How to Find a Nigeria Postal Code

Postal codes in Nigeria are maintained by the Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, the national postal operator. The most reliable way to find a code is to use its published information or ask one of its offices. Third-party lists exist, but they can be incomplete or out of date, so treat them as a starting point only.

Start with the state and area

The postal code is linked to the postal region and the district. When searching, begin with the state, then narrow down to the city or town and the specific area or district. Many areas in a large city share a code or belong to neighbouring ones, so the area name is more important than the street name when searching.

Check the recipient's own documents

If the recipient already receives mail, the code might appear on bank letters, utility bills, or parcels delivered by a courier. These are good proof of a code in use. If the recipient is a business, an invoice or the contact page of its website often includes the full address and code.

Verify the code

A few checks reduce errors:

• The code should have exactly six digits and no spaces or letters. The structure is explained in Nigeria postal code format explained.
• The code should match the state and city of the address, not a different region.
• Two sources, such as the postal operator's information and a recent piece of mail, should agree.

If the code is unclear or missing

Not every informal neighbourhood or new estate is easy to match with a code. In that case:

• Use the code of the surrounding postal area as the nearest known value, and make clear to the recipient or shop that it is approximate.
• Write the complete address, including the area, a landmark and a phone number, as described in how to write a Nigerian address.
• Ask the courier which information it needs; many accept the address and phone number without a code.

When the problem is the exact location

Finding the code only helps with the postal area. If the difficulty is locating a particular building among similar-looking streets, a map-based reference is more useful. A UPCS code (prefix NG, as in NG-XXXX-XXXX) points to a 3 m by 3 m cell on the map and can be shared with a courier. It is not a postal code, it is not issued by NIPOST, and it does not take the place of the six-digit code on forms that require one. For more on how this works in delivery, read delivery and addressing in Nigeria, or go back to the Nigeria overview.