Why do some zip codes in my excel file only have 4 digits and not the standard 5 digits?

Depending on your version of Excel, it does not always recognize the zip code fields as zip codes unless you change the cell format of the zip code column. This occurs in states such as CT and NJ. A zip code of “06810” may be shown as “6820” until the format change is made. So if you want to mail the addresses from the export, be sure to change the formatting of the zip code column as follows:

Microsoft Excel

1. Highlight the zip code column by click the top of the column letter. In this example we clicked column “G” to highlight all the zip codes in that particular column.
2. While keeping your cursor inside the column, right-click it and choose “Format Cells”.
3. Then the Format Cells window will pop up and stay in the “Number” tab. Look for “Special”. Then make sure that within “Special”, “Zip Code” is selected. Then click “OK”.
4. Now you should see the zip code column in proper format. Do this for each zip code column that may not be formatted properly.

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