In December 2016, Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications rolled out a new system for postal codes in Peru.
Previously, postal codes (zip codes/postcodes) were only used in Lima and the wider Lima Metropolitan Area. Now, postal codes exist for the entire country, with a total of 2,670 postal codes in 210 “postal zones” across the nation’s 25 administrative regions.
How to Find Postal Codes in Peru
Postal codes in Peru consist of five numbers. The first two numbers represent the administrative region. They are as follows:
- 01 Amazonas
- 02 Ancash
- 03 Apurímac
- 04 Arequipa
- 05 Ayacucho
- 06 Cajamarca
- 07 Callao
- 08 Cusco
- 09 Huancavelica
- 10 Huánuco
- 11 Ica
- 12 Junín
- 13 La Libertad
- 14 Lambayeque
- 15 Lima (see more about Lima below)
- 16 Loreto
- 17 Madre de Dios
- 18 Moquegua
- 19 Pasco
- 20 Piura
- 21 Puno
- 22 San Martín
- 23 Tacna
- 24 Tumbes
- 25 Ucayali
Using the Peru Postal Code Finder
Finding the next three numbers is more complicated. Thankfully, the Peruvian government has created a reasonably useful website for tracking down the postal code for any particular area:
Once at the website, you can begin your search by clicking on “Consulta el Código Postal Nacional Aquí” (or go straight there by clicking this link).
You’ll come to a screen that looks like this:
You can now search for a district, city or region, or simply try to find the area you want by searching directly on the map. Of course, all this depends on you having enough information to find the postal code for any given area.
If you know where the address is physically located on the map of Peru, just click on the area (zoom in if necessary) and the postal code will appear on the map.
If you have the address but don’t known where it is on the map, enter the name of the city in the “Distrito Provincia Departamento” box and select the city from the dropdown menu. The map will zoom in and you can now enter a street name in the second box that appears. After this, enter a street number if you have one. The map should then show you the correct postal code.
In the example below, I wanted to search for the following address: Avenida Venezuela 100, Arequipa. Using the three boxes that appear, I first searched for Arequipa, then Avenida Venezuela, and then the house number 100, to receive the postal code 04002.
It’s not a perfect system, and I imagine it can be frustrating if you can’t find the correct location, but it works pretty well most of the time. Let me know if you’re struggling to find the correct postal code in Peru and I’ll try to help.
Postal Codes in Lima, Peru
Despite the fact that the Peruvian government has launched a new set of postal codes and has a fairly efficient postal code finder, it seems like the old postal codes for Lima are still frequently used.
I went to the Tarapoto office of Serpost, Peru’s national postal service, in May 2017. The envelope I wanted to send displayed what I assumed to be the correct postal code for the Pueblo Libre district (15084) in Lima, because that was the code given by the government’s own postal code finder. The lady at Serpost, however, told me it was wrong and that the code they use for Pueblo Libre is “Lima 21” — which is the old postal code.
I’m not sure what’s up with that (if anyone can explain, please do so in the comments section below), but you might receive a similar response. So here are the old Lima postal codes, just in case:
- Lima 01 = Cercado
- Lima 02 = Ancon
- Lima 03 = Ate
- Lima 04 = Barranco
- Lima 05 = Breña
- Lima 06 = Carabayllo
- Lima 07 = Comas
- Lima 08 = Chaclacayo
- Lima 09 = Chorrillos
- Lima 10 = El agustino
- Lima 11 = Jesús María
- Lima 12 = La Molina
- Lima 13 = La Victoria
- Lima 14 = Lince
- Lima 15 = Lurigancho
- Lima 16 = Lurin
- Lima 17 = Magdalena
- Lima 18 = Miraflores
- Lima 19 = Pachacamac
- Lima 20 = Pucusana
- Lima 21 = Pueblo Libre
- Lima 22 = Puente Piedra
- Lima 23 = Punta Negra
- Lima 24 = Punta Hermosa
- Lima 25 = Rimac
- Lima 26 = San Bartolo
- Lima 27 = San Isidro
- Lima 28 = Independencia
- Lima 29 = San Juan de Miraflores
- Lima 30 = San Luis
- Lima 31 = San Martin de Porres
- Lima 32 = San Miguel
- Lima 33 = Santiago de Surco
- Lima 34 = Surquillo
- Lima 35 = Villa María del Triunfo
- Lima 36 = San Juan de Lurigancho
- Lima 37 = Santa María del Mar
- Lima 38 = Santa Rosa
- Lima 39 = Los Olivos
- Lima 40 = Cieneguilla
- Lima 41 = San Borja
- Lima 42 = Villa el Salvador
- Lima 43 = Santa Anita
Where to Put the Postal Code On Addresses for Delivery in Peru
If you’re wondering where to put the postal code within the Peruvian address format, then the official Codigo Postal website does give an example, albeit easy to miss. Here’s the image they use, which shows you where to put the post code (the code is in bold):
Do You Actually Need to Use a Postal Code in Peru?
Postal codes can speed up delivery, but they aren’t entirely necessary. I’ve been living in Tarapoto, Peru, since 2009, and have received a reasonable amount of mail both from abroad and from within Peru. At least half of that mail was sent without a postal code. I imagine a postal code is more useful in larger cities, especially in Lima.
If you live in Peru, you might occasionally need your postal code to fill out forms (especially online). In that case, using the search method above should help you track down the correct code.
Hello.
Can someone help me? I sold something to a guy in Peru, his writing is confusing, not capitalizing and some otehr word only in capital letter and no zip code and word BRACO instead, which is obviously not the zip code.
He lives in new chimbote but i cant find his street using the ZIP code map tool, not even in google.
If someone that knows Peru can replay me here ill leave the street name here: A.H. JUAN BAUTISTA ALVAREZ MZ G
Regards, Ben
Hi Ben. I don’t know what BRACO could mean, and I can’t find that street either. Maybe someone else will be able to figure it out. Thanks, Tony.
Hi Tony
I’m in the US and, no, I came up with nothing. I learned later by looking at the online white pages under my Uncle’s name that the actual district /area is called El Cercado, yet I have always been given Urbanización Roma as the area and letters have arrived in the past. I looked up El Cercado and still nothing came up. My dad lives in San Martin and I found his postal code using the map with no problem. I was even able to verify that it was indeed correct when I spoke to him the other day. I mailed it without the postal code so it will probably be a while before it arrives.
I usually send out Christmas cards to my family in Peru. In 2016 my cards were sent out beginning of December but didn’t arrive until February of 2017. Now I know why. This year I asked a nephew with help in this and he is stumped because they are indeed still using the old postal codes. I’m looking for a district in Lima called Urbanicacion Roma. I think it’s near Pueblo Libre. I will try the website and see what happens. Thanks!
Hi Ivy. Depending on where you’re sending your cards from, they can take a while to get to Peru, but two months is definitely a long, long time (when my parents send me stuff from the UK to Peru it normally takes two to three weeks). Did you have any luck finding the post code? I searched for Urbanizacion Roma on the website but nothing came up. Thanks, Tony.