имеют специального поля для указания индекса. Это усложняет корректное написание цифр, а значит, доставка письма затрудняется. Почтамт рекомендует использовать стандартные конверты.
Индекс на международных письмах
В этом случае индекс получателя указывается в соответствующем поле единожды. Цифры 555 говорят о том, что почтовый конверт международный и пойдет за границу.
Заключение
От корректности написания адреса зависит скорость обработки и доставки письма, в связи с чем федеральный почтовый оператор призывает не игнорировать правила и порядок заполнения соответствующих полей:
- Для субъекта – ФИО; для юр. лица – полное или сокращенное названия, название улицы, номер дома и квартиры (или а/я).
- Населенный пункт.
- Район.
- Республика, край, область, автономный округ.
- Страна (для международных писем).
- Индекс.
Адресные данные надо писать разборчиво или печатать типографским способом (возможно, с помощью печатной техники). Размер шрифта должен быть не меньше 11 пт (4 мм), для цифр индекса – 13-14 пт (5 мм). Рекомендуются печатные буквы. Адрес адресата и отправителя почтового отправления в пределах России указываются на русском языке.
Видео
Из видео вы узнаете все правила по оформлению конверта.
В этой статье есть шаблоны по правильному заполнению почтового конверта.
Содержание
- На почтовом конверте пишется индекс отправителя или получателя?
- Правильное заполнение конверта Почты России: образец, пример
- Как правильно писать цифры индекса на почтовом конверте: образец
- Видео: Правила по оформлению конверта. Отправка почтой РФ.
Несмотря на то, что сейчас популяризованы соцсети и люди общаются посредством отправки личных сообщений, многие все-таки пишут письма своим друзьям, родственникам, проживающим в других городах и странах. Как безошибочно написать адрес и индекс получателя? В этой статье вы найдете шаблон по заполнению.
На почтовом конверте пишется индекс отправителя или получателя?
Если на бумажном пакете для писем есть начерченная сеточка для заполнения индексных цифр, тогда этот идентификатор должен быть указан только в этом месте. Цифры должны быть прописаны особо — стилизовано и правильно. Паста в ручке может быть только школьных цветов: синего, черного, голубого, но не яркой и не цветной.
В этой сетке, которая расположена слева, снизу, заполняется индекс получателя.
Правильное заполнение конверта Почты России: образец, пример
Если на лицевой стороне пакета для писем есть цифровая графа для написания идентификатора, то его нужно писать в ней. Если такая сетка отсутствует, то цифры нужно прописывать только в поле справа, где расположены строки для адреса получателя.
Заполнять правильно этот бумажный пакет для писем нужно так:
- В левом верхнем углу нужно сначала написать полностью Ф.И.О. того, кто отправляет письмо. Его адресные данные: город, дом и улица. Затем указывается край или область и индексные цифры.
- В правом нижнем углу укажите адресную информацию того человека, который получит пакет. Сначала, сверху напишите полностью Ф.И.О. На строке ниже укажите улицу, дом и номер квартиры. Затем название города или поселка, область, край или район и последняя строка — индексный идентификатор того, кто получит письмо.
- Язык. Если вы посылаете письмо в один из населенных пунктов России, то адресные данные заполняются на русском языке. Если письмо посылается в иную страну, то адрес нужно заполнить на English. Если хочется, то можно написать адресную информацию еще повторно рядом на языке страны получателя, например, французском, польском и так далее.
- Аккуратное заполнение адреса. Адресную информацию пишите разборчиво, красивым почерком. Не делайте перечеркивания слов, орфографические ошибки. Лучше заполняйте строки печатными буквами, так сложнее сделать ошибку или опечатку.
Международные конверты заполняются также, как и конверты по России, но на английском языке с дублированием адреса на языке страны получателя, но можно это и не делать.
Заполнение конверта — это ответственный и трудоемкий процесс. Не забудьте наклеить марку. Теперь можно отправлять конверт с письмом адресату.
Как правильно писать цифры индекса на почтовом конверте: образец
Как говорилось выше, цифры индекса нужно писать особым образом. Вот образец:
Теперь вы сможете легко и быстро заполнить конверт с адресом отправителя и получателя. Главное, это правильно заполнить индекс получателя и адрес. Но, если вы даже неправильно укажите город, то письмо придет адресату по индексу, который на почте идентифицируется с городом.
Видео: Правила по оформлению конверта. Отправка почтой РФ.
Инструкция по правильному написанию цифр индекса на конверте
Краткое содержание статьи:
- Зачем нужен индекс и как его узнать?
- Как правильно писать цифры индекса?
- История почтовых индексов
- Как заполнить конверт правильно?
- Интересные факты о почтовом индексе
- Видео: правила оформления конверта почты России
Несмотря на огромную популярность соцсетей и мессенджеров, люди все еще пользуются услугами обычной почты. Она необходима, например, когда надо доставить важное письмо или копии документов в какую-нибудь государственную службу или компанию. Чтобы письмо дошло до адресата, главное правильно его заполнить и указать индекс на конверте.
Зачем нужен индекс и как его узнать?
Сегодня на почте почти полностью отказались от ручной сортировки писем. Эта рутинная работа доверяется автоматическим средствам, которые считывают указанный на конверте индекс. Если его указать неверно, то письмо на длительный срок задержится в сортировочном отделе почты. Разумеется, сотрудники рано или поздно обработают его в ручном режиме.
Обычно поле для индекса находится в левом нижнему углу конверта. Существуют декоративные конверты, которые обычно приурочены к какому-то празднику. Их лучше не использовать, так как поле для индекса на нем обычно отсутствует.
На конверте указывается индекс получателя, состоящий из 6 цифр. Узнать его можно двумя способами:
- На сайте Почтовые индексы России. Сначала следует выбрать область, а затем населенный пункт и улицу проживания адресата;
- У сотрудников почтамта. Лучше всего обратиться по данному вопросу рано утром, когда народу на почте будет немного.
Как правильно писать цифры индекса?
При указании индекса на конверте рекомендуется воспользоваться следующими советами:
- Лучше использовать хорошие чернила, которые не потускнеют и не размажутся при высокой влажности;
- Каждая цифра выводится по точечной разметке прямоугольной формы. Сортировочный аппарат «узнает» цифру только в том случае, если она написана по определенному стандарту. Узнать правильность написания той или иной цифры можно на сайте wikipedia или по этой картинке:
- Цифры допустимо писать не только черным, но и другим цветом, за исключением красного, зеленого и желтого. Считается, что эти оттенки сортировочный аппарат распознает хуже всего, поэтому письмо может быть отложено для последующей ручной сортировки;
- Цифры следует прописывать четко, но не слишком жирно. Наиболее неприятная ситуация возникнет в том случае, если прибор для сортировки неправильно «прочитает» индекс. Часто это происходит, если отправитель неаккуратно написал какую-то цифру. Например, «0» система с наибольшей вероятностью спутает с «8», так как разница между ними лишь в одну черточку посередине;
- На письме, которое должно быть доставлено за границу, индекс представлен тремя пятерками.
История почтовых индексов
Разрастание городов стало одной из главных причин появления почтового индекса. Его прообраз был создан еще в 1857-м году, когда Лондон решили поделить на несколько почтовых зон для облегчения сортировки корреспонденции.
