So how do you read a Postal Code? We use them
all the time, but most people have no idea
what the numbers and letters really mean.
All mail must have a valid address with a
Postal Code in order for you to sort it and
deliver it to the client.
The Postal Code, along with the address, is used by Canada Post to identify the point of call.
It makes our mail operations more efficient,
because we can quickly sort and direct incoming mail.
The Postal Code is made up of two distinct, yet very important parts: The FSA or
forward sortation area, and the LDU or local
delivery unit. The first character of a Postal
Code is the first level of granularity in
identifying an area of Canada.
It identifies one of the 18 major geographic
areas, provinces or districts. Here, the first
character of the FSA segment, “K,” identifies
eastern Ontario.
The first letter of any Canadian Postal Code identifies the area of Canada to which the mail is going.
This represents a specific province, a section of a province, a territory or a major metropolitan area.
Ontario and Quebec are the only provinces
that have five and three postal districts
respectively, because of their dense population.
Although Nunavut separated from the Northwest
Territories in 1999, they still share the
same first letter of the FSA. Moving on to
the second character of the FSA, we can distinguish
the community within the major geographic area.
When looking at this number, ask yourself:
Is this number a 0? If the second character
is a 0, it’s a rural Postal Code.
Rural Postal Codes are serviced by rural route
drivers or post offices. However, if the second
character is a number from 1 to 9, then it’s
an urban Postal Code serviced by a delivery agent.
When you add the third character of the Postal
Code, it further subdivides a town or a city.
This means that we now know the exact part
of the city, town, or other area where the
mail is to be delivered.
Again, these first three characters represent
the FSA, and any mail that starts with these
three same characters will be delivered to
this region.
The last three characters of the Postal Code
are called the LDU. The LDU is the smallest
basic unit that represents a specific Point
or set of Points of Call located within the
FSA. The LDU helps with the final sortation.
The LDU identifies a series of houses, businesses,
farms, or apartments. It can also identify
a single point of call that receives a large
volume of mail such as an office building.
When a row of Points of Call have the same
LDU it creates a block face. In our example,
we now know the specific city block and even
the side of the street for the address that
is to receive mail.
Note that the LDUs are not necessarily consecutive
like street addresses, and in a less densely
populated area they can stretch out over a
much larger area.
All of these elements of the Postal Code work
together in order for you and Canada Post
to quickly identify the customer’s point of call.
They also assist in identifying the processing
and delivery facilities as well as the post
offices where mail must be directed.
Your route is made up of many Point of Calls, all with unique addresses that you must read
and interpret constantly and accurately.
This is a fundamental skill for a Canada Post delivery agent.
