Forward Sortation Area
The first three characters of a Canadian postal code, indicating a geographic region used for initial mail sorting.
In Canada's alphanumeric postal code system (format A1A 1A1), the Forward Sortation Area (FSA) is the first three characters. The initial letter identifies one of 18 postal districts (A for Newfoundland, M for Toronto, V for British Columbia, etc.), the second character — a digit — indicates whether the area is urban (1-9) or rural (0), and the third character further refines the geographic zone.
Canada Post uses approximately 1,620 FSAs to route mail from origin to the correct processing plant. The FSA determines which sorting facility first handles a piece of mail, while the Local Delivery Unit (LDU, the last three characters) pinpoints the final delivery point.
FSAs do not always follow municipal boundaries; a single city may contain dozens of FSAs, and a rural FSA may span a large geographic area with scattered communities.