Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Abu Dhabi uses location-specific postal codes through the Onwani addressing system.
There is no single postal or ZIP code for every Abu Dhabi address, so the correct value should be taken from the Onwani record for the specific property or location. DMT lists Postal Code as one of the official components of an Abu Dhabi address.
The most reliable way to get an Abu Dhabi postal code is to look up the exact address through the official Onwani system rather than choose a number from an area-based postcode list.
Use this process:
DMT’s MyLand portal provides Onwani address search alongside municipality, district or zone, sector or community, plot, and ZipCode Search functions. This allows the postcode to be resolved within the same geographic addressing environment as the property.
A search such as “Khalifa City postal code” or “Al Reem Island ZIP code” is therefore only a starting point. The property record provides the precision needed to identify the relevant code.
An Abu Dhabi address sits within several related geographic and administrative layers:
UAE > Emirate of Abu Dhabi > municipality or city > district or community > postal-code geography > street and building
These layers do different jobs. A district or community identifies broader geography, while streets, buildings, and address records identify progressively more precise locations.
DMT’s official GIS makes this distinction explicit. Postal Code is maintained as its own polygon feature layer, with separate fields for postal code, municipality, district, and community. The postcode field is defined as five characters.
This explains why a familiar area such as Khalifa City, Yas Island, Al Bateen, Al Khalidiyah, Mohammed Bin Zayed City, or Al Reem Island should not automatically be reduced to one postcode without checking the individual address.
The useful relationship is:
the area identifies the broader location; the Onwani record identifies the property and its relevant postal code.
An Abu Dhabi address can contain several numbers or references, but each identifies something different.
| Identifier | What it identifies | Is it a postal code? |
|---|---|---|
| Onwani postal code | Geographic postal/address zone | Yes |
| Building number | Building or address location | No |
| Street name | Road serving the address | No |
| District or community | Administrative or geographic area | No |
| Plot or property reference | Land or property record | No |
| P.O. Box | Postal mailbox or subscriber | No |
| 00000 where technically accepted | Form or system value | No |
A P.O. Box belongs to a subscriber, organization, or postal mailbox. It does not identify the geographic postal zone of a property.
If your task is receiving mail through a postal mailbox rather than identifying the property’s postcode, the relevant identifier is the recipient’s P.O. Box.
Building numbers, community identifiers, and property references can also appear in address-related records. Their meaning comes from the entity they identify, not simply from the fact that they are numeric.
Several numbers recur across postcode websites and address databases. Their correct interpretation depends on the entity or address context in which they appear.
| Number or pattern | Evidence-supported context | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| 23251 | DMT uses it in its official Khalifa City Onwani address example | One postcode for every Khalifa City property |
| 22303 | AD Ports Group publishes it as the ZIP code in its Zayed Port Onwani address | One postcode for every property in Zayed Port |
| 51133 | Aldar Properties identifies it as its Abu Dhabi P.O. Box | A citywide Abu Dhabi postal code |
| 49153 | Appears in third-party and legacy-style Abu Dhabi address records and is promoted by some postcode guides | A verified universal Abu Dhabi postcode |
| 20000, 20001, 20002, etc. | Repeated in multiple online locality-code tables | An official DMT locality postcode directory |
| 00000 | May function as a technical value where a particular system accepts it | An official Onwani geographic postcode |
DMT’s own address example is:
26, Al Seray Street, Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi 23251.
That verifies 23251 for the address DMT is demonstrating. It does not establish the same code for every building in Khalifa City.
A second first-party example shows the same address-specific principle. AD Ports Group lists its Zayed Port headquarters with Building Number 442, Al Meena Street, Zayed Port, Abu Dhabi, and Zip Code 22303.
51133 belongs to a different identifier type. Current Aldar Properties documentation explicitly gives its address as P.O. Box 51133, Abu Dhabi, which is evidence of mailbox ownership rather than a postcode for the city.
49153 requires more cautious treatment. The number appears in third-party Abu Dhabi address records and is still recommended by some online guides, but the current DMT sources used for this article do not establish it as a universal Abu Dhabi postcode.
The sequential 20000, 20001, 20002 pattern is also repeated across multiple postcode websites, including lists that assign one number to each famous Abu Dhabi locality. Repetition alone does not make those tables an official DMT directory.
The key test is therefore not whether a number looks like a postcode. It is which entity owns it and what identifier type the evidence establishes.
When a website accepts the postal code associated with your Onwani address, use that value.
Some external platforms rely on address databases that do not fully recognize local addressing systems. A rejection by the form does not change the postcode associated with the actual property.
00000 may function as a technical placeholder where a particular system accepts it, but it should not be described as Abu Dhabi’s official geographic postal code. Unsupported alternatives such as 99999, 00001, or other copied numbers should not be treated as universal fallbacks either.
If you already have the correct address but an online form will not accept it, the problem has shifted from postcode identification to what to enter in a UAE postal-code field.
DMT defines an Abu Dhabi address using Building Number, Street Name, City Name, Area, and Postal Code. Its published example shows how those elements work together.
26, Al Seray Street, Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi 23251
| Address component | Example |
|---|---|
| Building number | 26 |
| Street | Al Seray Street |
| Area | Khalifa City |
| City | Abu Dhabi |
| Postal code | 23251 |
The postcode is therefore one attribute of the physical address, not a replacement for the building, street, area, or city.
For tasks that require the complete sequence of address components rather than only the postcode, use the complete UAE address format.
Mussafah addresses can introduce another identifier: the sector reference.
A sector helps narrow the physical location within Mussafah, while the postal code belongs to the corresponding address record. These identifiers serve different functions and should not be treated as interchangeable.
This distinction is especially relevant for industrial properties, warehouses, and business locations where the sector may be prominent in the address.
The locality-specific relationship between those identifiers belongs to the Mussafah postal code and sector system.
Use the postal code associated with the specific Onwani address you are entering. A neighborhood name alone is not enough to establish the code, and a P.O. Box, business number, property reference, or technical placeholder should not be substituted for the geographic postcode.
Identify the property first, then use the postal code shown in its official address record.