Позднее подобную систему ввели в США. Сначала индексы указывались лишь для крупных городов, но в 1930-х годах их решено было применять и для маленьких населенных пунктов.
Система постепенно совершенствовалась и перенималась другими странами на протяжении всего XX-го века. Одной из первых была Германия. В 1941-м году немецкие власти решили ввести почтовые индексы не только на территории Третьего рейха, но и на оккупированных землях.
Сегодня уже около 200 стран ввели почтовые индексы, что существенно упростило работу с корреспонденцией.
Как заполнить конверт правильно?
Согласно установленным почтовым стандартам, на конверте указывается следующее:
- Личные данные получателя (ФИО). В случае отправки письма юридическому лицу или государственной конторе указывается название организации;
- Полный адрес, включая область, населенный пункт, улицу, номер дома и квартиры;
- Индекс.
Заполняется конверт максимально разборчивым почерком. Если с ним у отправителя совсем плохо и написанные им слова похожи на рецепт врача, то лучше обратиться за помощью к другу или родственнику с понятным почерком.
Чтобы адрес влез в нужную строку на конверте желательно использовать общепринятые сокращения. Например, «обл.» (область) и «г.» (город).
Если в каком-то слове сделана ошибка, то не нужно исправлять или зачеркивать его. В этом случае следует приобрести новый конверт.
Интересные факты о почтовом индексе
С почтовым индексом связано несколько занятных фактов:
- В некоторых странах в почтовом индексе присутствуют не только цифры, но и буквы. Это позволяет составить значительно больше комбинаций;
- В Австралии действуют самые короткие индексы, состоящие всего из четырех цифр;
- В Гренландии и Финляндии имеются специальные почтовые индексы, предназначенные для отправки писем Санта-Клаусу. Канадская почтовая служба пошла еще дальше. Каждый отправивший Санта-Клаусу письмо получает ответ. Причем он будет написан на языке отправителя.
Появление индекса облегчило труд сотрудникам почтовых отделений по всему миру. В написании шести цифр нет ничего сложного, главное лишь проявить внимательность и аккуратность. А по всем возникшим вопросам, касающимся индекса, можно обратиться к сотрудникам почтамта.
Видео: правила оформления конверта почты России
«Post code» redirects here. For computer POST codes, see Power-on self-test.
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 digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail.
As of August 2021, the Universal Postal Union lists 160 countries which require the use of a postal code.[1]
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.
Terms[edit]
There are a number of synonyms for postal code; some are country-specific;
- CAP: The standard term in Italy; CAP is an acronym for codice di avviamento postale (postal expedition code).
- CEP: The standard term in Brazil; CEP is an acronym for código de endereçamento postal (postal addressing code).
- Eircode: The standard term in Ireland.
- NPA in French-speaking Switzerland (numéro postal d’acheminement) and Italian-speaking Switzerland (numero postale di avviamento).
- 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 Postleitzahl (postal routing number).
- Postal code: The general term is used in Canada.
- Postcode: This solid compound is popular in many English-speaking countries and is also the standard term in the Netherlands.
- Postal index: This term is used in Eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus etc.
- PSČ: The standard term in Slovakia and Czech Republic; PSČ is an acronym for Poštové smerovacie číslo (in Slovak) or Poštovní směrovací číslo (in Czech), both meaning postal routing number.
- ZIP Code: The standard term in the United States and the Philippines; ZIP is an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan.
History[edit]
1977 Soviet stamp promoting the use of postal codes
The development of postal codes reflects the increasing complexity of postal delivery as populations grew and the built environment became more complex. This 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 late as the 1920s, possibly implemented at the local post office level only (for example, instances of «Boston 9, Mass» in 1920 are attested[2][3]) although they were evidently not used throughout all major US cities (implemented USPOD-wide) until World War II.
By 1930 or earlier the idea of extending postal district or zone numbering plans beyond large cities to cover even small towns and rural locales was in the air. 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,[4] but the system was abandoned in 1939. The next country to introduce postal codes was Germany in 1941,[5] followed by Singapore in 1950,[6] Argentina in 1958, the United States in 1963[7] and Switzerland in 1964.[8] The United Kingdom began introducing its current system in Norwich in 1959, but they were not used nationwide until 1974.[9]
Presentation[edit]
Postal codes by country and digit-type.
Numeric digits:
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Alphanumeric digits:
6
7
8
Postal codes not in use:
Character sets[edit]
The characters used in postal codes are:
- The Western Arabic numerals «0» to «9»
- Letters of the ISO basic Latin alphabet
- Spaces, hyphens
Reserved characters[edit]
Postal codes in the Netherlands originally did not use the letters ‘F’, ‘I’, ‘O’, ‘Q’, ‘U’ and ‘Y’ for technical reasons. But as almost all existing combinations are now used, these letters were allowed for new locations starting 2005. The letter combinations «SS» (Schutzstaffel), «SD» (Sicherheitsdienst), and «SA» (Sturmabteilung) are not used, due to links with the Nazi occupation in World War II.
Postal codes in Canada do not include the letters D, F, I, O, Q, or U, as the optical character recognition (OCR) equipment used in automated sorting could easily confuse them with other letters and digits. The letters W and Z are used, but are not currently used as the first letter. The Canadian Postal Codes use alternate letters and numbers (with a space after the third character) in this format: A9A 9A9[10]
In Ireland the eircode system uses the following letters only: A, C, D, E, F, H, K, N, P, R, T, V, W, X, Y. This serves two purposes:
- to avoid confusion in OCR, and
- it also helps to avoid accidental double-entendres by avoiding the creation of word look-alikes, as Eircode’s last four characters are random.
Alphanumeric postal codes[edit]
Most of the postal code systems are numeric; only a few are alphanumeric (i.e., use both letters and digits). Alphanumeric systems can, given the same number of characters, encode many more locations. For example, while a two digit numeric code can represent 100 locations, a two character alphanumeric code using ten numbers and twenty letters can represent 900 locations.
The independent nations using alphanumeric postal code systems are:
- Argentina (see table)
- Brunei (see table)
- Canada (see table)
- Eswatini
- Ireland (see table)
- Jamaica (see table) (suspended in 2007[11])
- Kazakhstan (since 2015)
- Malta (see table)
- Netherlands (see table)
- Peru (see table) The postal code format in Peru was updated in February 2011 to be of the format of five digits.
- Somalia
- United Kingdom (see table)
Countries which prefix their postal codes with a fixed group of letters, indicating a country code, include Andorra, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Ecuador and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Country code prefixes[edit]
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes were recommended by the European Committee for Standardization as well as the Universal Postal Union to be used in conjunction with postal codes starting in 1994,[12][13] but they have not become widely used.
Andorra, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Ecuador, Latvia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines use the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 as a prefix in their postal codes.
In some countries (such as in continental Europe, where a numeric postcode format of four or five digits is commonly used) the numeric postal code is sometimes prefixed with a country code when sending international mail to that country.
Placement of the code[edit]
Postal 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, following the city or town name, whereas in most continental European countries it precedes the name of the city or town.
When it follows the city it may be on the same line or on a new line.
In Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan it is written at the beginning of an address.[citation needed] In Japan it is written at the start of the address when written in Japanese, but at the end when the address is written in the Latin alphabet.
Geographic coverage[edit]
Postal codes are usually assigned to geographical areas. Sometimes codes are assigned to individual addresses or to institutions that receive large volumes of mail, e.g. government agencies or large commercial companies. One example is the French Cedex system.
