Access 97/2000: Storing Postal Codes (ZIP Codes) in a Text Field

In a Microsoft Access database, use the Text data type for fields that store postal codes. If some postal codes begin with one or more zeros, storing those postal codes in a Text field prevents the zeros from being dropped. Also, some countries use postal codes that contain both letters and numbers. You can store the postal codes of any country in a Text field.

Avoid storing postal codes in a Number field whose Format property is set to 00000. If you export the data to a text file, or if you include the postal code field in a Mail Merge in Microsoft Word, the Format property is ignored. As a result, any leading zeros in postal codes stored in a Number field are dropped.