The use of the country codes in conjunction with postal codes started as a recommendation from CEPT (
European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations) in the 1960s. In the original CEPT recommendation the
distinguishing signs of motor vehicles in international traffic ("car codes") were placed before the postal code, and separated from it by a "-" (dash). Codes were only used on international mail and were hardly ever used internally in each country. Since the late 1980s, however, a number of postal administrations have changed the recommended codes to the two-letter country codes of
ISO 3166. This would allow a universal, standardized code set to be used, and bring it in line with country codes used elsewhere in the UPU (
Universal Postal Union). Attempts were also made (without success) to make this part of the official address guidelines of the UPU. Recently introduced postal code systems where the UPU has been involved have included the
ISO 3166 country code as an integral part of the postal code. At present there are no universal guidelines as to which code set to use, and recommendations vary from country to country. In some cases, the applied country code will differ according to recommendations of the sender's postal administration. UPU recommends that the country name always be included as the last line of the address. In the list above, the following principles have been applied: • Integral country codes have been included in the code format, in bold type and without brackets. These are also used on internal mail in the respective countries. • The
ISO 3166 codes is used alone for countries that have explicitly recommended them. • Where there is no explicit recommendation for
ISO 3166 codes and the codes differ, both "car codes" and
ISO 3166 codes are listed, with the "car code" listed first. In some countries, such as Zimbabwe and Zambia, a system is being planned. 1 10 and 11 used to be used as postal codes for Harare, Zimbabwe but a four-digit code system such as 2401 for Zimbabwe, 2402 for Epworth and "Overspill Road," as well as the suburb of "Zinnia Close and Gardenia Close" are given the provisional postal code of 2401. 2501 is the planned postal code for Bulawayo and 2423 for Victoria Falls. ==See also==