What is Postal Code of Canada? List of Canadian Postal Codes (2023)

A postal 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.

Canada Postal Code numbers consists of six digits, the first two digits represent one letter and those codes are assigned geographically. The last four digits are determined by the regional sorting facility (RSC).

Canada’s postal codes are alphanumeric, like Dutch, Irish, and British postcodes. Now Canadian postal codes are in the format A1A 1A1, where A is a letter and 1 is a digit, with a space separating the third and fourth characters.

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.

Universal Postal Union, the UPU was established in 1874 to build an international connection between the countries through a unified postal service. The organization’s headquarters is located in Berne, Switzerland. The organization serves 192 member countries.

Many people call postal codes as zip codes, and often people get confused about these two codes, so they ask: Is zip code and postal code the same? Or What is the difference between zip code and postal code?

The answer is;

These two codes are essentially the same in their purpose, but the term Zip code is mainly used in the USA; Postal Code is commonly used in other countries.

Here’s an explanation;

What is the ZIP code of Canada?

Zip is an abbreviation of Zonal Improvement Plan. Zip code is a combination of numbers to form a specific identification code. The main aim is to enhance easy identification when delivering mail and packages.

Canadian Zip code is a six-character sequence that forms a portion of a postal address in Canada. Like British, Irish, and Dutch postcodes, Canada’s Zip codes are alphanumeric. They are in the format A1A 1A1, where A is a letter, and 1 is a digit, with a space departing the third and fourth characters.

The code helps to identify the location where mails and packages can be easily and accurately delivered. The main aim is to foster the exact delivery.

And……….,

What is the Canadian postal code?

The Canada Postal Code, or CPN as it is more commonly known, is the typographical representation of postal delivery post offices in Canada. It’s a six-character number that represents all the possible addresses that the letter carrier can deliver to.

Canadian postal codes use an alphanumerical format with six characters in the format “A1A 1A1” with the first character denoting the province of the address. The second character is a district within that province. The third character is a letter representing the “postal zone” of the province. The final three letters are numbers that indicate a smaller delivery area. Those numbers are used to sort and route mail and find addresses.

For example, a neighborhood called “St. Hubert” in Montreal would have a Postal code like STHUBT 1M1S.

The code was highly adopted to sort mails in a bunch of large numbers of packages or letters. The system is used all over the world for easy identification of locations.

What is a Valid Canadian Postal Code Format?

Canadian postal codes are alphanumeric and composed of six characters strings.

A valid Canadian postcode has the following format –

• In the format A1A 1A1, where A is a letter and 1 is a digit.
• A space separates the third and fourth characters.
• Do not include the letters D, F, I, O, Q, or U. (The letters D, F, I, O, Q, and U never appear in a postal code because of their visual similarity to 0, E, 1, 0, 0, and V respectively)
• Letters W and Z also do not appear as the first letter of a postal code.

These six characters of Canadian postal codes represent a postal address in Canada.

Canadian Postal Abbreviations for Provinces and Territories

Postal abbreviations are used to address and mail a letter in are called postal abbreviations or postcodes. Postal Abbreviations are two digit characters which help in sorting the letters and speed up the delivery process by sorting mails quickly.

When writing out the postal address for a location within Canada, the postal code follows the abbreviation for the province or territory.

A list of all Canadian province postal codes is given below. These postal abbreviations for Canadian Provinces are used for easy identification of the areas of Canada.

So now you’re looking for a full Canada ZIP code list, right? To help you, we collect the list of Canadian mailing addresses.

List of Postal Codes of Canada – All States Zip Code List

What is Canada’s postal code? Here are all provinces and territories of Canada postal code list

So, if you want to search the postal code of your area just here is a list which will help you to find the postal codes of Canada.

The following list contains the Postal Code ranges for Commercial Estimator has Local Multipliers in Canada. You can enter any Postal Code within a range.

For example, in the first range, you can enter A0A 0A0, A0B 6F2, or A0C 9Z9. If the Postal Code of the building is not in one of the ranges below, you can use one of the Province/Territory Symbols listed above.

