UAE Postal Code Format: What Is Used Instead

The United Arab Emirates does not have a nationwide postal code format. There is no standard five- or six-digit code that every address carries, so the usual postal code field on international forms often has no direct equivalent. What is used instead depends on whether mail goes to a P.O. Box or to a street location.

What replaces postal codes

P.O. Box. Mailing addresses traditionally use a P.O. Box number at a post office operated by Emirates Post, together with the emirate. This is the closest thing to a postal address for letters.

Area, street and building. For couriers, a street address is made of building or villa, street or community, area, emirate and a phone number. There is no code that stands in for these details.

Local location references. In Dubai, the municipality's Makani system gives entrances a number that can be used to find them on a map. Other emirates have their own plot, sector or street numbering. These are local references, not a country-wide postal code.

What to enter on a form that asks for a postal code

• If the field is optional, leave it blank.
• If it is required, shops and carriers often accept a placeholder such as zeros, but there is no official value, so follow the instruction on that site or ask the carrier.
• Put the real information in the address lines instead: building, street, area, emirate and phone number.
• Do not invent a code that looks official.

Examples of format

Because no format exists, the closest example is a P.O. Box line:

• P.O. Box 00000, Example City, United Arab Emirates — the box number is a generic placeholder

Common mistakes

• Assuming the P.O. Box number is a postal code and entering it in a street address; it identifies a box, not a location.
• Using the postal code of another country or a copied value.
• Leaving out the emirate, which is essential when street names repeat.
• Skipping the phone number, which couriers use to find the place.

Where UPCS fits

A UPCS code, shown as AE-XXXX-XXXX, identifies an exact 3 m by 3 m spot. It is not a postal code and not issued by Emirates Post, but it can help when a street address is hard to describe. See the UAE overview and the address format guide.