Postal zone numbers[edit]
Before 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. Ireland still uses postal district numbers in Dublin. In New Zealand, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were divided into postal zones, but these fell into disuse, and have now become redundant as a result of a new postcode system being introduced.
Codes defined along administrative borders[edit]
Some postal code systems, like those of Ecuador and Costa Rica, show an exact agreement with the hierarchy of administrative country subdivisions.
Format of six digit numeric (eight digit alphanumeric) postal codes in Ecuador, introduced in December 2007: ECAABBCC
- EC — ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
- AA — one of the 24 provinces of Ecuador (24 of 100 possible codes used = 24%)
- BB — one of the 226 cantons of Ecuador (for AABB 226 of 10000 codes used, i.e. 2.26%. Three cantons are not in any province)
- CC — one of the parishes of Ecuador.
Format of five digit numeric Postal codes in Costa Rica, introduced in 2007: ABBCC
- A — one of the seven provinces of Costa Rica (7 of 10 used, i.e. 70%)
- BB — one of the 81 cantons of Costa Rica (81 of 100 used, i.e. 81%)
- CC — one of the districts of Costa Rica.
In Costa Rica these codes were originally used as district identifiers by the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica and the Administrative Territorial Division, and continue to be equivalent.[14][15]
The first two digits of the postal codes in Turkey correspond to the provinces and each province has assigned only one number. They are the same for them as in ISO 3166-2:TR.[16]
The first two digits of the postal codes in Vietnam indicate a province. Some provinces have one, other have several two digit numbers assigned. The numbers differ from the number used in ISO 3166-2:VN.
Codes defined close to administrative boundaries[edit]
Map of Brazilian five-digit postalcodes of São Paulo state. Each color shows a set of administrative areas, and the hierarchy of codes relating indirectly to them.
In France the numeric code for the departments is used as the first two digits of the postal code, except for the two departments in Corsica that have codes 2A and 2B and use 20 as postal code. Furthermore, the codes are only the codes for the department in charge of delivery of the post, so it can be that a location in one department has a postal code starting with the number of a neighbouring department.
Codes defined indirectly to administrative borders[edit]
The first digit of the postal codes in the United States comprises discrete states. From the first three digits one can infer the state, with a few exceptions where an area is served by a central office in an adjacent state.
Similarly, in Canada, the first letter indicates the province or territory, although the provinces of Quebec and Ontario are divided into several lettered sub-regions (e.g. H for Montreal and Laval), and the Northwest Territories and Nunavut share the letter X.
Codes defined independently from administrative areas[edit]
The first two digits of the postal codes in Germany define areas independently of administrative regions. The coding space of the first digit is fully used (0-9); that of the first two combined is utilized to 89%, i.e. there are 89 postal zones defined. Zone 11 is non-geographic.
Royal Mail designed the postal codes in the United Kingdom mostly for efficient distribution. Nevertheless, people associated codes with certain areas, leading to some people wanting or not wanting to have a certain code. See also postcode lottery.
In Brazil the 8-digit postcodes are an evolution of the five-digit area postal codes. In the 1990s the Brazilian five-digit postal code (illustrated), DDDDD
, received a three-digit suffix DDDDD-SSS
, but this suffix is not directly related to the administrative district hierarchy. The suffix was created only for logistic reasons.
- Brazilian eight-digit postal codes — A city block and its faces
-
City blocks surrounded by streets, some streets with a different eight-digit postal code (suffixes 001 to 899).
-
Faces of a city block and their extension into its interior. Each color is an eight-digit postal code, usually assigned to a side (odd or even numbered) of a street.
-
Faces of a city block and their extension between city blocks. The same colors (polygons) indicate the same postal codes.
In the code spatialization it is an error to associate the postal code to an individual land lot area: a lot may have 0, 1, 2 or more delivery points, with different codes.
The postal code assignment can be assigned to individual land lots in some special cases — in Brazil they are named «large receivers» and receive suffixes 900–959. In any other case it is an error to associate the postal code with the whole land lot area (illustrated).
A postal code is often related to a land lot, but this is not always the case. Postal codes are usually related to access points on streets. Small or middle-sized houses, in general, only have a single main gate which is the delivery point. Parks, large businesses such as shopping centers, and big houses, may have more than one entrance and more than one delivery point. So the semantic of an address and its postal code can vary, and one land lot may have more than one postal code.
Precision[edit]
Czechoslovakia[edit]
Czechoslovakia introduced Postal Routing Numbers (PSČ — poštovní směrovací čísla) in 1973. The code consists of 5 digits formatted into two groups: NNN NN. Originally, the first group marked a district transport centre, the second group represented the order of post offices on the collection route. In the first group, the first digit corresponds partly with the region, the second digit meant a collection transport node (sběrný přepravní uzel, SPU) and the third digit a «district transport node» (okresní přepravní uzel). However, processing was later centralized and mechanized while codes remained the same. After separation Slovakia and the Czech Republic kept the system. Codes with an initial digit of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 are used in the Czech Republic, while codes with an initial digit of 8, 9, or 0 are used in Slovakia
A code corresponds to a local postal office. However, some larger companies or organizations have their own post codes. In 2004–2006 there were some efforts in Slovakia to reform the system, to get separate post codes for every district of single postmen, but the change was not realized.
India[edit]
An example of a Postal Index Number from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. 4 indicates the West postal zone, 5 indicates a postal sub-zone in Madhya Pradesh, 6 indicates the Ujjain sorting district, 0 indicates the Ujjain core area service route, 01 indicates the Ujjain Head Office as the delivery office.
Postal codes are known as Postal Index Numbers (PINs; sometimes as PIN codes) in India. The PIN system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by India Post. India uses a unique six-digit code as a geographical number to identify locations in India. The format of the PIN is ZSDPPP defined as follows:
- Z — Zone
- S — Sub-zone
- D — Sorting District
- P — Service Route
- PP — Post Office
There are nine total zones consisting of eight regional zones and a functional zone which are represented by the first digit.
Ireland[edit]
In Ireland, the new postal code system launched in 2015, known as Eircode provides a unique 7-character alphanumerical code for each individual address. The first three digits are the routing key, which is a postal district and the last four characters are a unique identifier that relates to an individual address (business, house or apartment). A fully developed API is also available for integrating the Eircode database into business databases and logistics systems.
With a single exception, these codes are in the format:
ANN XXXX
The single exception is the Dublin D6W postal district. It is the only routing key area in the country that takes the format ANA instead of ANN:
D6W XXXX
While it is not intended to replace addresses, in theory simply providing a seven-character Eircode would locate any Irish delivery address. For example, the Irish Parliament Dáil Éireann is: D02 A272
Netherlands[edit]
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, ‘s-Gravenhage (the International School of The Hague).
Singapore[edit]
Since 1 September 1995, every building in Singapore has been given a unique, six-digit postal code.[6]
United Kingdom[edit]
For domestic properties, an individual postcode may cover up to 100 properties in contiguous proximity (e.g. a short section of a populous road, or a group of less populous neighbouring roads). The postcode together with the number or name of a property is not always unique, particularly in rural areas. For example, GL20 8NX/1 might refer to either 1 Frampton Cottages or 1 Frampton Farm Cottages, roughly a quarter of a mile (400 metres) apart.
