Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Formatting Canadian Postal Codes.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 5, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
In Canada, postal codes consist of six characters with a space in the middle: a letter, a number, a letter, a space, a number, a letter, and a final number. Thus, A1B 2C3 is a properly formatted postal code. If you are retrieving postal codes from an external database, they might not have the required space in the middle. Excel makes it easy to add such a space.
Let's assume that the improperly formatted postal codes are in column C. In column D you could use a formula such as the following:
=LEFT(B12,3) & " " & RIGHT(B12,3)
This formula uses string-manipulation functions to place a space in between the first and last three characters. Thus, if B12 contained A1B2C3, then the cell with this formula would display A1B 2C3.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1931) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Formatting Canadian Postal Codes.
Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!
The formulas in your worksheet can be displayed (instead of formula results) by a simple configuration change. You can ...
Discover MoreIf you have a large amount of data in a worksheet and you want to extract information from the text that meets certain ...
Discover MoreYou can easily sum a series of values in Excel, but it is not so easy to sum the absolute values of each value in a ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2020-10-08 01:30:12
Andrew Hamlin
Wrap this in UPPER() to force alpha characters to capitals.
=UPPER(LEFT(H241,3) & " " & RIGHT(H241,3))
2017-06-02 15:48:16
Ajit Dudani
THANKS FOR THE TIP - GOT MY WORK DONE IN JIFFY
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments