Countries
Italy Postal Codes and Addressing Guide
How the Italian CAP and addresses work, from street-then-number order to province abbreviations, and how a UPCS IT code complements them.
Updated 14 October 2026 · 3 min read
Italy uses a five-digit postal code called the CAP, short for Codice di Avviamento Postale. It is written before the name of the town, and the street name comes before the house number, usually followed by a two-letter province abbreviation at the end of the line.
How the CAP works
The CAP is purely numeric and is run by the national postal operator, Poste Italiane. The first digits identify a broad area of the country, and the rest narrow it towards a town or a zone. Small towns generally have a single CAP. Larger cities are divided into several, one for each postal zone, so that a street in the centre and a street in the suburbs of the same city have different codes. The structure is covered in Italy postal code format explained.
How addresses are written
An Italian address puts the street type and name first, then the number, then the CAP and the town, and then the province in abbreviated form, such as RM or MI. Details such as staircase, floor and flat are added with the abbreviations scala and interno. See how to write an Italian address correctly.
How UPCS codes work in Italy
UPCS generates a short code for an exact location selected on a map. In Italy the code starts with IT, followed by two blocks of letters and digits, for example IT-XXXX-XXXX (placeholder). Each code stands for a 3 m x 3 m grid cell, and the same coordinates always give the same code.
A UPCS code is not an official postal code and is not issued by Poste Italiane or any government body. It does not replace the CAP or the street address. It helps a courier, visitor or shop open the exact entrance, courtyard or pick-up point on a map, which can be useful in historic centres and rural areas.
Why the CAP alone is not always enough
A CAP identifies a town or a postal zone, not an entrance. In walled historic centres, courtyards and rural hamlets, couriers often need more than the five digits and the street name. An exact map point can add that detail without changing the official address.
In this guide
Postal code format explains the five digits and why large cities have several. Address format covers line order, provinces and building details. Finding a CAP shows how to look one up. Delivery and addressing challenges looks at historic centres, numbering quirks and restricted zones. Other places are in the countries hub.
In this guide
Frequently asked questions
Is a UPCS code the same as an Italian CAP?
No. The CAP is the official five-digit postal code used by the postal service. A UPCS code is a separate code for an exact 3 m x 3 m location and is not issued by Poste Italiane or any government body.
What prefix do UPCS codes in Italy use?
They start with IT, for example IT-XXXX-XXXX in the standard CC-XXXX-XXXX layout.