Like Many countries in the world, Kenya also uses postal codes, which have transformed from Simple mailing digits over the years to power various infrastructures in the country, including eMombas-commerce, financial services, and national development.
Although Kenyan postal codes can be seen as a thing of the past, they are still relevant in this digital age, especially when it comes to sending and receiving mail to all the 600-plus Post offices and more than 400,000 private letter-box rentals nationwide, owned by individuals in Kenya.
Under the new 2010 Kenyan constitution, Kenya is divided into a total of 47 counties, where each of these counties is further categorised into sub-counties, containing various wards and Towns that either have shared or unique Postal code numbers. Therefore, for anyone new to searching for Postal codes for multiple counties and even regions in Kenya, it can be confusing, as many end up confusing Postal codes with PO BOX addresses and even the international country code for Kenya 254, which are totally different things.
This guide is your ultimate Directory for all things postal codes in Kenya. But before we get started, below is the Political Map of Kenya showing all the Towns, Villages, and National Capitals to help you identify the various regions in the country.
Political Map of Kenya
The History of Kenya’s Postal Code System
What is the postal system in Kenya? To better understand modern postal codes, one must also understand their evolution over the years. The Postal Code systems in Kenya have a long history that can be traced back to the 16th century in the Coastal region, where Portuguese merchants in Mombasa (1592) used coded clay tablets to route shipments of ivory and spices.
However, this addressing system collapsed with Omani rule in 1698, leaving a vacuum until the British colonial administrators arrived in Kenya in the 1890s. The reign of British rule saw, in 1890, the establishment of the first post offices in Mombasa and Lamu, marking the transformation of how the modern postal system would develop.
By 1895, the Imperial British East Africa Company had implemented postal routes across its East African territories, and the completion of the Uganda Railway in 1906 shifted Kenya’s main post office from Mombasa to the Nairobi GPO, which remains the country’s postal headquarters to date.
On 1 May 1935, the East African Customs and Postal Union signed an agreement binding Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika in a unified postal and customs framework, which lasted until 1963 when Kenya gained its independence from the British.
During the early years of independence, Kenya used national stamps for its postal affairs, but the system was not well-received, as it didn’t handle the sorting and delivery of mail beyond just identifying post office names and box numbers. Therefore, it wasn’t until the 1970s when the Kenyan government, in collaboration with the newly formed Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC), rolled out a five-digit postcode plan in 1972, creating postal regional zones aligned with eight provincial boundaries back then. In the next section, we will explain what each digit means in the Kenyan postal code system.
Again, this new system struggled through the 1980s as urban migration overwhelmed manual sorting, but a major accomplishment of KPTC during this time, before its split, was expanding the postcode network to encompass rural and satellite towns, with thousands of post offices receiving unique codes to improve mail sorting efficiency.
In 1999, KPTC was dissolved and split into three entities: Telkom Kenya, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), and the Postal Corporation of Kenya (Posta Kenya). This separation allowed Posta Kenya to focus solely on postal innovations, including revisiting postcode applications and customer services to date.
Up to this point, Kenya’s postal network has undergone several foundational reforms under Posta Kenya to modernise operations and improve service delivery. They are as follows:
Post Office Digitisations (2001–2005)
Introduction of Premium Private PO-Boxes (2006)
Introduction of Hybrid Mail Services through a partnership with Telkom Kenya (2010)
Introduction of Virtual Postal Addresses through a partnership with MPost (2016)
GPS-Based Code Integration Pilot (since 2023)
Planned Introduction of 47 New Sub-Codes (2025) under the National Addressing Policy (March 2023)
Below is a table that summarises all the evolution years of Kenya’s postal code system:
Year
Event
1890
Colonial Postal Service
1972
First Postcodes
1999
PCK Creation
2001
Office Digitization
2006
Premium Private PO-Boxes
2010
Hybrid Mail with Telkom Kenya
2016
MPost Launch
2019
Safaricom–Posta 5 M Digital PO-Boxes
2023
GPS-Based Code Integration Pilot
2025
County Code Expansion (planned)
Kenya Postal Code Structure
Kenya postal codes are structured to have a five-digit number, introduced in 1972 and still used today. Each digit is designed to pinpoint mail delivery from the postal headquarters at the Nairobi GPO (00100) to various small postal officers in various regions, each with a unique code.
