Postcodes in New Zealand consist of four digits, the first two of which specify the area, the third the type of delivery (street, PO Box, Private Bag, or Rural delivery), and the last the specific lobby, RD (rural delivery) number, or suburb. The present postcode system was introduced in New Zealand in June 2006, which, unlike the previous system, applies to all items of mail with effect from June 2008. In October 2008, New Zealand Post launched a 'remember your postcode' campaign, offering a $10,000 prize for remembering a postcode.^[1]

This replaced a previous system, introduced in 1977, in which New Zealand Post did not require individual items of mail to include the postcode in the address. Optical character recognition (OCR) enabled automated sorting machines to scan entire addresses, rather than just postcodes, as was the case with older machines. This was very similar to the case in Ireland.^[2] OCR technology was introduced in 1992; when the first of seven OCR machines were installed in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch Mail Centres, most mail was sorted manually.^[3]

There are 1,856 postcodes, each of which may serve up to 10,000 individual locations. Postcodes are generally allocated north to south.

In cities and large towns, the last two digits indicate one of the four modes of delivery, as illustrated by addresses in Palmerston North:

• Street address, in which mail is delivered directly to homes by the 'postie';

43 Vogel Street

Roslyn

Palmerston North 4414

• PO Box address, in which mail is delivered to a private box, usually at a Post Shop (formerly Post Office), for collection;

PO Box 400

Palmerston North Central

Palmerston North 4440

• Private Bag, in which a private mail bag is delivered to an organisation such as a large company or a government department

Private Bag 11222

Manawatu Mail Centre

Palmerston North 4442

• Rural Delivery, used in rural areas for home deliveries.

Railway Road

RD 10

Palmerston North 4470

Although postcodes were first introduced in New Zealand in 1977,^[4] these were used entirely for pre-sorting large volumes of mail in bulk,^[5][6] similar to the Mailsort system used by Royal Mail in the United Kingdom. Consequently, postcodes were not usually seen in addresses:

New Zealand Post

Private Bag 39990

Wellington Mail Centre

Lower Hutt

Under the old system, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were divided into postal zones, which were incorporated into the postcode system for use in bulk mailings. For example, for the former Wellington 4:

Flat 2

173 Park Road

Johnsonville

Wellington 6004

In cities and large towns, the last two digits indicated the mode of delivery, as illustrated by addresses in Palmerston North:

Street address:

43 Vogel Street

Palmerston North 5301

Post Office Box address:

P O Box 4000

Palmerston North 5315

Private Bag address

Private Bag 11222

Palmerston North 5320

Rural Delivery address

Railway Road

R D 10

Palmerston North 5321

NB: Prior to the changeover, New Zealand Post also required that a space be inserted between the letters 'P' and 'O' in 'PO Box' or 'R' and 'D' in 'RD'.^{[citation needed]}

New Zealand Post recognises Māori names for cities and towns in New Zealand; for example, the Māori Language Commission's address is:

Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori

Pouaka Poutāpeta 411

Te Whanganui a Tara 6140

In English, this translates as:

Māori Language Commission

PO Box 411

Wellington 6140

In spite of the considerable difference between the two languages, there was no need to add the postcode under the old system, which in this case would have been 6015.

Mail to members of the New Zealand Parliament is delivered free of charge for individuals (organisations must pay regular rates). The cost is deducted from the Member's budget.

Rt Hon Christopher Luxon

Prime Minister

Private Bag 18888

Parliament Buildings

Wellington 6160

Other Freepost mail includes a unique number as well as the PO Box or Private Bag number:

Freepost 112002

CARM

PO Box 913

Dunedin 9054

Until recently NZ Post has had the majority of influence on Private Box rentals. But now DX Mail and Private Box provide an alternative solution for people who need a remote box address. Along with the new competitors in the marketplace NZ Post may find it difficult to keep up with the new addressing system, which is why they have set a standard for addressing mail.

• Postal codes in Australia - the Australian equivalent
• Postal codes in Canada - the Canadian equivalent
• Postcodes in the United Kingdom - the United Kingdom equivalent
• ZIP code - the United States equivalent