Below you can find the Canadian Postal zip codes and their areas.

Hope you found the post postal code in your area from this list. If you looking for Canada postal code database? Download our database of Canada postal codes in excel or CSV format.

FAQs

Now we are going to some frequently asked questions that people often ask.

What is the postal code number?

A postal code number is a delivery point that identifies the address location of a post office. It is unique and separated by region.

What is a 6 digit postal code?

The six-digit postal code consists of two parts: the last two digits (sector code) of the old four-digit postal code, followed by four new digits representing the delivery point within the sector.

What is a 5 digit zip code?

ZIP Codes are 5 – digit numbers developed by the United States Postal Service to represent individual post offices across the United States. A ZIP Code is just the name of the postal code system for the United States. Like the US, most countries have their own postal code system names.

How many active postal codes are there in Canada?

Estimates there are around 830,000 active postal codes in Canada.

What is the first postal code in Canada?

The Canadian postal code was first introduced in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, in 1971. For other significant milestones in the development of postal services in Canada, see The Chronology of Canadian Postal History (since 1506) from the Museum of Canadian History.

How do you write a Canadian postal code?

Postal codes in Canada are six digits long. They can be written either forward or backward. A valid Canadian postal code could look something like this: J8A 0C6 or J0A C9A.

How do I find a postal code?

Canada Post provides a free postal code look-up tool on its website, via its mobile application, and sells hard-copy directories and CD-ROMs. Many vendors also sell validation tools, which allow customers to properly match addresses and postal codes. Hard-copy directories can also be consulted in all post offices and some libraries.

Lookup a Canadian postal code in any province or territory.

How do Canadian postal codes work?

Canada Post defines a postal code as follows: A six-character alphanumeric combination (ANA NAN) assigned to one or more postal addresses. The last three characters of the code are referred to as the Local Delivery Unit (LDU).

What is the zip code for Toronto, Canada?

The Toronto zip code is M5P 1N5. It is a kind of postal code used to arrange the physical location of an address, to facilitate the delivery of mail. It is also used as an identifier for specific businesses, establishments, and also geographical locations. And there is more than one zip code in Ontario province of Canada.

What is Ottawa’s zip code?

Ottawa, Ontario postal code is K1A 0A1. It is located in the center of Canada, in the province of Ontario. The capital consists of the eastern Ontario and western Quebec area, bordering on Gatineau city which is in the Quebec area.

What is Canada ZIP Codes Used For?

ZIP Code is a postal code. It is used to identify the location of a residence or business to enable the efficient delivery of mail. They are also known as “postal codes” and “ZIP+4 codes”.

ZIP Codes identify certain geographical regions and features, including counties, neighborhoods, apartment complexes, and post office boxes. Canada has different ZIP code rules from the United States.

In Canada, ZIP codes generally include four numbers but can have numbers and letters. ZIP Codes in the US are only made up of letters. Please note that if you write postal codes using just numbers, the first number should always be between 1 and 5.

For example, the Canadian border in Windsor, Ontario, has the Canadian ZIP code of L4X 0A8, while the ZIP code for the American side of the border is 48442. Canada also uses a single postal code system instead of the multiple code system used in the United States. A single system helps better streamline the mail service and makes it easier for postal workers to efficiently sort and deliver mail.

What is the type of postal code in Canada?

Canada Post has three types of postal codes:

• Letter-mail,
• Package handling, and
• Parcel handling.

The letter-mail system processes mail without having to go through a full street address. The parcel-handling system is for processing packages shipped across Canada, including packages from out of the country. The parcel-handling system falls under Canada Post and doesn’t require a registered street address.

Final Thoughts

Postal codes are a very important part of Canadians’ lives. Everything we receive in Canada should have a postal code on it – or attached to it (such as business cards). We often need to look up postal codes to send something to someone or ask them if they have a certain postal code. Sometimes even non-Canadians need to find Canadian postal codes. That’s why our blog has gathered all.If you plan to send mail abroad then please keep the differences in ZIP codes in mind to ensure you write the correct address. Look through a full Canada postal codes list to find the one you need. Enjoy!