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More Efficient Mail With US Zip Codes

by WMMedia

Zip codes are used by the US Postal Service to make mail delivery
more efficient. The basic format of US zip codes consists of five
numbers. The first three numbers represent the sectional center
facility and the other digits represent the older postal code for
a specific state or city. The process of using postal coded for
US cities came into effect in 1943, but in 1963, zip codes came
into use for the whole country.

The sectional center facility part of the zip code is the center
for processing the mail. Here the mail is sorted according to the
first three digits of the zip code and sent to the respective
centers in each location. These digits identify the centers all
over the country. In the individual centers, the mail is then
sorted according to the last three digits and sent to the post
offices where the addressees pick up their mail. Sectional
centers do not deliver mail and are not open to the public.

Up until 1967, second and third class mail did not require a zip
code. After that date however, it became mandatory for all mail
to have the proper zip code in the address. In 1983, the US
further expanded the zip code feature making it the Zip Code + 4.
These four digits were then used to identify a specific
geographical area. In the SCF, a machine identifies the zip code
and sorts the mail so that it goes to the correct post office.

Today the first digits of the zip code identify the state or
SCF. The second and third digits identify a region of the state
and the fourth and fifth numbers identify a specific address in
that region. The main town gets the zip code and then the
surrounding towns follow in numerical order.

The allocation of the first number in the zip code is as
follows:
- 0 - Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, US Virgin Islands,
Army Post Europe, Fleet Post Office Europe
- 1 - Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York
- 2 - District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia
- 3 - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Army
Post Office Americas, Fleet Post Office Americas
- 4 - Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio
- 5 - Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Montana, North Dakota, South
Dakota and Wisconsin
- 6 - Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska
- 7 - Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana
- 8 - Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah and
Wyoming
- 9 - Alaska, American Samoa, California, Guam, Hawaii, Marshall
Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Mariana
Islands, Oregon, Palau, Washington, Army Post Office Pacific, and
the Fleet Post Office Pacific.

The zip codes can also be divided and changed when a rural area
becomes a suburb of a larger city. The new codes become effective
once they are announced, but there is a grace period to allow the
residents to get used to their new zip code. When a city expands
so that the sectional facility cannot handle all the mail coming
through it, it is sometimes necessary to open a new facility,
which then receives its own number. This also changes the zip
code for the people living in that area.

If you are looking for <a href="http://www.findazip.com">US zip
codes</a> and other <a
href="http://www.findazip.com">zipcodes</a> visit
http://www.FindaZip.com This site allows you to find a zip code
fast and easily.

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