ZIP codes, Postal Codes and Telephone Numbers in the Philippines

ZIP codes, Postal Codes and Telephone Numbers in the Philippines. In the Philippines, a ZIP code is used by the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhlPost) to simplify the distribution of mail. While its function similar with the ZIP Codes used in the United States, its form and usage are quite different. Its use is not mandatory but highly recommended by the PhlPost. A ZIP code is composed of a four-digit number representing a locality. Usually, more than one code is issued for areas within Metro Manila, and a single code for each municipality and city in provincial areas, with some rare exceptions such as Dasmariñas in Cavite, which has three ZIP codes (4114, 4115, and 4126), Los Baños in Laguna, which has two ZIP codes (4030 and 4031 for the University of the Philippines Los Baños), and Angeles City, which has two ZIP codes (2009 and 2024 for Barangay Balibago)

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Postal addresses in the Philippines

Postal addresses in the Philippines are similar in format to those in many other parts of the world. They are especially used to locate areas in the Philippines.

Address elements

Philippine addresses always contain the name of the sender, the building number and thoroughfare, the barangay where the building is located, the city or municipality where the barangay is located and, in most cases, the province where the city or municipality is located. In the case of Metro Manila, however, provinces are omitted and, in the case of Manila, include the district name instead of the barangay. ZIP codes are also part of the typical Philippine address.

Metro Manila address formats

For locations within Metro Manila, addresses are written as follows according to the recommended Philpost formats (address formats for Manila are on top while address formats for the rest of Metro Manila are on the bottom):

P.O. boxes

Mr. Juan dela CruzP.O. Box 1201, Manila Central Post Office1050 ManilaMr. Juan C. MasipagP.O. Box 1121, Araneta Center Post Office1135 Quezon City, Metro Manila

Direct delivery

Miss Teresita C. Metrillo7114 Kundiman Street, Sampaloc1008 ManilaMiss Auria M. Francisco75 P. Domingo Street, Carmona, Makati City1207 Metro Manila

Provincial address formats

Provincial address formats do not deviate from typical Metro Manila address formats, but they do vary slightly, as shown in the following Philpost-recommended address formats:

P.O. boxes

Ms. Perlita A. SanchezP.O. Box 1000, Gasan Post Office4905 Gasan, Marinduque

Direct delivery

Mr. Samuel H. Magtanggol95 Hermogenes Street, Sofia SubdivisionDel Pilar, San Fernando City2000 Pampanga

Postal codes’ necessity

PhilPost recommends the use of postal codes in the country and correct addressing. However, most residents do not use, let alone know how to use ZIP codes, and thus the codes are usually omitted. According to PhilPost, the proper use of ZIP codes assists in letter sorting and reduces letter misrouting

Telephone numbers in the Philippines

Telephone numbers in the Philippines follow an open telephone numbering plan and an open dial plan. Both plans are regulated by the National Telecommunications Commission, an attached agency under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

The Philippines is assigned an international dialing code of +63 by ITU-T. Telephone numbers are fixed at eight digits for area code 02, and seven digits for area codes from 03X to 09X, with area codes fixed at one, two, or three digits (a six-digit system was used until the mid-1990s; four to five digits were used in the countryside). Mobile phone numbers are always 10 digits (three digits for the service provider, plus a seven-digit number).

When making long-distance calls in the Philippines, the prefix 0 for domestic calls and 00 for international calls are used.

Fixed-line area codes

Philippine area codes for fixed-line or landline telephones are fixed at two digits, excluding Metro Manila, the province of Rizal and the cities of Bacoor in Cavite and San Pedro in Laguna, which use the area code 2. Some smaller carriers concentrated within a specific geographic area may issue four- or five-digit area codes, but these are being phased out in favor of the standard two-digit area codes.

Occasionally, a particular area may change area codes. For example, the City of Bacoor in Cavite has been included in the geographical coverage area of area code 2 per the National Telecommunications Commission’s Memorandum Order No. 08-09-2011, although almost all fixed-lines in the city still use the old 46 area code due to the poor compliance of PLDT and Globe to the said memorandum order. PLDT’s response to the memorandum order is the release of its “Call All Manila SIM”, an exclusive wireless landline service for Bacoor residents, however, the Barangay Molino VII (Sitio Gawaran) and Sitio Malipay in Molino IV now use area code 2.

Sometimes area codes are shared by several local government entities to maximize their use. Some area codes are shared by multiple provinces, as is the case for former sub-provinces like Guimaras and Iloilo; newly carved provinces like Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur; or provinces with small populations like Marinduque and Quezon. In extreme cases, area codes are shared across an island like in Leyte and Samar, or even entire regions, such as with the Cordillera Administrative Region. To identify the call’s point of origin, the three-digit telephone exchange prefix is checked.

Since the Philippines employs an open dial plan, telephone numbers dialed within a given area code do not require the area code, excluding calls made from mobile phones or payphones. When dialing other area codes, the domestic long-distance access prefix 0 is added, but when dialing from overseas, the domestic prefix is not included. As such, a typical telephone number in Metro Manila and Rizal would look like this:

Within Metro Manila, Rizal, and cities of Bacoor and San Pedro: 8123-4567
Outside Metro Manila, Rizal, and cities of Bacoor and San Pedro: 02-8123-4567
Overseas calls: +63-2-8123-4567

Since October 6, 2019, all telephone numbers under area 2 had been migrated to eight digits as mandated by the National Telecommunications Commission per Memorandum Order No. 10-10-2017 to address the insufficient number of assignable local exchange codes.

The maintenance for the migration from the usual 7-digit number (XXX-YYYY) to 8-digit (PXXX-YYYY) is from 12:00 AM to 5:00 AM.

It lasted five hours of disconnection on telephones and it will also affect subscription-based virtual telephone numbers (i.e. Globe Duo), SIM card-based Telephone Service (i.e. PLDT Landline Plus Prepaid), #MyNumber (The format is #XXXXX, i.e. #87000 for Jollibee Delivery), FEX Lines, SIP Trunks, ISDN and Vanity Numbers, Including virtual numbers like short-digit numbers (i.e. *1888, which is the PLDT Telephone Support, and 211, which is the Talk2Globe or the Globe Prepaid Help and Support), Toll Free (domestic, international and universal, i.e. 1-800-1-123-4567, in dialing, 00-800-1-123-4567) and Premium numbers such as embassy hotline and 1900 service hotline.

Since October 6, 2019, 5:00 AM, the following telephone number format to be followed:

PXXX-YYYY where P is for Public Telecommunication Entity, and the XXX-YYYY is the telephone number.

NTC has assigned the following Public Telecommunications Entity (PTE) identifiers:

3XXX–YYYY: Bayan Telecommunications
5XXX–YYYY: Eastern Communications Philippines
6XXX–YYYY: ABS-CBN Convergence
7XXX–YYYY: Globe Telecom
8XXX–YYYY: PLDT

Areas are grouped into seven broad areas determining the first digit of a given area code. These areas and their accompanying area codes are listed below: