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
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
, 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 )?
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.
Know your postal code in Canada.
