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Postal code format

The French postal code is a 5-digit numerical string. Introduced in its current form in 1972 to automate mail sorting, the smallest is 01000 (Bourg-en-Bresse) and the largest is 98890 (Païta, Nouvelle-Calédonie).

How many digits? Five.

Like Germany, Spain, or Italy, France uses a 5-digit system. Out of the 100 000 possible combinations, La Poste uses 6 328.

The first 2 digits: the département

Decomposition of postal code 75015: the first 2 digits (75) indicate the département (Paris), the last 3 (015) the commune (Paris 15th)
Example: postal code 75015 decomposes into 75 (département) and 015 (commune). ·

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The first two digits generally correspond to the département number where the address is located.

Metropolitan France

Codes start with the administrative département number: 75 for Paris, 13 for Bouches-du-Rhône, 69 for Rhône.

Overseas departments (DOM)

Overseas territories use a 3-digit prefix starting with 97: 971 for Guadeloupe, 972 for Martinique, 973 for French Guiana, 974 for Réunion, 976 for Mayotte. The postal code stays at 5 digits total: the department's third digit becomes the postal code's third digit.

Corsica

Corsica is administratively split into two departments (2A and 2B), but all Corsican postal codes start with 20: from 20000 (Ajaccio) to 20290 (Borgo).

The last 3 digits: the routing office

The last three digits identify the routing office (sorting center) or the precise geographic area within the department.

Code 000: the prefecture

Usually reserved for the prefecture, the administrative capital of the department. For example: 06000 (Nice), 80000 (Amiens), 21000 (Dijon).

Rural areas

In rural areas, the code often identifies the main sorting office serving several small surrounding communes.

Urban areas: municipal arrondissements

In large cities, the last digits correspond to the arrondissement. In Paris, for example: 75001 for the 1st arrondissement, 75020 for the 20th. Marseille uses 13001 to 13016, Lyon 69001 to 69009.

Monaco: an exception

Although an independent state, Monaco uses postal code 98000, included in La Poste's database. It's the only foreign postal code that appears there.

See also