Tag:boundary=postal_code
 boundary = postal_code
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| Description |
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A postal code boundary 
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| Group: boundaries |
| Used on these elements |
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| Useful combination |
| See also |
| Status: de facto |
| Tools for this tag |
A postcode boundary is a formally defined boundary within which every address bears the same postcode according to the national addressing scheme.
How to map
Add these tags to a relation:
type=boundaryboundary=postal_codepostal_code=*
Regional considerations
This tag should not be used in countries where a postal code does not represent a precise, intuitive area. It also may not be verifiable in many countries.
Postal code boundaries are widely mapped in Austria, Belgium, and Germany.
Australia
In Australia, postal codes correspond well enough to administrative areas that boundary=administrative relations are tagged with postal_code=*. The local community does not maintain distinct postal code boundaries and generally does not tag addr:postcode=* on individual features as part of their addresses. [1]
United States
In the United States, ZIP Codes are only tagged on individual features as part of their addresses but are not modeled as area features.
ZIP Codes are boundaries, and the United States Postal Service offers an official boundary dataset at a premium. However, a given ZIP Code is essentially a United States Post Office's delivery service area, rarely conforming to any kind of jurisdictional boundary. Broadly speaking, OSM does not map delivery service areas, whether for letters or pizza.
Use addr:postcode=* to indicate the ZIP Code of an individual feature as part of its address. Use postal_code=* on a United States Post Office location to indicate the ZIP Codes that it serves. In areas with strong address coverage, a Voronoi diagram of elements tagged with addr:postcode=* can approximate ZIP Code boundaries, similar to the U.S. Census Bureau's ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, with similar caveats.
Software support
- flosm has a post code boundary layer.
- OSM Inspector renders postal code boundaries.