Editing Postal codes in Canada (section)

==Number of possible postal codes==
Postal codes use twenty [[Letter case|uppercase]] letters of the [[English alphabet]]; they do not include the letters D, F, I, O, Q, or U. The first position also does not make use of the letters W or Z. This means the maximum number of FSAs available is 18×10×20 = 3,600.  With 10×20×10 = 2,000 possible LDUs in each FSA, there is a theoretical limit of 7.2{{Spaces}}million postal codes. The practical limit is a bit lower, as Canada Post reserves some FSAs for special functions, such as for test or promotional purposes (e.g., the H0H 0H0 for Santa Claus; [[#Santa Claus|see below]]), as well as for sorting mail bound for destinations outside Canada. The current [[Statistics Canada]] estimate of over 830,000 active postal codes<ref name="statcan">
{{cite web
 |url=http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2011/statcan/92-153-G/92-153-g2011001-eng.pdf
 |title=Postal Code Conversion File (PCCF), Reference Guide
 |author=Statistics Canada
 |date=October 2010
 |pages=46
 |access-date=26 May 2014
 }}
</ref> represents about 12% of the entire postal code "space", leaving ample room for expansion. There is less room with regard to FSAs, however; for example, as of 2024, only three FSAs remain unused in British Columbia: V3P, V4H, and V4J.