Indian pincode format explained — what each digit means (with examples)

Quick answer: an Indian Postal Index Number (PIN) is 6 digits. Each digit narrows the location: 1st digit = postal region (1-9 representing North/East/West/South/APS), 2nd digit = sub-region within the region, 3rd digit = sorting district, last 3 digits = specific delivery post office. So 110001 means: 1 = North, 1 = Delhi, 0 = New Delhi sorting, 001 = Connaught Place.

The system has been in use since 15 August 1972, when it was introduced to handle India's growing postal volume. There are about 19,000 unique pincodes and 155,000 post offices in active service today.

How the 6 digits decompose

1st digit — postal region

India is divided into 9 postal regions, identified by the first digit of the PIN:

1st digit	Region	States covered
1	Northern	Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Chandigarh
2	Northern	Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
3	Western	Rajasthan, Gujarat, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli
4	Western	Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa
5	Southern	Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana
6	Southern	Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Lakshadweep
7	Eastern	West Bengal, Odisha, Northeast (excl Sikkim), A&N Islands
8	Eastern	Bihar, Jharkhand
9	Army Postal Service (APS)	Defence personnel, regardless of physical location

So a pincode starting with 5 is in South India (AP/Karnataka/Telangana), and one starting with 9 is for armed forces personnel anywhere in the world.

2nd digit — sub-region

The 2nd digit further narrows down within the region. Examples:

Pincode prefix	Region
11	Delhi NCR
12	Haryana
13	Punjab
14	Punjab + Chandigarh
15	Punjab
16	Chandigarh + Haryana
17	Himachal Pradesh
18	J&K
19	J&K
20-28	Uttar Pradesh
24-25	Uttar Pradesh
26-28	Uttarakhand + UP
30-34	Rajasthan
36-39	Gujarat
40-44	Maharashtra
45-48	Madhya Pradesh + Chhattisgarh
49	Chhattisgarh + Goa
50	Telangana (Hyderabad)
51-53	Andhra Pradesh
56-59	Karnataka (Bengaluru = 560xxx)
60-64	Tamil Nadu (Chennai = 600xxx)
67-69	Kerala
70-74	West Bengal (Kolkata = 700xxx)
75-77	Odisha
78	Assam
79	Northeast (Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal, Mizoram)
80-85	Bihar
81-83	Jharkhand + Bihar

3rd digit — sorting district

This identifies which sorting district within the sub-region the mail is routed through. Sorting districts roughly map to revenue districts but not always — some sorting districts cover 2-3 revenue districts; some big cities have multiple sorting districts.

Last 3 digits — specific post office

The last 3 digits identify the actual delivery post office. There are about 1,000 unique pincodes per sub-region (3 digits = 000-999, with reserved ranges for HOs and SOs).

Real examples decoded

110001 — Connaught Place, New Delhi

• 1 = North India
• 11 = Delhi
• 110 = New Delhi sorting district
• 001 = Connaught Place HO (Head Office)

400001 — Fort, Mumbai

• 4 = Western India
• 40 = Maharashtra
• 400 = Mumbai sorting district
• 001 = Fort HO

560001 — Bangalore GPO

• 5 = South India
• 56 = Karnataka
• 560 = Bengaluru
• 001 = General Post Office (GPO)

682001 — Cochin (Ernakulam)

• 6 = South India
• 68 = Kerala
• 682 = Ernakulam
• 001 = Ernakulam HO

620001 — Trichy (Tiruchirappalli) HO

• 6 = South India
• 62 = Tamil Nadu
• 620 = Trichy
• 001 = Trichy HO

Branch types under a pincode

A single pincode can cover multiple post offices. They come in three types:

• Head Office (HO) — main post office of a city or town, handles all postal operations including international mail
• Sub Office (SO) — handles a neighbourhood or block under an HO; can issue stamps, accept mail, do speed post
• Branch Office (BO) — smallest unit, often in a single village or panchayat; limited services

A typical pincode might have 1 HO + 5-10 SOs + 30-50 BOs, all with the same 6 digits but different specific names.

Special pincode patterns

Some pincode patterns are reserved for specific purposes:

• Ending in 000 — usually a generic regional pincode (e.g. 700000 = Kolkata GPO catchment)
• Ending in 001 — typically the head post office of the area
• Starting with 90, 91, 92 — Army Postal Service for personnel in different commands
• Pincodes for islands — Andamans (744xxx), Lakshadweep (682555 specifically)

Use the pincode lookup

The Indian Pincode Lookup accepts any 6-digit pincode and returns every post office under it — with branch type, district, state, division and region. Useful for online forms, courier addresses, government applications, or just understanding which post office serves your address.

FAQ

Q. Can a single locality have two pincodes? A. Yes — large neighbourhoods or industrial areas often span multiple pincodes. South Delhi has dozens; Bandra in Mumbai has 3 (400050 for Bandra West, 400051 for Bandra East, 400055 for Bandra-Kurla Complex).

Q. Does pincode determine delivery time? A. Indirectly. Pincodes in metro HOs get next-day delivery from most parts of India via Speed Post. Rural BOs may take 2-4 days even from a nearby city. Couriers like Blue Dart and DTDC use pincode prefixes to estimate delivery times.

Q. What's the difference between pincode and zip code? A. Same concept, different countries. India uses PIN (Postal Index Number, 6 digits). USA uses ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan, 5 digits + optional 4). UK uses postcodes (alphanumeric). The function — routing mail by location — is the same.

Q. Are pincodes case-sensitive? A. They're numeric, so no case. Always 6 digits, never starting with 0 (so the smallest valid pincode is 100001 in Northern India).

Q. Has the pincode system changed since 1972? A. The core 6-digit structure is unchanged. New pincodes have been added as new towns and regions developed. The actual digit assignments have remained surprisingly stable for over 50 years — making them one of the more enduring administrative systems in independent India.