Mexico Postal Code Format (Código Postal) Explained

The Mexican código postal is a five-digit number. It has no letters, no spaces and no hyphen: the generic form is 12345. It identifies a delivery area, which in practice is a colonia (neighbourhood) or a group of colonias.

Structure

The five digits are not random. In general terms, the first two digits relate to the state or federal entity, or to a zone of Mexico City, and the remaining three narrow the code to a zone within it. You do not need to decode the number to use it, but it explains why codes within the same city tend to share the first digits.

The colonia link

The postal code in Mexico is a property of an area, not of a street. One code usually corresponds to one or more named colonias. As a result, a street that crosses several neighbourhoods may carry several codes along its length. The same street name can also appear in different colonias with different codes, so the colonia and the code should be written together.

Valid format examples

These examples are generic and illustrate the shape only:

• 01234
• 12345
• 99999

Common mistakes

• Losing the leading zero. Spreadsheets and databases often treat the code as an integer and drop a leading zero, leaving four digits. Use a text field.
• Adding a hyphen or space. Unlike some countries, Mexico does not split the code into groups.
• Using a code from the wrong colonia. Nearby places often have different codes. Always match the code with the colonia you have.
• Mixing it up with a phone area code. Both are numeric, but they are unrelated.
• Assuming one code per city. Large cities have many; some small towns have only one or a few.

Is the code enough for delivery?

For many online orders, the code and the colonia together help the carrier assign a delivery zone, but they do not identify a building. A street name, a number and often a description of nearby streets complete the delivery information. See how to write a Mexican address for the overall layout.

Next steps

If you need to confirm a code, see how to find a postal code in Mexico. To understand the exact-location option, return to the Mexico overview.