Toronto postal codes begin with the letter M, which Canada Post assigns to Metropolitan Toronto, and every Canadian postal code has six characters in the pattern letter, digit, letter, space, digit, letter, digit. Telephone numbers in the city use area code 416 together with the overlay codes 647 and 437, and a fourth overlay, 942, was scheduled by the CRTC to begin on April 26, 2025. Canada has no “zip code”: that term belongs to the United States, and the Canadian equivalent is the postal code.
How a Canadian postal code is built
Canada Post describes the code as six characters in the form ANA NAN, with letters and digits alternating and a space in the middle. The code divides into two halves with different jobs.
| Part | Characters | What it identifies |
|---|---|---|
| Forward sortation area (FSA) | First three, such as the letter M followed by a digit and a letter | A major geographic area, used for the first sorting of outgoing mail |
| Local delivery unit (LDU) | Last three, in the order digit, letter, digit | The smallest delivery unit inside an FSA: in cities, a city block, a single building, or sometimes a large-volume mail receiver |
The first half sends a letter toward the right region and the second half narrows it to the final delivery point. A code therefore describes a delivery point, not a whole neighborhood, and two buildings on the same street can carry different codes.
What the letter M means
The first letter of a postal code identifies one of 18 major geographic areas, provinces, or districts. Canada Post lists M as Metropolitan Toronto. Codes that start with M therefore belong to the area of the former Metropolitan Toronto, which is the territory of today’s City of Toronto. Codes for municipalities outside the city begin with other letters. The postal system and the municipal map were drawn separately, so the code printed on an address is the safest guide to where a letter is routed.
The second character: urban or rural
The second character of a code is a digit. A digit from 1 to 9 marks an urban postal code, and 0 marks a rural one. A code for a street address in Toronto is urban, so it has a digit from 1 to 9 in second place. Rural codes with a 0 appear in other parts of Ontario and the country.
Finding the right code for an address
Postal codes are tied to individual delivery points, and Canada Post revises them as buildings are added, split, or renumbered. For that reason a list copied from a website can be out of date. The reliable method is the lookup tool on the Canada Post website, which takes a full street address and returns the matching code. Writing the complete address, with suite or unit numbers, gives the tool what it needs to choose between the several codes that can exist on a long street. Canada Post also publishes addressing guidelines, including where the code belongs on an envelope, and readers should check that page for the current rules.
Toronto area codes: 416, 647, 437, and 942
An area code is the three-digit prefix of a ten-digit North American telephone number. Toronto’s first code, 416, dates from 1947, when it was one of the original North American area codes and covered a wide part of southern Ontario. Later splits and overlays added the other codes. The dates below come from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) where a decision is cited, and from a reference compilation for the other years.
- 1947: area code 416 is created and initially covers southern Ontario, including the Golden Horseshoe.
- October 2, 1993: 416 is reduced to the six municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto, and the surrounding regions move to the new 905 code.
- March 5, 2001: area code 647 is introduced as an overlay on 416. It was the first overlay in Canada.
- March 25, 2013: area code 437 becomes the second overlay, under CRTC Telecom Decision 2011-436.
- April 26, 2025: area code 942 is the date set by CRTC Telecom Decision 2023-135 for a third overlay of the 416, 437, and 647 area.
An overlay places a new code over the same territory as the old one instead of splitting the territory in two. A person in downtown Toronto can therefore have a number beginning with 416, 647, 437, or 942, and the code does not indicate which part of the city the owner lives in. For the 437 overlay the CRTC gave the shortage of unused numbers, assessed by the Canadian Numbering Administrator, as the reason: the region was projected to run out of numbers by July 2015.
Ten-digit dialling
The 647 overlay was the point at which ten-digit dialling became mandatory in Toronto. The CRTC noted in 2011 that ten-digit local dialling was already in place when it chose the 437 overlay. A planning letter for the 942 overlay states that all local calls placed within the overlay area must be dialled with ten digits: the area code and the seven-digit number. The number is therefore never shortened to seven digits, even for a neighbor on the same street.
Area code, country code, and the “6ix”
People often type “416 country code” into a search box, but 416 is an area code. Canada and the United States share a single country code, 1, and the full international form of a Toronto number starts with +1 followed by the area code. The nickname “the 6ix” is tied to these numbers: the Dictionary of Canadian Hip Hop Slang at the University of British Columbia records that the digit 6 appears in both 416 and 647, and that rapper Drake gave this as one reason for the name. The nickname has its own article on this site, listed below.
Frequently asked questions
What is the postal code for Toronto?
Toronto has no single postal code. Codes beginning with M cover the city, and each one refers to a delivery area or building. A specific code is found by entering a full address in the Canada Post lookup tool.
Is 647 a Toronto area code?
Yes. Area code 647 was added as an overlay on 416 on March 5, 2001, and it serves the same territory as 416 and 437.
What does the letter M mean in a Canadian postal code?
Canada Post assigns M to Metropolitan Toronto. It is the first letter of every code in the Toronto forward sortation areas.
Do the digits of the area code have to be dialled for a local call in Toronto?
Yes. Local calls inside the overlay area require all ten digits, according to the CRTC planning material for the 942 overlay.
Why does Toronto have so many area codes?
Each overlay was approved when the supply of numbers in the existing codes was projected to run out. Overlays keep existing numbers unchanged.
Last verified: October 2026
Sources
- Canada Post, “Postal codes” (addressing guidelines)
- CRTC, Telecom Decision 2011-436 (area code 437 overlay) and Telecom Decision 2023-135 (area code 942 overlay), with the related Canadian Numbering Administrator planning letter
- Dictionary of Canadian Hip Hop Slang, University of British Columbia, entry “the 6ix”
- Reference compilation of North American area codes 416, 647, 437, and 942, used for the 1947, 1993, and 2001 dates (secondary source)
Related reading
- Why Toronto is called the 6ix
- Where Toronto sits in Ontario and which areas count as the city
- How Toronto neighborhoods developed
- An overview of Toronto’s history
- Living in Toronto: city services, universities and the economy
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Toronto Postal Codes and Area Codes Explained. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-canada-ontario-zip-code-how-to-find-and-use-postal-codes-in-toronto
MLA: “Toronto Postal Codes and Area Codes Explained.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-canada-ontario-zip-code-how-to-find-and-use-postal-codes-in-toronto. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Toronto Postal Codes and Area Codes Explained.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-canada-ontario-zip-code-how-to-find-and-use-postal-codes-in-toronto.
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