ZIP Code -- The Last Word in Mail Addressing

On November 28, 1962, Postmaster General J. Edward Day announced plans for a new system of mail sorting and distribution called ZIP Code, to be initiated throughout the nation by the Post Office Department on July 1, 1963.

ZIP Code is a five-digit code designed to speed mail deliveries by cutting down on the steps to move a letter from sender to addressee. In less populated areas, the first three digits of the code identify the main focal points of air, highway and rail transportation, and the last two digits identify the post office or delivery station. In the Postal Service, these focal points of transportation are called Sectional Centers. In cities that have local postal zones, the first three digits of ZIP Code identify the city and the last two digits designate the local zone number.

The original concept of ZIP Code -- as envisioned and announced then by Mr. Day -- was a program to be utilized primarily by large volume mailers -- a system with which "Aunt Minnie" need not concern herself, except to the extent of using the ZIP Code for her own delivery area in her own return address.

However, this concept was extended and improved by a series of circumstances, namely: (1) The warm reception accorded the introduction of ZIP Code, not only by large volume mailers, but by the public generally; (2) a first hand, on-the-spot examination of the West German coding system made by the Postmaster General in mid-May; (3) the determination by Departmental technicians that all mail -- business and personal -- could be handled with greater speed and increased efficiency with widespread use of ZIP Code.

Initial and follow-up publicity on the proposed ZIP Code program precipitated a rash of requests -- from individuals as well as business firms -- for additional information and for immediate assignment of ZIP Codes. Public acceptance of the program, as indicated by incoming correspondence and by the press, far surpassed expectation.

The Postmaster General found this to be true also in West Germany where the West German postal system has attained 80 per cent public participation in that country's coded mail program, aiding materially in increasing efficiency of mail handling and cutting costs.

Studies by U.S. Postal authorities indicate that ZIP Code, for the first time, will permit the Post Office Department to short-cut repeated address reading, a necessary chore that has slowed the process of mail dispatch and added to the opportunity for human error. The address on mail deposited by the average individual mailer must often be read by as many as eight or ten postal employees to get it to the proper one of our tens of millions of homes and offices. Each reading consumes valuable time in transit, and adds one more opportunity for error -- particularly so when the address on the letter is poorly written. With ZIP Code, a clerk needs only t glance at the code to know immediately to what national area, state and post office the letter is destined, and to speed it on its way.

Large volume mailers will still be the principal immediate users of ZIP Code, though far from the exclusive users. The coding system is designed to utilize immediately the billions of dollars worth of electronic data processing equipment belonging to private business firms.

The large mailer will arrange his mailing lists in sequence, using the code. His automatic data processing equipment (ADP) will sort his mail by the code to its destination point. It will be bundled and pouched on this basis and delivered to the originating post office.

In many cases, it will go directly from the post office of origin to train, air or truck terminals for immediate dispatch in bulk by the most direct route to the Sectional Center or post office of destination, bypassing as many as six mail handling steps and cutting as much as 24 hours of the time required to process letters, ZIP Code helps the Department contain costs, and operate the postal system with increased efficiency, thus greatly reducing the likelihood of additional rate increases within the coming few years.

By cutting down on the time clerks must spend reading addresses, ZIP Code frees them to devote more time to moving peak-volume mail, with the result that more mail can be handled with greater accuracy and speed in dispatch and delivery.

Widespread use of ZIP Code now will also pave the way for a smooth transition to optical scanning equipment, when this equipment is developed to an extent warranting installation in U.S. Post Offices -- probably within the next few years. Optical scanners, when operational, will detect mail designation by scanning ZIP Code numerals, and will enable electronic sorting at a much faster rate than is now feasible.

ZIP Code is literally and figuratively the last word in addressing. The code, properly used, should follow the city and state in return and destination addresses.

And when it is fully operational, ZIP Code will provide the United States with the most modern system of mail distribution and delivery in existence.

ZIP Code is a five digit distribution code designed to speed mail deliveries by cutting down on the steps now required to move a letter from sender to addressee. It will increase the utilization of electronic data processing equipment now used by publishers, direct mail advertisers, banks, insurance companies, and other large volume mailers in presorting mail. The code will also aid materially in the manual distribution of mail and will pave the way for mechanized distribution in post offices when suitable equipment is available, probably within the next few years.

Five digit codes are now being assigned to mail processing and delivery units throughout the country. In less populated areas, the first three digits of the ZIP Code will identify the main focal points of air, highway and rail transportation, and the last two digits will identify the post office or delivery station. In the Postal Service, these focal points of transportation are called Sectional Centers. I cities that have local postal zones, the first three digits of ZIP Code will identify the area, state and city and the last two digits will designate the local zone number.

No. The code identifies delivery areas -- not mail patrons--just as local zone numbers have done for more than 20 years. As many as 5,000 homes and offices are included in some ZIP Code areas.

Suppose you live in the 3300 block of North Dinwiddie Street in Arlington, Virginia. Your present address is in Zone 7. Your ZIP Code will be 22207. The first numeral--2--designates one of ten national service areas, consisting in this case of the states of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and the District of Columbia. The second digit--2--identifies the service area subdivision or, in this case, Northern Virginia. The third digit--2--identifies the Arlington post office. And the last two digits--07--identify the station from which the mail to that address is delivered.

The individual mail user benefits. The large volume mailer benefits. And the Post Office Department benefits.

6. How does the individual mail patron benefit--the housewife, or the small businessman?

The new coding plan, for the first time, will permit the Post Office Department to short-cut repeated address reading. The address on mail which has no presorting by the mailer must often be read as many as eight or ten times by postal employees to get it to the proper one of our tens of millions of homes and offices. Each handling slows the process of mail dispatch and adds to the opportunity for human error. With ZIP Code, a clerk needs only to glance at the code to know immediately to what national area, state and post office the letter is destined, and to speed it on its way.

