Argentine postal code
Encyclopedia
Postal code
s in Argentina
are called códigos postales. Until 1998 Argentina employed a four-digit postal code for each municipality, with the first digit representing a region in the country, except in the case of the city of Buenos Aires
(which had different postal codes starting in 1000 and with the other numbers varying according to the zone). The unique codes became the base for the newer system, officially called CPA (Código Postal Argentino, Argentine Postal Code).
The CPA consists of three parts:
The CPA is not mandatory for private use, but companies that do mass mailings
are benefited with discounts if they use the CPA. Despite this, the CPA is still not in wide use by private persons, and even government sources and private businesses often list the base code as in the old system. In order to ease the adoption of the new postal code, the former state mail company (Correo Argentino) provides a look-up feature on its website. The CPA is intended to improve the quality and speed of mail delivery, but mail without a well-formed CPA will be delivered correctly as well.
This change can be compared with the ZIP+4 movement in the United States
, in which the last four digits identify the block of the address.
The first letter in the CPA, which identifies the province, has its origins in the old Argentine license plates system, which gave each province a letter, usually its initial. Since several provinces share the same initial, a few odd assignments are found (such as X for Córdoba, A for Salta
, and N for Misiones
). See ISO 3166-2:AR
for a complete list.
The four digits could be grouped as the following:
Postal code
A postal code is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. Once postal codes were introduced, other applications became possible.In February 2005, 117 of the 190 member countries of the Universal Postal Union had postal code systems...
s in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
are called códigos postales. Until 1998 Argentina employed a four-digit postal code for each municipality, with the first digit representing a region in the country, except in the case of the city of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
(which had different postal codes starting in 1000 and with the other numbers varying according to the zone). The unique codes became the base for the newer system, officially called CPA (Código Postal Argentino, Argentine Postal Code).
The CPA consists of three parts:
- A single letter that encodes the provinceProvinces of ArgentinaArgentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
(for example, C for Capital FederalBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Q for NeuquénNeuquén ProvinceNeuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...
). - Four digits (the old postal code or a variation of it on the last digits) showing the municipality.
- Three letters, identifying a side of the block where the address is located.
The CPA is not mandatory for private use, but companies that do mass mailings
Bulk mail
Bulk mail broadly refers to mail that is mailed and processed in bulk at reduced rates. The term does not denote any particular purpose for the mail; but in general usage is synonymous with "junk mail."...
are benefited with discounts if they use the CPA. Despite this, the CPA is still not in wide use by private persons, and even government sources and private businesses often list the base code as in the old system. In order to ease the adoption of the new postal code, the former state mail company (Correo Argentino) provides a look-up feature on its website. The CPA is intended to improve the quality and speed of mail delivery, but mail without a well-formed CPA will be delivered correctly as well.
This change can be compared with the ZIP+4 movement in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in which the last four digits identify the block of the address.
The first letter in the CPA, which identifies the province, has its origins in the old Argentine license plates system, which gave each province a letter, usually its initial. Since several provinces share the same initial, a few odd assignments are found (such as X for Córdoba, A for Salta
Salta Province
Salta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...
, and N for Misiones
Misiones Province
Misiones is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamiсa region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes Province of Argentina to the southwest.- History :The province was...
). See ISO 3166-2:AR
ISO 3166-2:AR
ISO 3166-2:AR is the entry for Argentina in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for Argentina, ISO 3166-2 codes are...
for a complete list.
The four digits could be grouped as the following:
- 1XXX = Buenos Aires City, Buenos Aires Province North (EG: C1420 Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
City, B1900 La PlataLa PlataLa Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
). - 2XXX = Santa Fe (EG: S2000 RosarioRosarioRosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
, S2300 RafaelaRafaelaRafaela is a city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, about 96 km from the provincial capital. It is the head town of the Castellanos Department. It has a population of 99,150 per the ....
). - 3XXX = Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, Chaco, Corrientes, Formosa, Misiones (EG: E3100 ParanáParaná, Entre RíosParaná is the capital city of the Argentine province of Entre Ríos, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite the city of Santa Fe, capital of the neighbouring Santa Fe Province...
, P3600 FormosaFormosa, ArgentinaFormosa is the capital city of the Argentine province of Formosa, on the banks of the Paraguay River, about from Buenos Aires, on National Route 11. It has a population of about 210,000 as per the ....
, N3700 PosadasPosadas, MisionesPosadas is the capital city of the Argentine province of Misiones, located at the south of the province, on the left-hand shore of the Paraná River, opposite Encarnación, Paraguay. The city has an area of 965 km² and a population of 323,739 ....
, W3400 CorrientesCorrientesCorrientes is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12...
). - 4XXX = Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca, Santiago del Estero (EG: T4000 Tucumán, A4400 SaltaSaltaSalta is a city in northwestern Argentina and the capital city of the Salta Province. Along with its metropolitan area, it has a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , making it Argentina's eighth largest city.-Overview:...
, K4700 CatamarcaCatamarcaCatamarca may refer to:*San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, Argentina*Catamarca Province, Argentina...
). - 5XXX = Córdoba, La Rioja, San Juan, San Luis, Mendoza (EG: X5000 CórdobaCórdoba, ArgentinaCórdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
, M5500 MendozaMendoza, ArgentinaMendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993...
, D5700 San LuisSan Luis, Argentina-External links:* * *...
, F5300 La RiojaLa Rioja, ArgentinaLa Rioja is the capital city of the Argentine province of La Rioja, located on the east of the province. The city has a population of almost 150,000 as per the ....
). - 6XXX = Buenos Aires Province West, La Pampa (EG: B6600 Junín, L6900 Santa Rosa).
- 7XXX = Buenos Aires Province East, Center and South (EG: B7000 TandilTandil-Place name:The name of the city comes from the Mapuche words tan , and lil . It is probably a reference to the Piedra Movediza , a large boulder which stood seemingly miraculously balanced on the edge of a rocky foothill. The Moving Stone toppled on February 29, 1912, and split into two pieces at...
, B7600 Mar del PlataMar del PlataMar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...
, B7400 OlavarríaOlavarríaOlavarría is a city in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, located. It is the capital of the Olavarría Partido and has over 111,320 inhabitants, per the ....
). - 8XXX = Buenos Aires Province South, Río Negro, Neuquén (EG: B8000 Bahía BlancaBahía BlancaBahía Blanca is a city located in the south-west of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and seat of government of Bahía Blanca Partido. It has a population of 274,509 inhabitants according to the...
, R8400 Bariloche, R8500 Viedma, Q8300 NeuquénNeuquénNeuquén is the name of the following things:* Neuquén, Argentina* Neuquén Province* Neuquén River* Neuquén Group...
). - 9XXX = Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego (EG: U9000 Comodoro RivadaviaComodoro RivadaviaComodoro Rivadavia is a city in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Chenque Hill. Comodoro Rivadavia is the most important city of the San Jorge Basin....
, U9200 EsquelEsquelAccording to the , the Esquel district had about 28,000 inhabitants, with one of the highest rates of growth in the province, mainly as result of the immigration of people from Buenos Aires, but also from other provinces. It has wide cement streets with sidewalks, and is clean and well maintained...
, V9410 UshuaiaUshuaiaUshuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
, Z9400 Río Gallegos).