What is a PIN code? India's 6-digit postal code, explained
A PIN code (Postal Index Number) is the 6-digit code India Post uses to sort and deliver mail. India has 19,586 PIN codes served by 1,65,625 post offices, according to India Post's directory (list dated 3 Oct 2025).
The short answer
Each PIN code stands for one delivery area: a part of a city, a town, or a group of villages. Mail is sorted step by step using the digits: the first digit picks one of nine zones, the first two the postal circle (usually a state), the first three the sorting district, and the last three the post office that delivers it.
The system was introduced by India Post on 15 August 1972. It was devised by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, then an additional secretary in the Ministry of Communications, to stop mail going astray between places with the same or similar names.
What each digit means
Take 500032 (Gachibowli, Hyderabad) as an example:
- 5: the zone. Zone 5 covers Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
- 50: the postal circle, here the Telangana Circle.
- 500: the sorting district, the mail office that sorts letters for Hyderabad and nearby areas.
- 032: the delivery post office within that sorting district.
Every PIN page on this site breaks its own digits down the same way, for example 500032 or 110001 (New Delhi).
The nine PIN zones
Eight zones are geographical; the ninth is for the Army Postal Service.
| First digit | Zone | States and territories (by number of post offices) | PIN codes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northern | Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Ladakh | 1,646 |
| 2 | Northern | Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand | 1,972 |
| 3 | Western | Rajasthan, Gujarat | 2,041 |
| 4 | Western | Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa | 2,784 |
| 5 | Southern | Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana | 3,313 |
| 6 | Southern | Tamil Nadu, Kerala | 3,512 |
| 7 | Eastern | Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and others | 3,042 |
| 8 | Eastern | Bihar, Jharkhand | 1,274 |
| 9 | Army Postal Service | Army and defence post offices | 2 |
PIN code, ZIP code and DIGIPIN
ZIP code is the United States' name for its postal code (5 digits). Many websites and forms say "ZIP code" when they mean "postcode"; in India the answer is your 6-digit PIN code.
DIGIPIN is India Post's newer 10-character code for an exact spot about 4 metres across, worked out from latitude and longitude. A PIN code covers a whole delivery area; a DIGIPIN pins down one door. Find your DIGIPIN.
How many PIN codes and post offices does India have?
India Post's All India Pincode Directory (list dated 3 Oct 2025) has 1,65,625 post offices sharing 19,586 PIN codes across 36 states and union territories and 745 postal districts. 811 are head offices, 24,546 sub offices and 1,40,268 branch offices. See the full statistics.
Questions
What is the full form of PIN code?
Postal Index Number. It is the 6-digit postal code used by India Post.
When was the PIN code introduced in India?
On 15 August 1972, by India Post (the Department of Posts).
How many PIN codes are there in India?
19,586, served by 1,65,625 post offices (India Post directory, list dated 3 Oct 2025).
What does the first digit of a PIN code mean?
The zone: 1-8 are geographical zones (for example 5 for Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka); 9 is the Army Postal Service.
Is a PIN code the same as a ZIP code?
It does the same job. ZIP code is the American name; India's postal code is the 6-digit PIN code.
More guides
- PIN code zones and postal circles of IndiaEvery PIN code zone and postal circle in India by the first two digits, with the states each covers and how many PIN codes and post offices it has.
- Sorting districts: every 3-digit PIN prefix in IndiaAll 405 three-digit PIN code prefixes (sorting districts) in India, with the districts and state each covers and its number of PIN codes.
- Head office, sub office and branch office: the types of post officeThe difference between head, sub and branch post offices and delivery offices in India, with counts for every state from India Post's directory.
- India PIN code statisticsIndia has 19,586 PIN codes and 1,65,625 post offices. Which states and districts have the most, and other numbers from India Post's list.
- How to find the PIN code of your location or addressFive ways to find a PIN code in India: from your location, by area name, from a bill, on India Post's site or at a post office, with tested accuracy.
- How to write an address in IndiaThe right way to write an Indian postal address: name, house, street, area, city, state and the 6-digit PIN code, with city and village examples.