What does it do?
The Address and Postcode Finder helps you find the correct postcode and correct presentation format for New Zealand postal addresses.
What is a postal address?
A postal address is a special type of address that identifies where New Zealand Post should deliver a postal item to.
It includes several important and standardised pieces of information that are used to sort and deliver the mail efficiently and accurately.
What is a postcode?
The postcode is an integral and important part of the postal address that improves the efficiency and accuracy of mail sorting, so the mail gets delivered faster.
Postal address standards
Addressing mail with the correct postal address and format increases the efficiency and accuracy of delivery and reduces handling and redelivery by New Zealand Post, which means better service to all our customers.
There are three different types of addresses: street addresses, rural addresses and PO Box addresses. There are different rules for each type of address. Have a look at our Quick Guide to Addressing (.pdf - 134KB) for the correct way to present or format the postal address, whether handwritten, typed or printed.
Standardised names
Because the postal address includes standardised information to help sort and deliver the mail, it may be different from the address you might normally use or think it should be.
Street name
Where the postal address includes a street name, the standardised street name is the official name of the street as determined by the relevant local authority.
Suburb name
The standardised suburb name is either the official name defined by the Council or, where Council doesn’t define suburbs, the most commonly used name. New Zealand Post has worked closely with the NZ Fire Service, Quotable Value and other government agencies to develop a common use definition of suburbs in urban areas where councils have not defined these.
Town or city name
For addresses in towns and cities the postal address uses the official town or city name as defined by the Council. New Zealand Post has worked closely with the NZ Fire Service, Quotable Value and other government agencies to develop a common use definition of town in other areas. For rural delivery postal addresses, the standardised town name (Mail Town) is the name of the town from which the Rural Delivery service operates. It is not necessarily the town nearest the location of the address.
Country name
When used, this line contains only the country name and has to be in upper case when printed on an envelope. It’s not used for mail being sent within New Zealand but is mandatory for mail sent to New Zealand addresses from other countries.