Delivery and Addressing Challenges in Iran

Iran has a very precise postal code system, yet last-mile delivery still depends on the human description of the route. Couriers and online shops face a mix of dense urban blocks, long streets with changing names, and addresses written as directions.

Alleys and relative directions

Many addresses end with one or more alleys (kucheh), described in sequence: the second alley on the right, then a dead-end alley. These descriptions depend on where the courier enters the street, and a numbered alley is not always numbered in a visible order. A shop that collects only the street and plaque risks a courier circling the block. Asking for the full alley description and one landmark makes the address more reliable.

Street names that change

Main roads may carry one name for a section and a different name for another section, and older names remain in everyday use alongside official ones. A courier using a navigation app may search the official name while the customer writes the common one. Collect both if the customer knows them.

Tall buildings and shared entrances

In big cities, residential towers and multi-unit blocks are widespread. The plaque number often covers the whole building, while the floor and unit separate individual households. Entry phones and buzzers are labelled by unit, so a courier needs the unit and a phone number. Where the postal code is assigned per building or unit, it helps verify that the destination matches.

Digits and script

Customers may type Persian digits, Arabic-Indic digits or Latin digits, sometimes in the same form. Normalise digits to one set on the server, and store addresses in Persian script with an optional transliteration. See the address format guide for the standard order.

Phone and notes

Couriers typically call before delivery. A reachable phone number and a short note, such as the colour of a door or a nearby shop, often decide success.

How an exact-location code complements the address

A UPCS code like IR-XXXX-XXXX marks a 3 m by 3 m cell. At checkout, the customer can choose the entrance or gate on the map, and the code is saved with the order. The courier then opens the point instead of decoding a long alley description. It is not an official postal code and should be used together with the ten-digit postal code. Shops can see available plugins for map checkout.