The first digit of the Kenyan postal code represents one of the eight former historical provinces (now 47 counties) as follows:
Nairobi Region: 0
Central Region: 1
Rift Valley Region: 2 & 3
Nyanza Region: 4
Western Region: 5
Eastern Region: 6
North Eastern Region: 7
Coastal Region: 8
The second digit indicates the district within that province, and the last three digits identify the specific post office or delivery area. This enables postal workers to sort mail into precise routes for last-mile distribution.
So, what is Kenya’s postal code? Kenya does not use a single postal code like some countries do. Instead, it relies on its 600-plus postal offices, which have different postal codes for all its mail services. Each code serves as a routing identifier and an official address element, much like ZIP codes in the United States, but without a separate designation.
Complete County-by-County Postal Codes In Kenya
The 47 counties in Kenya, along with their General Post Office ( GPO) postal codes and abbreviations, are listed below:
Properly formatting your letter is essential to ensuring that your mail reaches its right destination without delays. The best way to format your letter or mail involves following the instructions below:
Recipient Name: On the first line, write the full name or organisation name in uppercase letters.
P.O. Box or Street Address: On the second line, indicate P O BOX (without periods) followed by the box number, then a dash and the delivery post office name, e.g., P O BOX 2784 – NAKURU GPO.
Postal Code: On its line beneath the P.O. Box line, write the five-digit postal code, centred or left-aligned, but always distinct and on a new line.
Town/City: Next line should contain the town or city name in uppercase, e.g., NAKURU.
Country: For international mail, add KENYA” on the last line in uppercase.
Here is an Example:
MR. JOHN BWANA P O BOX 2784 – NAKURU GPO 20100 NAKURU KENYA
Services Offered by Postal Offices In Kenya
Below are the services beyond mailing offered by all Post offices in Kenya, along with their charges:
Service Category
Specific Services
Fee/Cost
Mail Services
Domestic Mail
Varies by weight
International Mail (Air/Sea/Overland)
Varies by weight and destination
Private Letter Boxes
Corporate: Ksh 9,450 Individual: Ksh 2,000 Special corporate: Ksh 6,225 Learning & religious: Ksh 7,725 Sub post office: Ksh 1,320
Kenya doesn’t have a single national postal code. Instead, every town, city, or region has its own unique five-digit postal code.
What is the postal code of Mombasa, Kenya?
80100
What is the postal code for Nairobi 00200?
Nairobi City Square
What is Kwale’s postal code?
80403
What is the difference between a postal address and a postal code?
Postal address is the full address where mail is delivered (e.g., P.O. Box 12345, Nairobi 00100, Kenya) while Postal code is the numeric code that identifies a specific area or post office for mail sorting (e.g., 00100)
What is the postal code for the Postal Corporation of Kenya?
The main office (GPO Nairobi) uses the postal code 00100.
What is Kenya’s country code?
+254
What is the difference between a zip code and a postal code?
Zip code is a term used in the United States for postal codes, while postal code is a General term used in most countries, including Kenya, for codes that help sort mail.
What is an example of an address line 1 in Kenya?
Address Line 1 is usually your P.O. Box and town, like: P.O. Box 12345, Nairobi.
Conclusion
Kenya does not use a single Postal code system; instead, it relies on the 5-digit structure for all its 600 600-plus post offices to ensure that mail reaches its destinations safely and on time. From its humble days, especially in the 1970s, the Kenyan Postal code system has evolved from its origins in colonial mail routes to today’s GPS-integrated digital solutions. We hope this Resource has helped you understand all the Kenyan Postal Codes And How They Work.
