How do you format mailing addresses for Chile (South America)?

Question

I'm trying to put together a mailing list of academic departments in universities. I've been perusing the schools' websites and sometimes there is a postal code (e.g. 8340457 SANTIAGO), more oftentimes not at all. Like, where it says "mailing address" it'll give me a street address, city, and country but no code. So my main question is how do you format Chilean addresses. Second, are postal codes mandatory if you have all the other info?

Answer 1

Although there are postal codes in Chile, no one uses them and, to tell you the truth, most people don't even know they exist! So I wouldn't worry about that part of the mailing address. They are not mandatory.

A postal code should be 7 digits long. If you want to find a postal code, the Chilean Post Office Service or "Correos de Chile" has a website that allows you to enter the address and it returns you the postal code.

www.correos.cl

There are some PO boxes (called "casillas") specially in Santiago, that have a coding such as: Casilla 9999 Providencia.

Anyway, an address would normally be composed by the name of the premises (or the person), the street name and number, the number of the flat or office, the "comuna" (only in Santiago), the City and sometimes the region.

Here is an invented example:

Universidad del Mapocho

Avenida Diego Bravo 12345

Departamento 666

Las Condes

Santiago

Region Metropolitana

Here is an invented example of a simplified address in another city:

Colegio Santa Maria Magdalena

Anibal Pinto 557

Oficina 405

Concepcion

If it sounds too complicated, here is another address, a very simple one:

Sra. Carmen Caceres

San Martin 345

Puerto Montt.

I hope it helped!