The Portuguese postal code (código postal) is formed by four digits, a hyphen, then three digits, followed by a postal location of up to 25 characters in capitals. This location is the name of the town, sometimes followed by a three-letter abbreviation of the municipality (e.g. 4455-111 Paradela VNB)
Postal codes are given at the building block level and also to designated addresses with high volumes of mail.
The first digit designates one of nine postal regions; the following two digits designate postal distribution centers; the fourth digit is 0 if it belongs to a capital of municipality, 5 if not, or any other digit if it is a designated address; the last three digits sort building blocks and designated addresses. The more important the city, the more rounded is the number formed by the first four digits.
Prior to 1976, only Lisbon had used a system, of six zones (Lisboa 1 to Lisboa 6). In 1976, a national postal code system was introduced, with a four-digit structure, and designated addresses added "CODEX" (abbreviation of código extraordinário) to the postal location (example: 2001 SANTARÉM CODEX). In 1994, three extra digits were introduced and the "codex" expression was dropped.
Postal regions (first digit of postal code):[1]
Note that, although the regions' names are connected the (extinct) 1936 provinces of Portugal, their limits (with the exception of Algarve) are not exactly the same.
People can also search for postal codes at the CTT Correios website.
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