NationStates Jolt Archive

Ok, there are the normal 5 numbers in a Zip Code which everyone use, however there are those 4 extra ones that we rarely see. Does anyone have any clue what those numbers are used for? Me and my friend can't figure this out, and well we're just bored, yes this is what we do when we're bored, we think up of crazy crap like this.

Ok, there are the normal 5 numbers in a Zip Code which everyone use, however there are those 4 extra ones that we rarely see. Does anyone have any clue what those numbers are used for? Me and my friend can't figure this out, and well we're just bored, yes this is what we do when we're bored, we think up of crazy crap like this.
"Everyone"? Don't you mean "Americans"? :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIP_Code

ZIP+4 reduces the area within the zip code down to a very small unit...sometimes a neighborhood, sometimes down to a single person. Just makes it a bit more accurate.

odd there is 6 numbers in the U.K

but I must say NN2 Brap!

Where I come from, they humbally go by the name of postal codes.

actually ZIP just stands for zone improvement plan. Not that the mail is zippy or anything.

the four numbers refer to a geographic sub area - or high volume mail reciepient - in the ZIP code area.

Where I come from, they humbally go by the name of postal codes.

Yea well, postal takes too long to say, so we just use Zip.

Yeah, well, uh.... zip sounds... um.. Gay!

Yea well, postal takes too long to say, so we just use Zip.We call them "Postleitzahlen" here, and make sure to say the whole thing every time. :)

We call them "Postleitzahlen" here, and make sure to say the whole thing every time. :)

Silly Germans. "Postnummer" is much more adequate.

Silly Germans. "Postnummer" is much more adequate.But that completely fails to convey any sense of "guidance"! *Whines*

But that completely fails to convey any sense of "guidance"! *Whines*

It is not for mere mortals to concern themselves with the actual function and dealings of the system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIP_Code

ZIP+4 reduces the area within the zip code down to a very small unit...sometimes a neighborhood, sometimes down to a single person. Just makes it a bit more accurate.
Yep. My girlfriend's dad is a letter carrier, and he's said that they can deliver a piece of mail if all it has is the name and the 9 digit code--the rest of the address is basically backup at this point.

In Brazil the code is called CEP and has the structure of 5 numbers then three numbers.

The first two numbers indicate the state, the next three the municipality in that state. The last 3 indicate the road. So only the CEP and the house number are actually needed to address a letter.

What CEP stands for is a mystery.

What CEP stands for is a mystery.
Código de Endereçamento Postal, the term for postal codes in Portugal and several former Portuguese colonies.

In Brazil the code is called CEP and has the structure of 5 numbers then three numbers.

The first two numbers indicate the state, the next three the municipality in that state. The last 3 indicate the road. So only the CEP and the house number are actually needed to address a letter.

What CEP stands for is a mystery.
Código de Endereçamento Postal

<3 wiki

In the netherlands we call it 'postcode' and it consists of 4 numbers and 2 letters.

In Belgium it's only 4 numbers.

um... why do you say everyone. its only called a zp code in america. where i live its called "kod pocztowy" yes, polish is a weird language.

um... why do you say everyone. its only called a zp code in america. where i live its called "kod pocztowy" yes, polish is a weird language.
Because he's used to what he grew up with. I bet when you found out that America neither uses nor likes the metric system you were surprised. I was surprised when I found out the metric system existed.

We call them "Postleitzahlen" here, and make sure to say the whole thing every time. :)
As a side note there is a code in Berlin that is the same number as my little town in Missouri USA. When I'm doing my part time job at the post office we sometimes get mail for Germany.

The extra 4 numbers are part of the computer sorting. The computer helps the carrier sort to a small part of his "case" so he can know where to look as he's sorting. In my small town everyone with a Post Office Box has their box number for the last 4. Everyone on the Rural Route has the same last 4 so it doesn't help me.

In Canad we have postal codes which are three letters and three letters: LNL-NLN

The first three refer to the town/city-district and the last three refer to a specific building/building-complex.

In Australia, it's called a postcode & it only has four numbers. The first number indicates the state (eg: 2xxx would be in NSW, 3xxx in Victoria, etc). The other three indicate the area within the state, but it's not particularly specific, because nearby towns/suburbs often share the same postcode.

Ok, there are the normal 5 numbers in a Zip Code which everyone use, however there are those 4 extra ones that we rarely see. Does anyone have any clue what those numbers are used for? Me and my friend can't figure this out, and well we're just bored, yes this is what we do when we're bored, we think up of crazy crap like this.


ZIP+4

Introduced in 1983, the ZIP+4 code added a hyphen and four digits to the existing five-digit ZIP Code. The first five numbers continued to identify an area of the country and delivery office to which mail is directed. The sixth and seventh numbers denote a delivery sector, which may be several blocks, a group of streets, a group of post office boxes, several office buildings, a single high-rise office building, a large apartment building, or a small geographic area. The last two numbers denote a delivery segment, which might be one floor of an office building, one side of a street between intersecting streets, specific departments in a firm, or a group of post office boxes.

On October 1, 1983, the Governors of the Postal Service approved price incentives for First-Class Mail bearing the ZIP+4 code.

By the end of 1984, 252 OCRs were installed in 118 major mail processing centers across the country and were processing 24,000 pieces of mail per hour (an average productivity rate of 6,200 pieces per work hour) -- a substantial increase compared to the 1,750 pieces per work hour processed by MPLSMs.


http://www.usps.com/history/history/his3_5.htm

The +4 designates a specific address usually or a PO Box. Although it doesnt make sense in ym town as one per building because ther have to be more than 10000 buildings in my town, yet there is only one zip code.