Guide
Canada Post & Postal Records
Canada Post is a federal Crown corporation and the only universal mail carrier in the country, and its public tools are the ones people need most often: the post office finder, the postal code lookup and the mail forwarding and hold services. The Canadian postal code is six characters in the form A1A 1A1. The first letter identifies the province or region, so a code starting with V is British Columbia and one starting with M is Toronto, and the first three characters are the forward sortation area that Statistics Canada and most address databases use as the smallest geographic unit.
The historical side of the post office is held by Library and Archives Canada, whose post offices and postmasters database records the opening and closing dates of thousands of rural offices and the names of the people who ran them, which is often the only surviving record of a small settlement.
Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.
Guide
Canada Post tools and services
The post office finder shows every corporate and franchise outlet with its hours and services, the postal code finder converts addresses to codes and back, and the track a package tool follows items with a tracking number. Mail forwarding is bought online for a move, and general delivery lets a person without a fixed address receive mail at a named post office. Canada Post also runs the change of address service and publishes its rates and its annual reports as a Crown corporation. Its epost bill delivery service closed in December 2022.
Guide
Historical post office records
Library and Archives Canada's post offices and postmasters database covers offices opened from the 1800s onward with the dates of opening and closing, the postmasters appointed and the electoral district, and it can be searched by office name, postmaster name or district. Postal history collectors and family historians use it to place a rural address that no longer exists. The Canadian Postal Archives at Library and Archives Canada also hold stamp designs and postal maps, and the provincial archives hold the rural route maps and the local post office records.
Straight answers
Common questions about Canada Post and postal records
How do I find a postal code in Canada?
Use the Canada Post postal code finder, which returns the code for any address and the address range for any code. The first letter shows the province or region.
Can I receive mail without an address in Canada?
Yes. General delivery lets a person receive mail addressed to them at a named post office, and Canada Post sells mail forwarding for a move.
Where are historical Canadian post office records?
Library and Archives Canada's post offices and postmasters database lists offices, their opening and closing dates and the postmasters, searchable by office or by name.