Postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

s in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

are called '. 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 ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

(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 (', Argentine Postal Code).

Usage

The CPA is not mandatory for private use, but companies that do mass mailings benefit from a discount 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 only the base code (the old system). In order to ease the adoption of the new postal code, the former state mail company (') 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.

Structure

The CPA consists of three parts: *A single letter ( ISO 3166-2:AR) that references the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

(for example, C for Capital Federal, Q for

Neuquén Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén river ...

). *Four digits (the old postal code or a variation of it on the last digits) showing the town or city. *Three letters, identifying a side of the city block where the address is located.

Position 1

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 () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

, and N for

Misiones Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes P ...

). See ISO 3166-2:AR for a complete list.

Position 2 to 5

The four digits could be grouped as the following: *1XXX = Buenos Aires City, Buenos Aires Province North (e.g., C1420

City, B1900 La Plata). *2XXX = Santa Fe (e.g., S2000 Rosario, S2300

Rafaela Rafaela () 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 . The city was established in 1881 by Guillerm ...

). *3XXX = Santa Fe, Entre Ríos, Chaco, Corrientes, Formosa, Misiones (e.g., E3100 Paraná, P3600 Formosa, N3300 Posadas, W3400

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") 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. It ha ...

). *4XXX = Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca, Santiago del Estero (e.g., T4000 Tucumán, A4400

, K4700 Catamarca). *5XXX = Córdoba, La Rioja, San Juan, San Luis, Mendoza (e.g., X5000 Córdoba, M5500 Mendoza, D5700 San Luis, F5300

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, an ...

). *6XXX = Buenos Aires Province West, La Pampa (e.g., B6000 Junín, L6300

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

, L6700 Luján). *7XXX = Buenos Aires Province East, Center and South (e.g., B7000

Tandil Tandil is the main city of the homonymous partido (department), located in Argentina, in the southeast of Buenos Aires Province, just north-northwest of Tandilia hills. The city was founded in 1823 and its name originates from the ''Piedra Moved ...

, B7600 Mar del Plata, B7400 Olavarría). *8XXX = Buenos Aires Province South, Río Negro, Neuquén (e.g., B8000 Bahía Blanca, R8400

Bariloche San Carlos de Bariloche, usually known as Bariloche (), is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina, situated in the foothills of the Andes on the southern shores of Nahuel Huapi Lake. It is located within the Nahuel Huapi National Park ...

, R8500 Viedma, Q8300

). *9XXX = Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego (e.g., U9000 Comodoro Rivadavia, U9200

Esquel Esquel is a town in the northwest of Chubut Province in Argentine Patagonia. It is located in Futaleufú Department, of which it is the government seat. The town's name derives from one of two Tehuelche words: one meaning "marsh" and the other ...

, V9410

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's souther ...

, Z9400

Río Gallegos Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

Usage

Structure

Position 1

Position 2 to 5

Position 6 to 8

References

External links