The structure is alphanumeric, with the following six valid formats, as defined by BS 7666:[17]
A9 9AA A9A 9AA A99 9AA AA9 9AA AA9A 9AA AA99 9AA
There are always two halves: the separation between outward and inward postcodes is indicated by one space.
The outward postcode covers a unique area and has two parts which may in total be two, three or four characters in length. A postcode area of one or two letters, followed by one or two numbers, followed in some parts of London by a letter.
The outward postcode and the leading numeric of the inward postcode in combination forms a postal sector, and this usually corresponds to a couple of thousand properties.
Larger businesses and isolated properties such as farms may have a unique postcode. Extremely large organisations such as larger government offices or bank headquarters may have multiple postcodes for different departments.
There are about 100 postcode areas, ranging widely in size from BT which covers the whole of Northern Ireland to WC for a small part of Central London. Postcode areas occasionally cross national boundaries, such as SY which covers a large, predominantly rural area from Shrewsbury and Ludlow in Shropshire, England, through to the seaside town of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion on Wales’ west coast.
United States[edit]
In the United States, the basic ZIP Code is composed of five numbers. The first three numbers identify a specific sectional center facility—or central sorting facility—that serves a geographic region (typically a large part of a state). The next two numbers identify a specific post office either serving an area of a city (if in an urban area or large suburban area) or an entire village, town, or small city and its surrounding area (if in a small suburban or rural area).
There is an extended format of the ZIP Code known as the ZIP+4, which contains the basic five-digit ZIP Code, followed by a hyphen and four additional digits. These digits identify a specific delivery route, such as one side of a building, a group of apartments, or several floors of a large office building. Although using the ZIP+4 offers higher accuracy, addressing redundancy, and sorting efficiency within the USPS, it is optional and not widely used by the general public. It is primarily only used by business mailers.
For high volume business mailers using automated mailing machines, the USPS has promulgated the Intelligent Mail barcode standard, which is a barcode containing the ZIP+4 code plus a two digit delivery point. This 11-digit number is theoretically a unique identifier for every address in the country.
States and overseas territories sharing a postal code system[edit]
French overseas departments and territories use the five-digit French postal code system, each code starting with the three-digit department identifier. Monaco is also integrated in the French system and has no system of its own.
The British Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man are part of the UK postcode system. They use the schemes AAN NAA and AANN NAA, in which the first two letters are a unique code (GY, JE and IM respectively).
Most of the Overseas Territories have UK-style postcodes, with a single postcode for each territory or dependency, although they are still treated as international destinations by Royal Mail in the UK, and charged at international rather than UK inland rates. The four other Overseas Territories Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands have their own separate systems and formats.
The Pacific island states of Palau, Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia remain part of the US ZIP code system, despite having become independent states.
San Marino and the Vatican City are part of the Italian postcode system, while Liechtenstein similarly uses the Swiss system, as do the Italian exclave of Campione d’Italia and the German exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein, although they also form part of their respective countries’ postal code systems.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia still use the codes of the former Czechoslovakia, their ranges not overlapping. In 2004–2006, Slovakia prepared a reform of the system but the plan was postponed and maybe abandoned. In the Czech Republic, there was no significant effort to modify the system.
Non-geographic codes[edit]
In the United Kingdom, the non-conforming postal code GIR 0AA was used for the National Girobank until its closure in 2003.[18] A non-geographic series of postcodes, starting with BX, is used by some banks and government departments.
- HM Revenue and Customs — VAT Controller
- VAT Central Unit
- BX5 5AT[19]
A fictional address is also used by Royal Mail for letters to Santa Claus, more commonly known as Santa or Father Christmas:
- Santa’s Grotto
- Reindeerland XM4 5HQ[20]
Previously, the postcode SAN TA1 was used.[21]
In Finland, the special postal code 99999 is for Korvatunturi, the place where Santa Claus (Joulupukki in Finnish) is said to live, although mail is delivered to the Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi.[22]
In Canada, the amount of mail sent to Santa Claus increased every Christmas, up to the point that Canada Post decided to start an official Santa Claus letter-response program in 1983. Approximately one million letters come in to Santa Claus each Christmas, including from outside of Canada, and all of them are answered in the same languages in which they are written.[23] Canada Post introduced a special address for mail to Santa Claus, complete with its own postal code:
- SANTA CLAUS
- NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
In Belgium bpost sends a small present to children who have written a letter to Sinterklaas. They can use the non-geographic postal code 0612, which refers to the date Sinterklaas is celebrated (6 December), although a fictional town, street and house number are also used. In Dutch, the address is
- Sinterklaas
- Spanjestraat 1
- 0612 Hemel[24]
This translates as «1 Spain Street, 0612 Heaven». In French, the street is called «Paradise Street»:
- Saint-Nicolas
- Rue du Paradis 1
- 0612 Ciel[25]
Formats[edit]
Non-postal uses and economic aspects[edit]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2009) |
While postal codes were introduced to expedite the delivery of mail, they are very useful tools for several other purposes, particularly in countries where codes are very fine-grained and identify just a few addresses. Among uses are:
- 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 as the crow flies (or, if used in conjunction with street map software, road distance). This can be used by companies to inform potential customers where to go, by job centres to find jobs for job-seekers, to alert people of town planning applications in their area, and a great many other applications.[26]
- 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.
- Population data can be isolated, grouped and/or organized by postal code for statistical analysis
Availability[edit]
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. |
The availability of postal code information has significant economic advantages. In some countries, the postal authorities charge for access to the code database. As of January 2010, the United Kingdom Government is consulting on whether to waive licensing fees for some geographical data sets (to be determined) related to UK postcodes.
See also[edit]
- List of postal codes
- Category:Lists of postal codes
- Address#Format by country and area
- Postcode Address File
References[edit]
- ^ «Addressing knowledge centre», General Addressing Issues (PDF), Universal Postal Union, 3 Aug 2021, retrieved 1 Jun 2022
- ^ Lynd-Farquhar Co (1920). «Advertisement for machine tools, 1920». American Machinist: 388.
- ^ Hill, Clarke & Co, Inc (1920). «Advertisement for a drill press, 1920». American Machinist: 389.
- ^ «The First Postal (ZIP) Code in the World». Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society. 2009-04-20. Archived from the original on 2010-04-23. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
- ^ «The history of the postcode». Deutsche Post. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ a b Chia, Joshua (13 July 2016). «Six-digit postal code system». Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ «ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) Code». International Paper Company. Archived from the original on 2009-11-19. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ «Company History: Schweizerische Post-Telefon-und-Telegrafen-Betriebe». Funding Universe. Archived from the original on 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ «A short history of the postcode». The Independent. Archived from the original on 2011-02-25. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
- ^ «GreatData.com (a licensee of Canada Post data)». Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- ^ «Post Code Project Suspended Indefinitely». Press Release 07 published in Daily Gleaner. Jamaica Post. 2007-02-12. Archived from the original on 2010-02-26. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
- ^ da Cruz, Frank (2008-05-17). «Frank’s Compulsive Guide to Postal Addresses». Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
- ^ Formatting an international address (PDF), Universal Postal Union, January 2010, p. 13, retrieved 2010-09-26
- ^ «Declara oficial para efectos administrativos, la aprobación de la División Territorial Administrativa de la República N°41548-MGP». Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ División Territorial Administrativa de la República de Costa Rica (PDF) (in Spanish). Editorial Digital de la Imprenta Nacional. 8 March 2017. ISBN 978-9977-58-477-5.
- ^ «Posta Kodum Ne» (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2011-04-04. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ «BS7666 Address». Data Standards Catalogue. UK National Archives. 2 October 2009. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ 40 facts about the postcode to mark 40th anniversary as vital part of daily life Archived 2018-03-16 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Mirror, 26 August 2014
- ^ «VAT: insolvency». www.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ Who answers all the letters sent to Father Christmas? Archived 2016-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Telegraph, 5 December 2013
- ^ Santa: ‘I’m not a Superman, but I do exist’ Archived 2008-01-12 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News Online, 11 December 2002
- ^ Not For Parents Travel Book, Lonely Planet, 2012, page 84
- ^ Canada Post (27 January 2007). «Over one million children write letters to Santa». Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ «Ook dit jaar, helpt bpost de Sint». bpost.be. bpost. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ «Cette année également, bpost apporte son aide à Saint-Nicolas». bpost.be. bpost. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ Charles Arthur. «Guardian newspaper article on postcodes». Theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
External links[edit]
- Postal codes at Curlie
- Universal Postal Union
- Addressing Archived 2012-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Postcodes Archived 2011-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Reference on World Postcodes
«Post code» redirects here. For computer POST codes, see Power-on self-test.
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 digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail.
As of August 2021, the Universal Postal Union lists 160 countries which require the use of a postal code.[1]
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.
Terms[edit]
There are a number of synonyms for postal code; some are country-specific;
- CAP: The standard term in Italy; CAP is an acronym for codice di avviamento postale (postal expedition code).
- CEP: The standard term in Brazil; CEP is an acronym for código de endereçamento postal (postal addressing code).
- Eircode: The standard term in Ireland.
- NPA in French-speaking Switzerland (numéro postal d’acheminement) and Italian-speaking Switzerland (numero postale di avviamento).
- 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 Postleitzahl (postal routing number).
- Postal code: The general term is used in Canada.
- Postcode: This solid compound is popular in many English-speaking countries and is also the standard term in the Netherlands.
- Postal index: This term is used in Eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus etc.
- PSČ: The standard term in Slovakia and Czech Republic; PSČ is an acronym for Poštové smerovacie číslo (in Slovak) or Poštovní směrovací číslo (in Czech), both meaning postal routing number.
- ZIP Code: The standard term in the United States and the Philippines; ZIP is an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan.
History[edit]
1977 Soviet stamp promoting the use of postal codes
The development of postal codes reflects the increasing complexity of postal delivery as populations grew and the built environment became more complex. This 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 late as the 1920s, possibly implemented at the local post office level only (for example, instances of «Boston 9, Mass» in 1920 are attested[2][3]) although they were evidently not used throughout all major US cities (implemented USPOD-wide) until World War II.
By 1930 or earlier the idea of extending postal district or zone numbering plans beyond large cities to cover even small towns and rural locales was in the air. 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,[4] but the system was abandoned in 1939. The next country to introduce postal codes was Germany in 1941,[5] followed by Singapore in 1950,[6] Argentina in 1958, the United States in 1963[7] and Switzerland in 1964.[8] The United Kingdom began introducing its current system in Norwich in 1959, but they were not used nationwide until 1974.[9]
Presentation[edit]
Postal codes by country and digit-type.
Numeric digits:
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Alphanumeric digits:
6
7
8
Postal codes not in use:
Character sets[edit]
The characters used in postal codes are:
- The Western Arabic numerals «0» to «9»
- Letters of the ISO basic Latin alphabet
- Spaces, hyphens
Reserved characters[edit]
Postal codes in the Netherlands originally did not use the letters ‘F’, ‘I’, ‘O’, ‘Q’, ‘U’ and ‘Y’ for technical reasons. But as almost all existing combinations are now used, these letters were allowed for new locations starting 2005. The letter combinations «SS» (Schutzstaffel), «SD» (Sicherheitsdienst), and «SA» (Sturmabteilung) are not used, due to links with the Nazi occupation in World War II.
Postal codes in Canada do not include the letters D, F, I, O, Q, or U, as the optical character recognition (OCR) equipment used in automated sorting could easily confuse them with other letters and digits. The letters W and Z are used, but are not currently used as the first letter. The Canadian Postal Codes use alternate letters and numbers (with a space after the third character) in this format: A9A 9A9[10]
In Ireland the eircode system uses the following letters only: A, C, D, E, F, H, K, N, P, R, T, V, W, X, Y. This serves two purposes:
- to avoid confusion in OCR, and
- it also helps to avoid accidental double-entendres by avoiding the creation of word look-alikes, as Eircode’s last four characters are random.
Alphanumeric postal codes[edit]
Most of the postal code systems are numeric; only a few are alphanumeric (i.e., use both letters and digits). Alphanumeric systems can, given the same number of characters, encode many more locations. For example, while a two digit numeric code can represent 100 locations, a two character alphanumeric code using ten numbers and twenty letters can represent 900 locations.
The independent nations using alphanumeric postal code systems are:
- Argentina (see table)
- Brunei (see table)
- Canada (see table)
- Eswatini
- Ireland (see table)
- Jamaica (see table) (suspended in 2007[11])
- Kazakhstan (since 2015)
- Malta (see table)
- Netherlands (see table)
- Peru (see table) The postal code format in Peru was updated in February 2011 to be of the format of five digits.
- Somalia
- United Kingdom (see table)
Countries which prefix their postal codes with a fixed group of letters, indicating a country code, include Andorra, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Ecuador and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Country code prefixes[edit]
ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes were recommended by the European Committee for Standardization as well as the Universal Postal Union to be used in conjunction with postal codes starting in 1994,[12][13] but they have not become widely used.
Andorra, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Ecuador, Latvia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines use the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 as a prefix in their postal codes.
In some countries (such as in continental Europe, where a numeric postcode format of four or five digits is commonly used) the numeric postal code is sometimes prefixed with a country code when sending international mail to that country.
Placement of the code[edit]
Postal 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, following the city or town name, whereas in most continental European countries it precedes the name of the city or town.
When it follows the city it may be on the same line or on a new line.
In Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan it is written at the beginning of an address.[citation needed] In Japan it is written at the start of the address when written in Japanese, but at the end when the address is written in the Latin alphabet.
Geographic coverage[edit]
Postal codes are usually assigned to geographical areas. Sometimes codes are assigned to individual addresses or to institutions that receive large volumes of mail, e.g. government agencies or large commercial companies. One example is the French Cedex system.
Postal zone numbers[edit]
Before 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. Ireland still uses postal district numbers in Dublin. In New Zealand, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were divided into postal zones, but these fell into disuse, and have now become redundant as a result of a new postcode system being introduced.
Codes defined along administrative borders[edit]
Some postal code systems, like those of Ecuador and Costa Rica, show an exact agreement with the hierarchy of administrative country subdivisions.
Format of six digit numeric (eight digit alphanumeric) postal codes in Ecuador, introduced in December 2007: ECAABBCC
- EC — ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
- AA — one of the 24 provinces of Ecuador (24 of 100 possible codes used = 24%)
- BB — one of the 226 cantons of Ecuador (for AABB 226 of 10000 codes used, i.e. 2.26%. Three cantons are not in any province)
- CC — one of the parishes of Ecuador.