ZIP Code is designed to utilize immediately the billions of dollars worth of electronic data processing equipment belonging to private business firms. The large mailer will arrange his mailing lists in sequence, using the code. His automatic data processing equipment will sort his mail by the code to its destination point. It will be bundled and pouched on this basis and delivered to the originating post office. In many cases, it will go directly from the post office of origin to train, air or truck terminals for immediate dispatch by the most direct route to the Sectional Center or post office of destination, bypassing as many as six mail handling steps and cutting as much as 24 hours off the time between deposit and delivery. If the large volume mailer presorts a nationwide heavy density mailing, sorting on all five digits would be practical. If the mailing is nationwide, but of lighter density, it may be feasible to sort only on the first three digits, which would separate the mail to large cities and the residue to sectional centers. If the mailing is of a local nature, rather than nationwide, sorting on the last three digits would separate the mail to delivery offices and stations.

By reducing the number of steps required in mail handling, and by cutting the time required to process letters, ZIP Code helps the Department contain costs, and operate the postal system with increased efficiency. Thus, the likelihood of additional rate increases within the coming few years is greatly reduced. By cutting down on the time each clerk must spend reading addresses, ZIP Code frees them to devote more time to moving peak-volume mail, with the result that more mail is handled expeditiously, with greater accuracy in dispatch and delivery, and with less cost to the Department. Widespread use of ZIP Code now will also pave the way for a smooth transition to optical scanning equipment, which will detect mail destinations by scanning ZIP Code numbers, when this equipment is developed to an extent warranting installation in U.S. Post Offices -- probably within the next few years.

ZIP Code is -- literally and figuratively -- the last word in addresses. It should follow the city and state in your own address and the city and state in the destination address. For example, again, if your are a resident of the 3300 block of North Dinwiddie Street, in Arlington, Virginia, and you are writing to the Postmaster General in Washington, D.C., your envelope should look like this:

10. Does this mean that I am expected to remember five-digit numbers for all the persons with whom I correspond -- the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, and all my personal friends?

No. But it is very important that you learn the ZIP Code for your own delivery area, and that you use it in your return address on all your correspondence. It is also important that, in answering mail from your butcher, your baker, your candlestick maker, and your personal friends, you use the ZIP Code which they have included as a part of their return address. By doing so, you will be assuring faster dispatch and delivery of your correspondence. You might find it convenient to note in your address book or phone book the ZIP Codes for addresses with which you regularly correspond.

All ZIP Codes, for all delivery areas, will have been made public by July 1. In the event you failed to jot yours down, you may get the code by asking your letter carrier or your local post office. Carriers throughout the nation, as of July 1, will be distributing personal cards which briefly explain ZIP Code and contain ZIP Code numerals for their respective delivery areas. These cards are designed so that the ZIP Code for your delivery area may be clipped and saved for future reference. For large volume mailers, ZIP Code directories are available on a continuing basis as of July 1, listing Sectional Center and Post Office Zip Codes for given areas of the nation. In ordering printed stationery for use after July 1, 1963, ZIP Codes should be obtained from the local postmaster and included in letterheads and envelopes as part of the return address, to permit speedier replies to your correspondence.

12. Suppose I am a large volume mailer, with monthly mailings running into the millions, and I have ADP (Automatic Data Processing) equipment, How do I make the transition to ZIP Code without running into prohibitive cost?

The Post Office Department will provide you with either a magnetic tape or a deck of punched cards -- depending upon the type of electronic equipment you have -- containing a master file of ZIP Codes for all delivery points in the nation. We will also make available to you a generalized computer program adaptable to your ADP equipment. This will enable you to feed the master file into your computer, which will match addresses with appropriate ZIP Codes.

13. But suppose I have no computer -- suppose I have a fairly large volume of mail, but use Addressograph equipment rather than ADP to address my mail.

In that case, the Department will provide you with a master file of ZIP Codes so that when you set up a new file, or update your old file, you can have the ZIP Codes stamped into your new plates.

If you are equipped with ADP or Addressograph machinery, you should notify your local postmaster, who will pass the information on to the proper channel in the Post Office department. A representative of the Department will call on your firm and work with your representative to devise the most efficient, practical and mutually advantageous transition to ZIP Code. The Departmental representative will see that you are provided with the master file.

These three-digit numbers are the ZIP Code prefixes for the entire country.
ZIP Code equals these three digit prefixes, plus local zone or post office numbers.
The Zoned Cities are listed in capital letters for easy reference. Present local zone numbers provide the final two digits of the ZIP Code for these Zoned Cities.
The Sectional Centers are listed in lower case letters. Each will provide the prefix for an average of 77 smaller outlying offices which it serves. Where more than one Sectional Center prefix is associated with a city name, prefixes will be assigned to the individual local offices on alphabetical, geographical, or local criteria.
The final two ZIP Code digits for local offices served by each Sectional Center will be announced shortly.
Where post offices are served by a Sectional Center in an adjoining state, they are noted in the State headings thusly: ALABAMA (See Miss.)
Only six cities in the United States are exceptions. Frankfort, Ky., Boulder, Colo.; Jefferson City, Mo.; and Carson City, Nev. have individual three-digit prefixes, though they are not now zoned, not are the Sectional Centers. This is to provide for future city zoning in these four cities. Waterbury, Connecticut and Stockton, California are presently zoned, but will use a Sectional Center prefix rather than a zoned city prefix, due to the highly concentrated residential areas these cities serve.