ZIP code
TheZIP codeis the system ofpostal codesused by theUnited States Postal Service(USPS). The lettersZIPis anacronymforZone Improvement Plan.[1]The letters are written properly in capital letters. The word ZIP was chosen to suggest that themailtravels more efficiently, and more quickly, when senders use it. The basic ZIP code is made up of fivenumbers.An extendedZIP + 4code includes the five digits of the ZIP code, ahyphenand then four more digits. This lets a piece ofmailto be sent to a more exact location than by the ZIP code alone.ZIP Codewas atrademarkof the U.S. Postal Service but its registration has since ended.[2]
Background
[change|change source]The postal service started the use ofpostal zonesfor largecitiesin 1943. By the early 1960s a more general system was needed. On July 1, 1963, ZIP codes were created for the whole country but they were notmandatory.In 1967, these were made mandatory for many types of mail. The system was soon used for all mail.
ZIP + 4
[change|change source]In 1983, the U.S. Postal Service began using an expanded ZIP code system called "ZIP + 4", often called "plus-four codes" or "add-on codes."
- Wikimedia Foundation Inc.
- 200 2nd Ave. South #358
- St. Petersburg, FL 33701-4313
- 33701 is the basic ZIP code, 4313 is the "+ 4"
A ZIP + 4 code uses the basic five-digit code plus an additional four digits to identify ageographicarea inside the five-digit delivery area, such as a group ofapartments,or a location which gets a large amount of mail.
Structure and allocation
[change|change source]ZIP codes are numbered with the first number representing a certain group ofU.S. states.The second and third numbers represent aregionin that group of states or, in some cases, a large city. The fourth and fifth numbers representing a group of delivery addresses within that region. The main town in a region (if applicable) often gets the first ZIP codes for that region. Other towns are often given ZIP codes in numerical orderalphabetically.
The first digit of the ZIP code is used as follows:
- 0 = Connecticut (CT), Massachusetts (MA),Maine(ME),New Hampshire(NH), New Jersey (NJ), Puerto Rico (PR), Rhode Island (RI), Vermont (VT), Virgin Islands (VI), APO Europe (AE), FPO Europe (AE)
- 1 = Delaware (DE), New York (NY), Pennsylvania (PA)
- 2 = District of Columbia (DC), Maryland (MD), North Carolina (NC),South Carolina(SC), Virginia (VA), West Virginia (WV)
- 3 = Alabama (AL), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Mississippi (MS), Tennessee (TN), APO Americas (AA), FPO Americas (AA)
- 4 = Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY), Michigan (MI), Ohio (OH)
- 5 = Iowa (IA), Minnesota (MN), Montana (MT), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), Wisconsin (WI)
- 6 = Illinois (IL), Kansas (KS), Missouri (MO), Nebraska (NE)
- 7 = Arkansas (AR), Louisiana (LA), Oklahoma (OK), Texas (TX)
- 8 = Arizona (AZ), Colorado (CO), Idaho (ID), New Mexico (NM), Nevada (NV), Utah (UT), Wyoming (WY)
- 9 = Alaska (AK), American Samoa (AS), California (CA), Guam (GU), Hawaii (HI), Marshall Islands (MH), Federated States of Micronesia (FM), Northern Mariana Islands (MP), Oregon (OR), Palau (PW), Washington (WA), APO Pacific (AP), FPO Pacific (AP)
Related pages
[change|change source]References
[change|change source]- ↑"ZIP Code,"Archived2005-04-27 at theWayback Machinefrom International Paper Knowledge Center glossary
- ↑Trademark status information,fromUnited States Patent and Trademark Office
Other websites
[change|change source]- ZIP Code lookupwebpage from theUnited States Postal Service.