Postal Code & ZIP Code Format Checker (Every Country)
Is this postcode written right? Formats, examples and address layouts for every country.
Country
Loading the postal code formats…
Codes to check
Each code is checked as you type.
| # | Input | Written as | Format | Note |
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Address layout
required must be filled in · CAPS written in capitals
Pattern and regions
The pattern the checker uses for the whole code (a regular expression):
Formats, names and layouts: adapted from Google’s address metadata (libaddressinput), licensed under CC BY 4.0; the fields this checker needs were kept and the postal-operator links reviewed. It checks the format only, not whether a code exists. Each country’s full addressing rules: UPU Postal Addressing Systems.
About the Postal Code & ZIP Code Format Checker (Every Country)
Pick a country to see what its postal code is called — ZIP Code in the United States, postcode in the UK, PIN code in India, Eircode in Ireland, CEP in Brazil — what it looks like in plain words, official examples, and how an address is laid out there: the order of the lines and the fields that must be filled in. Then check one code or a whole list: the checker says whether each code has a valid format and writes it the usual way (sw1a1aa → SW1A 1AA, k1a0b1 → K1A 0B1, 01310100 → 01310-100), and for some countries names the state or region its first digits belong to.
It checks the format only, never whether a code exists: no free list of every postcode in the world exists. The formats come from Google’s open address metadata, the data behind Chrome’s address forms, and everything runs in your browser.
How to use it
- Choose the country. The page opens with the one chosen at the top of the page.
- Read what the code is called, its format in words and its examples.
- Type or paste codes into Codes to check, one per line — or paste a table, or open a CSV file, and choose the column with the codes.
- Read each result: valid format or the problem, the code written the usual way, and the region of its prefix where the data has one.
- Use Copy valid codes or Download CSV — for a table, the CSV keeps every column and adds the checked code and the result next to it.
Examples
sw1a1aa
Valid format, written SW1A 1AA (the space goes before the last three characters)
k1a0b1
Valid format, written K1A 0B1 — prefix of Ontario and Quebec in the data
1100011
Not valid: 7 digits; PIN codes have 6 (examples 110034, 110001)
01310100
Valid CEP, written 01310-100 — prefix of São Paulo
1073
Valid once LV is added: LV-1073
SE-114 55
Valid: 114 55 — the SE- prefix is written only on mail from abroad
Common uses
- Checking the postcodes of a customer or shipping list before printing labels.
- Building an address form or a spreadsheet check that accepts every country’s format.
- Writing an address for another country in the right order.
- Cleaning up postcodes typed in lower case or without their space.
What “valid format” means
A valid format means the code has the structure the country uses — the right number of digits and letters in the right places, such as six digits in India, five digits (or ZIP+4) in the United States, or a letter–digit pattern with a space in Canada and the UK. It does not mean that the code exists or belongs to a particular street. The Universal Postal Union’s world postcode database, POST*CODE, is a licensed product sold under contract (UPU addressing solutions), so no free tool can confirm every code; for that, use the postal operator’s own lookup, which the page links for the countries where the link works.
Around 130 countries use postcodes, says the UPU. For a country without them, the page says so and still shows its address layout.
Where the formats come from
The patterns, examples, names and address layouts are Google’s address metadata, published with libaddressinput (the code under the Apache 2.0 licence, the data under CC BY 4.0) and used by Chrome’s address forms. The checker uses each country’s pattern for the whole code and the official examples for the usual spacing. For some countries — among them the United States, Canada, India, Brazil, Japan, Mexico and Italy — the data also lists which first digits or letters belong to each state or region; the page shows the region a code’s prefix points to. For the addressing rules of each country in full, the Universal Postal Union publishes country sheets in its Postal Addressing Systems.
Spacing, capitals and prefixes
Codes are written in capitals, with the space or hyphen of the official examples: SW1A 1AA, 1234 AB in the Netherlands, 100-0001 in Japan, 00-950 in Poland, 22162-1010 for a ZIP+4 code. Where a country allows a space its examples leave out (France, Sweden), a space you typed is kept. Some countries put a prefix before the code on mail from abroad (SE-, CH-, FI-): the checker takes it off and says so. Codes that always start with the same letters, such as Latvia’s LV- or Andorra’s AD, get them added when only the number was typed. Digits of other scripts and full-width digits are read too.
Checking a list or a CSV file
Paste one code per line, or a whole table copied from a spreadsheet (tab, semicolon or comma separated) or open a CSV file: the page picks the column that holds the most valid codes for the country, and you can choose another. The results table shows every row, and the downloaded CSV keeps the original columns with two added next to the codes: the code as it should be written and whether its format is valid. Formulas cannot sneak in: a cell that starts with =, +, - or @ is written as text.
Limitations
- Format only: a code with a valid format may not exist, and a real code can be rejected if the source pattern has not caught up with a newly created one.
- One country at a time: for a mixed list, check each country’s rows separately.
- Region names come from the prefixes in Google’s data and are only listed for some countries; a prefix can belong to more than one region.
- Postal operator links are shown only where they could be opened; some operators block automated checks, so a link may ask you to confirm you are not a robot.
Privacy
Everything runs in your browser: the codes, tables and files you check are never uploaded, and nothing is stored.
Frequently asked questions
Does this check whether a postcode really exists?
No. It checks the format — the right digits and letters in the right places — and writes the code properly. To confirm that a code exists and find its address, use the postal operator’s lookup linked under the country.
What is the format of a UK postcode?
An outward code of two to four characters (one or two letters, then a digit, and sometimes a letter or another digit), a space, and an inward code of a digit and two letters: for example SW1A 1AA, M2 5BQ or DN16 9AA. The special codes GIR 0AA and BFPO numbers are valid too.
How do I check a whole list of ZIP codes?
Choose the United States and paste the codes, one per line, or paste the table they are in. Every code is checked at once, and Download CSV gives the results — five-digit codes and ZIP+4 codes are both accepted.
Why is my Canadian postal code rejected?
Canadian postal codes alternate letter and digit (A1A 1A1) and never use the letters D, F, I, O, Q or U, and W and Z never come first. Check for an O typed instead of a zero, or the other way round.
How should an address be written for another country?
Choose the country and see Address layout: the lines in order and the fields that are required, such as the state and ZIP Code on the same line as the city in the United States, or the postal code first in Japan.