Canadian Postal Code Lookup
Enter any Canadian postal code to identify the province or territory, Forward Sortation Area (FSA), Local Delivery Unit (LDU), and whether it serves an urban or rural area. Validate postal code format instantly.
Based on Canada Post addressing standards — covers all 18 postal districts
Look Up a Postal Code
Enter a Canadian postal code (e.g., K1A 0B1, V6B 3K9, T2P 1J9)
How to Use This Tool
Enter a Postal Code
Type any Canadian postal code in the field above. You can enter it with or without a space (e.g., K1A 0B1 or K1A0B1). The tool will automatically format it.
View the Results
See the province or territory, Forward Sortation Area (FSA), Local Delivery Unit (LDU), and whether the area is urban or rural. A character-by-character breakdown explains each part.
Explore the Reference Table
Scroll down to see the complete mapping of postal code first letters to provinces and territories, along with example postal codes for each region.
How Canadian Postal Codes Work
Format: A1A 1A1 (letter-digit-letter space digit-letter-digit)A Canadian postal code is a six-character alphanumeric code in the format A1A 1A1, where “A” represents a letter and “1” represents a digit. It is divided into two segments of three characters each, separated by a space.
FSA (first 3 characters): identifies a major geographic areaLDU (last 3 characters): identifies a specific delivery pointKey rules and characteristics:
- First letter identifies one of 18 postal districts corresponding to provinces, territories, or regions within large provinces
- Second digit indicates urban (1–9) or rural (0) delivery
- Letters D, F, I, O, Q, U are never used in any position because they resemble digits or confuse optical scanning equipment
- W and Z are not used as the first character but may appear in other positions
- Large provinces use multiple letters: Ontario uses K, L, M, N, P and Quebec uses G, H, J
The postal code system was introduced by Canada Post in 1971 and reached full nationwide coverage by 1974. Today there are approximately 850,000 active postal codes in Canada.
Postal Code First Letter by Province
| First Letter | Province / Territory / Region | Abbreviation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Newfoundland and Labrador | NL | A1A 1A1 |
| B | Nova Scotia | NS | B3H 4R2 |
| C | Prince Edward Island | PE | C1A 4P3 |
| E | New Brunswick | NB | E1A 1B2 |
| G | Eastern Quebec | QC | G1R 4P5 |
| H | Metropolitan Montreal | QC | H3B 1X8 |
| J | Western Quebec | QC | J8P 2M3 |
| K | Eastern Ontario | ON | K1A 0B1 |
| L | Central Ontario | ON | L5B 3C2 |
| M | Metropolitan Toronto | ON | M5V 2T6 |
| N | Southwestern Ontario | ON | N6A 3K7 |
| P | Northern Ontario | ON | P3E 4N1 |
| R | Manitoba | MB | R3C 4A5 |
| S | Saskatchewan | SK | S4P 3Y2 |
| T | Alberta | AB | T2P 1J9 |
| V | British Columbia | BC | V6B 3K9 |
| X | Northwest Territories / Nunavut | NT/NU | X1A 2N2 |
| Y | Yukon | YT | Y1A 1C6 |
Source: Canada Post / Statistics Canada. Letters D, F, I, O, Q, U, W, and Z are not used as first characters.
Letters Not Used in Canadian Postal Codes
These 8 letters are not used as the first character of a postal code. Of these, D, F, I, O, Q, and U are never used in any position within a postal code because they could be confused with the digits 0 and 1, or with other letters, by optical character recognition (OCR) equipment used by Canada Post for automated mail sorting. W and Z are reserved for potential future expansion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Canadian postal code?
A Canadian postal code is a six-character alphanumeric code in the format A1A 1A1 (letter-digit-letter space digit-letter-digit) used by Canada Post to sort and deliver mail. It was introduced in 1971 and has been in nationwide use since 1974. Every address in Canada is assigned a postal code that identifies its geographic location down to a specific delivery point.
What is a Forward Sortation Area (FSA)?
The Forward Sortation Area (FSA) is the first three characters of a Canadian postal code (e.g., K1A). The first letter identifies the province or territory, the second digit indicates whether the area is urban (1-9) or rural (0), and the third character further narrows the geographic region. There are approximately 1,600 FSAs across Canada.
What is a Local Delivery Unit (LDU)?
The Local Delivery Unit (LDU) is the last three characters of a Canadian postal code (e.g., 0B1). In urban areas, the LDU typically identifies a specific city block, a single building, or a large-volume mail receiver. In rural areas, the LDU combined with the FSA identifies a specific rural community or delivery route.
How can I tell if a postal code is urban or rural?
The second character of a Canadian postal code indicates whether it serves an urban or rural area. If the second character is 0 (zero), the postal code is for a rural area. If it is any digit from 1 to 9, the postal code serves an urban area. For example, K0A is rural (Eastern Ontario rural area) while K1A is urban (downtown Ottawa).
Which letters are not used in Canadian postal codes?
The letters D, F, I, O, Q, and U are never used in any position of a Canadian postal code because they can be confused with digits (0, 1) or other letters during optical scanning. Additionally, the letters W and Z are not used as the first character of a postal code, though W can appear in other positions. This leaves 18 possible first letters that map to provinces, territories, and regions.
Can two provinces share the same postal code first letter?
Each first letter maps to a specific province, territory, or region. However, some provinces use multiple letters because of their size. Ontario uses K, L, M, N, and P; Quebec uses G, H, and J. Conversely, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut share the letter X, with specific FSA ranges (X0A-X0C for Nunavut, X0E-X1A for NWT) distinguishing between them.
Important Disclaimer
This tool identifies the province or territory and delivery type associated with a Canadian postal code based on its first letter, as defined by Canada Post. It does not provide street-level address lookup or confirm that a specific postal code is currently active. Postal codes can change over time as Canada Post updates delivery routes. For official postal code information, address validation, or to find a postal code for a specific address, visit the Canada Post website.