Postal code - what is this?

Everyone who has ever sentthe parcel by mail, surely knows what zip postal code is. In Russian this will mean the postal code. If you still do not know what it is, then this article is for you.

Definition

Postal code (postal code) is a set of numbers andcharacters assigned to the postal item. Simply put, in order to simplify the sorting and transfer of parcels, a special code was introduced. If the destination country and postal code are known, the letter or parcel will be able to reach the desired post office, even if the rest of the address was erased.

Currently, zip codes are used in192 countries of the world, included in the Universal Postal Union. Despite the fact that the countries are united in a single system, in different regions it is customary to introduce a different designation.

Some countries use the alphanumeric alphabet to number their post offices, others only numbers.

Using

If you need to send a parcel to anothercity, and even more so another country, then knowledge of the index - this is an obligatory condition for registration. Without it, you simply can not accept the departure. And if you are still able to tell a postal worker when sending it to Russia, then when delivering it to abroad, you should better specify it from the recipient. Otherwise your parcel can leave in a completely different direction.

When you indicate the address on a letter or box,the index can be located in different places. In most English-speaking countries, the index is usually prescribed after the recipient's settlement, but in Russia and some other countries (for example, Germany), the index is placed to the city. However, often this is a recommendation character, and you can finish the index at the end of the address, if you forgot to do it before.

Format

As already mentioned, the postal code or postal code can be written in different ways. Let's take a look at some examples, and start with our homeland.

• In Russia, the postal code is written in the formХХХУУУ where the first three numbers ХХХ are the city code, and УУУ is the post office number. Thus, when the parcel is delivered at the index of 236010, it will come to the city of Kaliningrad to 10 post offices, and if the code 236039 - to the same city, but already to mail 39. Therefore, if you order something on the Internet, it is very important write an index, otherwise your parcel can come to the other end of the city.
• In Germany, indices are used, not too different from ours. For example, D-80331 München, where "D" is the country code, and the numbers are the number of the region and the postal zone.
• In the US, the postal code consists of nine characters: XXXXX-UUUU, in which X is the locality number (city, district), and U-postal service numbers.