The Spanish Postal Code: what is it and what is it for?

What is a postal code and why do they ask for it?

Since the early eighties, the postal code is part of the Spanish territory. Its usefulness extends to all the provinces of the country and it is so integrated into our daily lives that we very rarely ask ourselves what is a postal code and what is it needed for.

Below, we will tell you about all the advantages of having a postal code, how to find out what ours is, and why having a postal code database is so important for people, companies, and institutions, both inside and outside Spain, to carry out their procedures.

What is a postal code and what does it consist of?

The postal code was introduced in 1981 with the aim of facilitating the sending of letters and packages by mail to any house, company or institution within Spanish territory. The postal code is a five-digit number that is unique to the particular place where messages are sent.

We cannot know what a postal code is without breaking down the figures that make it up. While the first two figures indicate the province of the house, company or institution, the other three figures indicate the postal address itself. Some cities have more than one postal code:

  • The first two figures comprise the province and the number goes from 01 to 50, following the alphabetical order of the provinces. Ceuta and Melilla are assigned the numbers 51 and 52 because they are not part of the set of provinces of Spain.
  • The last three figures are organized by the State Postal and Telegraph Society and indicate the postal and delivery area.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications defines what a postal code is and considers it a “technical standard” that includes identification codes for each inhabited place in Spain.

What is a postal code for?

Asking for the postal code is a routine process associated with the courier of a home, company or institution, since it facilitates both the classification and distribution of letters. In addition, the postal code allows you to send and receive messages nationwide and also outside of Spain.

As we can see, when we ask ourselves what the postal code is, we realize that this number is a transparent and reliable assignment that is accepted by the inhabitants of the country, since it mainly helps to send and mail delivery is expedited.

Today, there are more than 11,750 postal codes throughout the Spanish territory.

Advantages of using postal codes

In addition to mechanizing the transmission of mail within and outside of Spain, the postal code avoids unnecessary spending by minimizing shipping errors, delivery delays and returns, as well as facilitating government management , Police, hospitals, etc.

By improving the classification and distribution of messages quickly and easily, all parties involved in an exchange of letters are satisfied, generating greater confidence in the postal organization and stimulating the modernization of mail administration.

To understand what a postal code is, we must talk about the base of postal codes in a national territory, a registry with advantageous information for industries and market sectors that use the registry to make strategic decisions in marketing campaigns. marketing.

More specifically, companies and institutions have the opportunity to access a base of postcodes in order to find out what needs, tastes and behaviours a group of people in a specific geographical area have.

These data help to create promotions with messages aimed particularly at certain types of people within a locality, city or province, in such a way that the probabilities of selling a product or using a service increase and commercial relationships are strengthened.

How do I know what my postal code is?

There are several ways to find out the postal code of our home, company or institution in Spain. To do it reliably and completely easily, we can go to the Correos website and there enter the address that corresponds to us to find out the postal code.

Another option is to go to the official website of Central de Comunicación and see the list of postal codes that are currently registered in the national territory. The postal codes of Andorra and the countries that are part of the Universal Postal Union are also listed.

Now that we know what the postal code is, we can also find out ours by opening the Google Maps application and typing the address of our home, business or institution. By clicking on the area, we will see a number made up of five figures that is the postal code.

If you can't find your postal code and you have an e-commerce in Spain, you need to validate the postal address in Europe and improve the quality of your business processes. Once you do this, you will have your own zip code for an online store, CMR and other office systems.

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