How to Enter a Canada Postal Code the Correct Way

Canadian postage stamp.

Sending mail to Canada follows a common postal procedure, where the recipient address is formatted similarly to United States addresses. The only difference is the postal code. Canadian postal codes are divided into two sections of three characters. The postal code is composed of both numbers and letters. For example, "H3Z 2Y7" is a postal code in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The street address, city and province follow the United State's street address, city and state formatting. If you can write USA addresses, then you can enter a Canada address with postal code.

Instructions

1. Visit the Canada Post website to look up the postal code. You will need the street number, name, city and province. If you already have the full Canadian postal address including the postal code, then skip this step.

2. Designate "Foreign Address" in your mailer, address or contacts program. Some software may not have this capability. Otherwise, type the Canada postal code where the USA ZIP code is typically entered.

3. Save the address or contact. If you receive an error message in regard to the Canada postal code, you may need to consult your software's manual on how to designate and enter foreign addresses.

4. Type the Canada address and postal code manually on your letter, envelope or packing label. If the software cannot accept a foreign address in the contacts database, manually entering the information is a viable solution.

Tips & Warnings

• The first section of a Canadian postal code is called FSA or Forward Sortation Area.

• The second part of a Canadian postal code is called LDU or Local Delivery Unit.

References

• Infinite Gravity: Canadian Postal Code
• Columbia University: Frank's Compulsive Guide to Postal Addresses
• Bit Boost: Canada Mailing Address Formats

Resources

• Canada Post: Find A Postal Code