Format of five digit numeric Postal codes in Costa Rica, introduced in 2007: ABBCC
- A — one of the seven provinces of Costa Rica (7 of 10 used, i.e. 70%)
- BB — one of the 81 cantons of Costa Rica (81 of 100 used, i.e. 81%)
- CC — one of the districts of Costa Rica.
In Costa Rica these codes were originally used as district identifiers by the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica and the Administrative Territorial Division, and continue to be equivalent.[14][15]
The first two digits of the postal codes in Turkey correspond to the provinces and each province has assigned only one number. They are the same for them as in ISO 3166-2:TR.[16]
The first two digits of the postal codes in Vietnam indicate a province. Some provinces have one, other have several two digit numbers assigned. The numbers differ from the number used in ISO 3166-2:VN.
Codes defined close to administrative boundaries[edit]
Map of Brazilian five-digit postalcodes of São Paulo state. Each color shows a set of administrative areas, and the hierarchy of codes relating indirectly to them.
In France the numeric code for the departments is used as the first two digits of the postal code, except for the two departments in Corsica that have codes 2A and 2B and use 20 as postal code. Furthermore, the codes are only the codes for the department in charge of delivery of the post, so it can be that a location in one department has a postal code starting with the number of a neighbouring department.
Codes defined indirectly to administrative borders[edit]
The first digit of the postal codes in the United States comprises discrete states. From the first three digits one can infer the state, with a few exceptions where an area is served by a central office in an adjacent state.
Similarly, in Canada, the first letter indicates the province or territory, although the provinces of Quebec and Ontario are divided into several lettered sub-regions (e.g. H for Montreal and Laval), and the Northwest Territories and Nunavut share the letter X.
Codes defined independently from administrative areas[edit]
The first two digits of the postal codes in Germany define areas independently of administrative regions. The coding space of the first digit is fully used (0-9); that of the first two combined is utilized to 89%, i.e. there are 89 postal zones defined. Zone 11 is non-geographic.
Royal Mail designed the postal codes in the United Kingdom mostly for efficient distribution. Nevertheless, people associated codes with certain areas, leading to some people wanting or not wanting to have a certain code. See also postcode lottery.
In Brazil the 8-digit postcodes are an evolution of the five-digit area postal codes. In the 1990s the Brazilian five-digit postal code (illustrated), DDDDD
, received a three-digit suffix DDDDD-SSS
, but this suffix is not directly related to the administrative district hierarchy. The suffix was created only for logistic reasons.
- Brazilian eight-digit postal codes — A city block and its faces
-
City blocks surrounded by streets, some streets with a different eight-digit postal code (suffixes 001 to 899).
-
Faces of a city block and their extension into its interior. Each color is an eight-digit postal code, usually assigned to a side (odd or even numbered) of a street.
-
Faces of a city block and their extension between city blocks. The same colors (polygons) indicate the same postal codes.
In the code spatialization it is an error to associate the postal code to an individual land lot area: a lot may have 0, 1, 2 or more delivery points, with different codes.
The postal code assignment can be assigned to individual land lots in some special cases — in Brazil they are named «large receivers» and receive suffixes 900–959. In any other case it is an error to associate the postal code with the whole land lot area (illustrated).
A postal code is often related to a land lot, but this is not always the case. Postal codes are usually related to access points on streets. Small or middle-sized houses, in general, only have a single main gate which is the delivery point. Parks, large businesses such as shopping centers, and big houses, may have more than one entrance and more than one delivery point. So the semantic of an address and its postal code can vary, and one land lot may have more than one postal code.
Precision[edit]
Czechoslovakia[edit]
Czechoslovakia introduced Postal Routing Numbers (PSČ — poštovní směrovací čísla) in 1973. The code consists of 5 digits formatted into two groups: NNN NN. Originally, the first group marked a district transport centre, the second group represented the order of post offices on the collection route. In the first group, the first digit corresponds partly with the region, the second digit meant a collection transport node (sběrný přepravní uzel, SPU) and the third digit a «district transport node» (okresní přepravní uzel). However, processing was later centralized and mechanized while codes remained the same. After separation Slovakia and the Czech Republic kept the system. Codes with an initial digit of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 are used in the Czech Republic, while codes with an initial digit of 8, 9, or 0 are used in Slovakia
A code corresponds to a local postal office. However, some larger companies or organizations have their own post codes. In 2004–2006 there were some efforts in Slovakia to reform the system, to get separate post codes for every district of single postmen, but the change was not realized.
India[edit]
An example of a Postal Index Number from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. 4 indicates the West postal zone, 5 indicates a postal sub-zone in Madhya Pradesh, 6 indicates the Ujjain sorting district, 0 indicates the Ujjain core area service route, 01 indicates the Ujjain Head Office as the delivery office.
Postal codes are known as Postal Index Numbers (PINs; sometimes as PIN codes) in India. The PIN system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by India Post. India uses a unique six-digit code as a geographical number to identify locations in India. The format of the PIN is ZSDPPP defined as follows:
- Z — Zone
- S — Sub-zone
- D — Sorting District
- P — Service Route
- PP — Post Office
There are nine total zones consisting of eight regional zones and a functional zone which are represented by the first digit.
Ireland[edit]
In Ireland, the new postal code system launched in 2015, known as Eircode provides a unique 7-character alphanumerical code for each individual address. The first three digits are the routing key, which is a postal district and the last four characters are a unique identifier that relates to an individual address (business, house or apartment). A fully developed API is also available for integrating the Eircode database into business databases and logistics systems.
With a single exception, these codes are in the format:
ANN XXXX
The single exception is the Dublin D6W postal district. It is the only routing key area in the country that takes the format ANA instead of ANN:
D6W XXXX
While it is not intended to replace addresses, in theory simply providing a seven-character Eircode would locate any Irish delivery address. For example, the Irish Parliament Dáil Éireann is: D02 A272
Netherlands[edit]
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, ‘s-Gravenhage (the International School of The Hague).
Singapore[edit]
Since 1 September 1995, every building in Singapore has been given a unique, six-digit postal code.[6]
United Kingdom[edit]
For domestic properties, an individual postcode may cover up to 100 properties in contiguous proximity (e.g. a short section of a populous road, or a group of less populous neighbouring roads). The postcode together with the number or name of a property is not always unique, particularly in rural areas. For example, GL20 8NX/1 might refer to either 1 Frampton Cottages or 1 Frampton Farm Cottages, roughly a quarter of a mile (400 metres) apart.
The structure is alphanumeric, with the following six valid formats, as defined by BS 7666:[17]
A9 9AA A9A 9AA A99 9AA AA9 9AA AA9A 9AA AA99 9AA
There are always two halves: the separation between outward and inward postcodes is indicated by one space.
The outward postcode covers a unique area and has two parts which may in total be two, three or four characters in length. A postcode area of one or two letters, followed by one or two numbers, followed in some parts of London by a letter.
The outward postcode and the leading numeric of the inward postcode in combination forms a postal sector, and this usually corresponds to a couple of thousand properties.
Larger businesses and isolated properties such as farms may have a unique postcode. Extremely large organisations such as larger government offices or bank headquarters may have multiple postcodes for different departments.
There are about 100 postcode areas, ranging widely in size from BT which covers the whole of Northern Ireland to WC for a small part of Central London. Postcode areas occasionally cross national boundaries, such as SY which covers a large, predominantly rural area from Shrewsbury and Ludlow in Shropshire, England, through to the seaside town of Aberystwyth, Ceredigion on Wales’ west coast.
