Postal codes in France

Postal codes were introduced in France in 1964, when '' La Poste'' introduced automated sorting. They were updated to use the current 5 digit system in 1972.

France uses five-digit numeric postal codes, the first two digits representing the département in which the city is located. The département numbers were assigned alphabetically between 1860 and 1870, but later changes (such as renaming and splitting of départements) mean that the list is no longer in strictly alphabetical order. The system extends to French overseas departments and territories, and also includes Monaco. Note that postcodes in both départements of Corsica commence with the "20" historically assigned to Corsica before it was split into two départements, which are now numbered 2A and 2B.

The last three digits identify a more precise location, 000 being in general reserved for the '' préfecture''. However, in Paris, Lyon and Marseille, the last two digits indicate the ''arrondissement''. For example, 80000 corresponds to Amiens, which is the ''préfecture'' of the Somme or département 80, while 69008 corresponds to the 8th arrondissement of Lyon.

Format

The postal code () consists of five digits. In metropolitan France the first two digits are the number of the ''département'' where the post office in charge of delivery to a town is located. There are some places where this is different from the department where the place is located. In the Overseas Departments and Territories, the first three digits identify the ''département'' or territory. The digits 00 are used for Military addresses. The digits ''20'' are used for all of Corsica; the split of the island into two départements was not followed by a change in the postal codes.

The next three digits identify the local postal office in charge of mail delivery. A regular postcode always ends with a 0, with the notable exception of Paris, Lyon and Marseille – see below – and the Overseas Départements and Territories. Postcodes not ending with a 0 may indicate a special code, known as CEDEX (see below), or newest postcodes.

In Paris, Lyon and Marseille, the last two digits of the postal code indicate the ''municipal arrondissement''. Prior to 1972, an address in the eighth ''municipal arrondissement'' of Paris, would be written as:

:8 rue Chambiges
:Paris 8^e

This number was incorporated into the postal code as:

:8 rue Chambiges
:75008 Paris

The 16th arrondissement of Paris has two postal codes, 75016 (south) and 75116 (north).

In each département, the '' préfecture'' (main city) has a postal code ending with ''000'', for example Bourges in Cher:

:15 avenue du Général Leclerc
:18000 Bourges

The more important the city, the simpler the postal code. The ''sous-préfectures'' are generally recognized by using a XXX00 postcode (but a few additional XXX00 postcodes may also be allocated in the most populated ''préfectures'' to subdivide them into several postal distribution areas, XX000 being still used for the most central post office of the city). Here is for example the postal code of a small village, Lépaud in Creuse:

:16 grande rue
:23170 Lépaud

Another example with Pouillé-les-Côteaux in Loire-Atlantique:

:17 rue de la Cour
:44522 Pouillé-les-Côteaux

And the postal code of Mortagne-au-Perche, ''sous-préfecture'' of the Département de l'Orne

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