Dutch postal codes, known locally as postcodes, consist of four digits followed by two letters (e.g. 1012 AB). The system is administered by PostNL, the national postal operator, and was introduced in 1978 to streamline mail sorting.
The four-digit portion identifies a broad delivery area, while the two-letter suffix narrows it down to a specific street or even a short stretch of a street, making Dutch postal codes highly precise compared to many other countries. Certain letter combinations, such as SS, SA and SD, are deliberately avoided to prevent associations with sensitive historical terms.
The database currently holds a total of 4,066 postal codes for the Netherlands.
| Region | Postal codes |
|---|---|
| South Holland | 542 |
| North Brabant | 516 |
| Gelderland | 496 |
| Friesland | 475 |
| North Holland | 473 |
| Overijssel | 294 |
| Limburg | 279 |
| Drenthe | 260 |
| Groningen | 253 |
| Utrecht | 231 |
| Zeeland | 153 |
| Flevoland | 94 |