United States[edit]
In the United States, the basic ZIP Code is composed of five numbers. The first three numbers identify a specific sectional center facility—or central sorting facility—that serves a geographic region (typically a large part of a state). The next two numbers identify a specific post office either serving an area of a city (if in an urban area or large suburban area) or an entire village, town, or small city and its surrounding area (if in a small suburban or rural area).
There is an extended format of the ZIP Code known as the ZIP+4, which contains the basic five-digit ZIP Code, followed by a hyphen and four additional digits. These digits identify a specific delivery route, such as one side of a building, a group of apartments, or several floors of a large office building. Although using the ZIP+4 offers higher accuracy, addressing redundancy, and sorting efficiency within the USPS, it is optional and not widely used by the general public. It is primarily only used by business mailers.
For high volume business mailers using automated mailing machines, the USPS has promulgated the Intelligent Mail barcode standard, which is a barcode containing the ZIP+4 code plus a two digit delivery point. This 11-digit number is theoretically a unique identifier for every address in the country.
States and overseas territories sharing a postal code system[edit]
French overseas departments and territories use the five-digit French postal code system, each code starting with the three-digit department identifier. Monaco is also integrated in the French system and has no system of its own.
The British Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man are part of the UK postcode system. They use the schemes AAN NAA and AANN NAA, in which the first two letters are a unique code (GY, JE and IM respectively).
Most of the Overseas Territories have UK-style postcodes, with a single postcode for each territory or dependency, although they are still treated as international destinations by Royal Mail in the UK, and charged at international rather than UK inland rates. The four other Overseas Territories Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands have their own separate systems and formats.
The Pacific island states of Palau, Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia remain part of the US ZIP code system, despite having become independent states.
San Marino and the Vatican City are part of the Italian postcode system, while Liechtenstein similarly uses the Swiss system, as do the Italian exclave of Campione d’Italia and the German exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein, although they also form part of their respective countries’ postal code systems.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia still use the codes of the former Czechoslovakia, their ranges not overlapping. In 2004–2006, Slovakia prepared a reform of the system but the plan was postponed and maybe abandoned. In the Czech Republic, there was no significant effort to modify the system.
Non-geographic codes[edit]
In the United Kingdom, the non-conforming postal code GIR 0AA was used for the National Girobank until its closure in 2003.[18] A non-geographic series of postcodes, starting with BX, is used by some banks and government departments.
- HM Revenue and Customs — VAT Controller
- VAT Central Unit
- BX5 5AT[19]
A fictional address is also used by Royal Mail for letters to Santa Claus, more commonly known as Santa or Father Christmas:
- Santa’s Grotto
- Reindeerland XM4 5HQ[20]
Previously, the postcode SAN TA1 was used.[21]
In Finland, the special postal code 99999 is for Korvatunturi, the place where Santa Claus (Joulupukki in Finnish) is said to live, although mail is delivered to the Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi.[22]
In Canada, the amount of mail sent to Santa Claus increased every Christmas, up to the point that Canada Post decided to start an official Santa Claus letter-response program in 1983. Approximately one million letters come in to Santa Claus each Christmas, including from outside of Canada, and all of them are answered in the same languages in which they are written.[23] Canada Post introduced a special address for mail to Santa Claus, complete with its own postal code:
- SANTA CLAUS
- NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
In Belgium bpost sends a small present to children who have written a letter to Sinterklaas. They can use the non-geographic postal code 0612, which refers to the date Sinterklaas is celebrated (6 December), although a fictional town, street and house number are also used. In Dutch, the address is
- Sinterklaas
- Spanjestraat 1
- 0612 Hemel[24]
This translates as «1 Spain Street, 0612 Heaven». In French, the street is called «Paradise Street»:
- Saint-Nicolas
- Rue du Paradis 1
- 0612 Ciel[25]
Formats[edit]
Non-postal uses and economic aspects[edit]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2009) |
While postal codes were introduced to expedite the delivery of mail, they are very useful tools for several other purposes, particularly in countries where codes are very fine-grained and identify just a few addresses. Among uses are:
- 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 as the crow flies (or, if used in conjunction with street map software, road distance). This can be used by companies to inform potential customers where to go, by job centres to find jobs for job-seekers, to alert people of town planning applications in their area, and a great many other applications.[26]
- 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.
- Population data can be isolated, grouped and/or organized by postal code for statistical analysis
Availability[edit]
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. |
The availability of postal code information has significant economic advantages. In some countries, the postal authorities charge for access to the code database. As of January 2010, the United Kingdom Government is consulting on whether to waive licensing fees for some geographical data sets (to be determined) related to UK postcodes.
See also[edit]
- List of postal codes
- Category:Lists of postal codes
- Address#Format by country and area
- Postcode Address File
References[edit]
- ^ «Addressing knowledge centre», General Addressing Issues (PDF), Universal Postal Union, 3 Aug 2021, retrieved 1 Jun 2022
- ^ Lynd-Farquhar Co (1920). «Advertisement for machine tools, 1920». American Machinist: 388.
- ^ Hill, Clarke & Co, Inc (1920). «Advertisement for a drill press, 1920». American Machinist: 389.
- ^ «The First Postal (ZIP) Code in the World». Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society. 2009-04-20. Archived from the original on 2010-04-23. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
- ^ «The history of the postcode». Deutsche Post. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ a b Chia, Joshua (13 July 2016). «Six-digit postal code system». Singapore Infopedia. National Library Board. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ «ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) Code». International Paper Company. Archived from the original on 2009-11-19. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ «Company History: Schweizerische Post-Telefon-und-Telegrafen-Betriebe». Funding Universe. Archived from the original on 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ «A short history of the postcode». The Independent. Archived from the original on 2011-02-25. Retrieved 2014-06-25.
- ^ «GreatData.com (a licensee of Canada Post data)». Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- ^ «Post Code Project Suspended Indefinitely». Press Release 07 published in Daily Gleaner. Jamaica Post. 2007-02-12. Archived from the original on 2010-02-26. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
- ^ da Cruz, Frank (2008-05-17). «Frank’s Compulsive Guide to Postal Addresses». Columbia University. Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
- ^ Formatting an international address (PDF), Universal Postal Union, January 2010, p. 13, retrieved 2010-09-26
- ^ «Declara oficial para efectos administrativos, la aprobación de la División Territorial Administrativa de la República N°41548-MGP». Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
- ^ División Territorial Administrativa de la República de Costa Rica (PDF) (in Spanish). Editorial Digital de la Imprenta Nacional. 8 March 2017. ISBN 978-9977-58-477-5.
- ^ «Posta Kodum Ne» (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2011-04-04. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ «BS7666 Address». Data Standards Catalogue. UK National Archives. 2 October 2009. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ^ 40 facts about the postcode to mark 40th anniversary as vital part of daily life Archived 2018-03-16 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Mirror, 26 August 2014
- ^ «VAT: insolvency». www.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ Who answers all the letters sent to Father Christmas? Archived 2016-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Telegraph, 5 December 2013
- ^ Santa: ‘I’m not a Superman, but I do exist’ Archived 2008-01-12 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News Online, 11 December 2002
- ^ Not For Parents Travel Book, Lonely Planet, 2012, page 84
- ^ Canada Post (27 January 2007). «Over one million children write letters to Santa». Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ «Ook dit jaar, helpt bpost de Sint». bpost.be. bpost. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ «Cette année également, bpost apporte son aide à Saint-Nicolas». bpost.be. bpost. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
- ^ Charles Arthur. «Guardian newspaper article on postcodes». Theguardian.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
External links[edit]
- Postal codes at Curlie
- Universal Postal Union
- Addressing Archived 2012-03-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Postcodes Archived 2011-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Reference on World Postcodes
Содержание
- 1 Какой индекс писать на конверте
- 2 Как правильно писать цифры индекса
- 3 Как писать индекс на международных конвертах
- 4 Что принимаем во внимание
- 5 Адрес
- 6 Как писать индекс в России
- 7 Индекс на международных письмах
- 8 Заключение
- 9 Видео
Правильное написание цифр индекса на почтовом конверте — обязательно условие, если вы хотите, чтобы письмо дошло до адресата быстро.
Почему это так важно? Дело в том, что ручную сортировку писем стараются минимизировать, поэтому всё чаще для обработки используются специальные автоматизированные средства. И цифры индекса позволяют машине быстро определить, куда направляется письмо.
Какой индекс писать на конверте
Индекс указывается и для оправителя и для получателя. А вот в поле индекса для автоматизированной сортировки (обычно находится в левом нижнем углу конверта) указывается индекс получателя. Если же там указать свой индекс, письмо может надолго задержаться на сортировке, пока его не обработают вручную.
Как правильно писать цифры индекса
Вот вам пример написания цифр на конверте:
Цифры можно заполнять любым цветом, кроме красного, жёлтого и зелёного. С чем связано такое ограничение — не знаю, но это указано в правилах Почты России. Возможно, автоматизированное оборудование определяет эти цвета как служебные или что-то в этом роде. Поэтому черной или синей ручкой можно писать индекс совершенно спокойно.
Как писать индекс на международных конвертах
Индекс получателя на конверте для междунарожного письма нужно указывать в соответствующем поле получателя и больше нигде. Специальных полей, как на конвертах для внутренних писем, там нет. Точнее, международные конверты выглядят так:
Цифры 555 значат, что конверт международный. Письмо доставят за границу, а там уже местные почтальоны будут разбираться, кому доставить конверт.
Для сортировки почтовых отправлений Почта России применяет автоматизированные технологии. Время доставки почтовых отправлений зависит от верно указанного почтового индекса. Ниже приведен образец написания цифр индекса.
На сайте ФГУП «Почта России» описаны правила оформления почтовых отправлений, которые помогут вам верно указать реквизиты адресов на внутренних и международных почтовых отправлениях. При возникновении сложности с расшифровкой сокращений в сервисе отслеживания почтовых отправлений ознакомьтесь со списком почтовых аббревиатур.
На протяжении уже нескольких столетий мы используем бумагу, чтобы писать друг другу письма, хотя в последние пару десятков лет электронные средства связи заметно потеснили своего предшественника – почтовый конверт.
Тем не менее, иногда необходимо написать письмо «по старинке», для этого требуется указать почтовый индекс, и здесь у многих возникают затруднения. Для чего нужен этот самый индекс? Как правильно писать эти диковинные цифры? Что ж, следует ознакомиться с образцом, тогда все будет указано должным образом. Давайте-ка по порядку.
Что принимаем во внимание
Обязательно следует учитывать:
- Язык. Чтобы корреспонденция дошла к адресату в пределах Российской Федерации, конверт заполняется на русском языке. При необходимости отправки письма в другое государство, адрес следует писать на английском языке. Изучите образец заполнения корреспонденции за границу. При необходимости продублируйте информацию на языке государства-получателя, но данные на английском языке обязательны.
- Адрес. Корректное написание адреса, вероятно, сократит срок доставки письма. Согласно образцу, адрес отправителя находится в верхнем левом углу конверта, а получателя – в его нижней правой части. При написании адреса, указывается ФИО, полный почтовый адрес и индекс. Для получателя и отправителя порядок написания адреса одинаков.
- Аккуратность. Пишите адрес разборчиво, лучше – печатными буквами. Недопустимы исправления, зачеркивания, орфографические ошибки. Чтобы заполнить графы правильно, сверяйтесь с образцом.
Адрес
Написание адреса – это ответственный этап оформления корреспонденции. Если нужно осуществлять многотысячную рассылку писем, целесообразно воспользоваться специализированными программами для печати конвертов. К примеру, редактором «Почтовые Конверты» от AMS Software – качественная, удобная программа для печати конвертов и осуществления рассылок. Внести нужно лишь данные об отправителях и получателях; выбирается шаблон требуемого формата, распечатывается готовый конверт. Программа включает в себя образец заполнения конверта, а поля вводятся из базы автоматически. Русскоязычный интерфейс и подробный справочный материал обеспечивают легкость и удобство в работе с программой.
В нижней левой части почтового конверта располагается кодовый штамп, содержащий почтовый индекс получателя, который пишется стилизованными цифрами.
Цифры можно писать чернилами определенного цвета: желтые, зеленые и красные не допускаются. Из-за них письмо не попадет на сортировку. Поэтому лучше выбрать синюю или черную пасту.
Как писать индекс в России
В разных странах количество цифр в почтовом индексе разное. В РФ сейчас действует 6-значная система почтовой индексации.
- Три первые цифры говорят о принадлежности к тому или другому региону, последние три являются номером такого-то почтового отделения, отделения связи. Таким образом, индекс на почтовом конверте является своеобразным идентификатором отправления.
- С помощью сортировочных аппаратов корреспонденция разбивается по месту отправления. Поэтому писать почтовый индекс следует корректно. Пишут его на поле основного текста, а потом дублируют на специальных полях, определенных точками.
- Высота точек совпадает с высотой сканирующих аппаратов. Индекс пишется по четкой схеме написания, указанной на обороте конверта. Писать нужно так, чтоб аппараты легче считывали необходимую информацию.
- Для написания почтового индекса рекомендуется выбирать чернила, которые не размываются из-за воздействия влаги.
- Декоративные конверты или конверты, выпущенные по случаю праздника, обычно не имеют специального поля для указания индекса. Это усложняет корректное написание цифр, а значит, доставка письма затрудняется. Почтамт рекомендует использовать стандартные конверты.
Индекс на международных письмах
В этом случае индекс получателя указывается в соответствующем поле единожды. Цифры 555 говорят о том, что почтовый конверт международный и пойдет за границу.
Заключение
От корректности написания адреса зависит скорость обработки и доставки письма, в связи с чем федеральный почтовый оператор призывает не игнорировать правила и порядок заполнения соответствующих полей:
- Для субъекта – ФИО; для юр. лица – полное или сокращенное названия, название улицы, номер дома и квартиры (или а/я).
- Населенный пункт.
- Район.
- Республика, край, область, автономный округ.
- Страна (для международных писем).
- Индекс.
Адресные данные надо писать разборчиво или печатать типографским способом (возможно, с помощью печатной техники). Размер шрифта должен быть не меньше 11 пт (4 мм), для цифр индекса – 13-14 пт (5 мм). Рекомендуются печатные буквы. Адрес адресата и отправителя почтового отправления в пределах России указываются на русском языке.
Видео
Из видео вы узнаете все правила по оформлению конверта.