DIGIPIN frequently asked questions.

DIGIPIN stands for Digital Postal Index Number. It is a 10-character alphanumeric code introduced by India Post that uniquely identifies a 4 m × 4 m square of land anywhere in India.

DIGIPIN was developed by the Department of Posts (India Post) in collaboration with IIT Hyderabad and the National Remote Sensing Centre under ISRO.

The DIGIPIN system was released as an open standard by India Post starting in 2024, with broader public communication continuing through 2025 and 2026.

Yes. DIGIPIN is published and maintained by India Post, an agency of the Government of India.

Ten characters, usually displayed in three groups separated by hyphens for readability (e.g. 4FK-9L8-J2T7). The hyphens are visual only.

A DIGIPIN looks like 4FK-9L8-J2T7 — a mix of letters and digits drawn from a carefully chosen alphabet that avoids ambiguous characters such as O vs. 0.

Because each DIGIPIN identifies a 4 m × 4 m square and India spans roughly 3.3 million km², there are billions of unique DIGIPINs covering the country.

Yes. DIGIPIN is an open standard. Anyone can generate, share, or build software with it without paying licensing fees.

No. DIGIPIN is an optional address layer designed to coexist with regular postal addresses.

A PIN code identifies a postal area (a neighbourhood or town) shared by thousands of homes. A DIGIPIN identifies a 4 m × 4 m square — small enough to point at a single doorstep. They work together, not against each other. Full comparison.

No. DIGIPIN supplements your address. You will still write your name, building, and street on a parcel.

Yes. Postal sorting still happens at the PIN code level. DIGIPIN refines the last mile.

Both are short address codes. What3Words is a global, commercial system using three English words. DIGIPIN is an Indian, government-backed, open standard using a 10-character alphanumeric code. DIGIPIN works only inside India; What3Words works worldwide.

Plus Codes are Google's open location codes — globally usable, slightly longer, and built into Google Maps. DIGIPIN is India-specific, government-backed, and structured around India's existing postal geography.

An India-owned, open, royalty-free standard avoids dependency on a foreign commercial vendor and integrates more naturally with India Post's existing infrastructure.

Yes. The grid covers the entire geographic territory of India.

Yes. In fact, rural and unaddressed areas are where DIGIPIN adds the most value.

No. The grid is bounded by the territory of India.

A DIGIPIN identifies a 4 m × 4 m square — roughly the footprint of a doorway plus the area in front of it.

Usually yes in low-density areas. In dense apartment buildings, multiple flats can share the same 4 m square; the apartment number disambiguates within.

Switch to map view in the lookup tool and drag the pin to the correct spot. The DIGIPIN updates automatically.

Small GPS errors near a grid boundary can flip your DIGIPIN to a neighbouring cell. Both DIGIPINs still point at essentially the same spot.

Visit dac.indiapost.gov.in on your phone, allow location access, and the tool returns your DIGIPIN. You can also enter coordinates or click a point on a map. Step-by-step guide.

No. A standard web browser works. Apps that integrate DIGIPIN can streamline the process further.

Generating a DIGIPIN requires only your coordinates, which typically come from GPS. Many apps can compute the DIGIPIN locally without an internet connection.

GPS is the easiest source of coordinates, but you can enter latitude and longitude manually or click a point on a map.

Just type or paste the 10-character code. It is short enough to send in a single message.

Write it as an extra line under your normal address: "DIGIPIN: 4FK-9L8-J2T7".

Most ecommerce checkouts do not yet have a dedicated DIGIPIN field. You can include it in your address line; couriers familiar with DIGIPIN will use it.

You should still include the recipient's name and a normal address. DIGIPIN is a precision layer added on top.

Sharing a DIGIPIN reveals roughly the same information as sharing a precise pinned location on a map. Treat it with the same caution you would treat sharing a Google Maps pin of your home.

No. A DIGIPIN identifies a location at a moment in time. It does not broadcast where you are or follow you around.

Yes — that's the point. Anyone with your DIGIPIN can locate the 4 m × 4 m square it refers to. Only share it with people and services you trust.

No. A DIGIPIN encodes only a location. It has no link to your identity.

The DIGIPIN algorithm divides India's bounding box into a hierarchical 4 × 4 grid. At each of 10 levels of subdivision, one character is added to the code to identify which sub-cell your location is inside. After 10 levels, the resulting cell is ~4 m × 4 m. Detailed explainer.

A subset of letters and digits chosen to avoid visual ambiguity. The exact alphabet is part of India Post's published standard.

No. DIGIPIN characters are typically written in uppercase.

4 m × 4 m is small enough to identify a single doorway and large enough to be robust against typical GPS error. Going smaller would mean longer codes for little practical benefit.

You can generate one for the vehicle's current location at any moment, but a moving vehicle will have a different DIGIPIN seconds later.

Add an optional DIGIPIN field at checkout, derive it from a map pin, or capture it during onboarding. See the business handbook for implementation patterns.

India Post itself is integrating it into delivery operations, several state governments are exploring it for citizen services, and a growing number of logistics, ecommerce, and food-delivery firms are piloting DIGIPIN-aware address fields.

India Post publishes lookup tools at dac.indiapost.gov.in. Because the algorithm is open, organisations can also implement encoding and decoding locally.

For algorithmic issues or feedback on the official tool, India Post is the right contact. For corrections to this independent site, see our contact page.