ZIP Code
ZIP codes are postal codes used by the United States Postal Service (USPS) for the efficient distribution of mail. Generally, a single local post office handles mail for an area covered by a ZIP code or a group of ZIP codes.
A regular 5-digit ZIP code is assigned to every address in the country. The first digit designates a general area, from zero for the Northeast to nine for the far West. The next two digits refer to one of the Sectional Center Facilities (SCF). The final two digits designate small post offices or postal delivery zones.
You can enter one of the following:
• SCF (3-digit). 3-digit codes (ranges of ZIP codes) refer to the first 3 digits of the regular ZIP code. For instance, SCF code 339 covers the ZIP code range of 33901 to 33999.
• ZIP Code (5-digit). It is a 5-digit number that identifies a specific geographic mail delivery area.
• ZIP+4 Code (9-digit). This refers to the 5-digit ZIP code plus a 4-digit add-on number which identifies a geographic segment within the 5-digit delivery area, such as a city block, office building, individual high-volume receiver of mail, or any other distinct mail unit. The purpose of ZIP+4 codes is to aid efficient mail sorting and delivery.
You can limit the results of your search to records containing ZIP+4 information within the territories that you specified. For more information, see Order Only Records with ZIP+4.
1 On the Geography tab, click ZIP Code.
2 In the corresponding text boxes, enter ZIP codes (3-digit, 5-digit, or 9-digit) that you want to include in the search. If you do not know them, use Lookup.
To clear the text boxes of all entries, click Clear All.
1 On the ZIP Codes page, click Look Up.
2 Specify search criteria. You can look up ZIP codes by one of the following:
• City. Select City in the drop-down list and enter a full or partial city name in the text box.
• County. Select County in the drop-down list and enter a full or partial county name or county code (FIPS) in the text box.
• SCF (Sectional Center Facility). Select SCF in the drop-down list and enter a 3-digit ZIP code in the text box.
If you want to narrow the search to a certain state, select it in the State list; otherwise, the system will look for cities, counties, or SCFs that match your entry in all states.
3 Click Search.
If you look up by SCF, the system displays ZIP codes that start with the 3-digit ZIP you have entered. If you look up by county or city, the system displays the list of counties or cities matching your criteria. Click a county or city name to view the list of ZIP codes for it.
4 Select the ZIP codes that you want to include in the search. To select all the displayed ZIP codes, click Select All check box.
5 Click Add Selected ZIPs.
You can omit ZIP codes in cases when you select a relatively extensive geographic area (such as an entire county, state or several states) and want a portion of that area to be excluded from the search. For example, you need all the cities in California minus Los Angeles. It would definitely be tedious to encode all the cities. What you can do is enter California under the State selection and, using the Omit feature, specify all the ZIP codes in Los Angeles. The system automatically excludes Los Angeles from your search.
1 On the ZIP Codes page, click Omit.
2 In the text boxes provided, enter ZIP codes (3-digit, 5-digit, or 9-digit) that you want to exclude from the search. If you do not know them, use Lookup.
To clear the text boxes of all entries, click Clear All.
If you have not made any other geographical selection and choose to omit ZIPs, the system assumes a nationwide search excluding the specified ZIP codes.