Greek addresses put the street name before the number (Ermou 15), then a five-digit postal code written with a space as NNN NN ahead of the city, with no region line. Because street and city names romanize from Greek in more than one way, matching against carrier data is easy to get wrong. Here is the correct structure, a real example, the postal code rules, and the mistakes that cause returns.
A Greek address is recipient, the street name followed by the number, then the five-digit postal code and city on one line, then the country. There is no region or province field.
Georgios Papadopoulos personal or business recipientEtaireia AE optional, above the street lineErmou 15 street name first, then the number105 51 5-digit code, written NNN NN before the cityAthina city or town, on the same line as the postal codeGREECE required for inbound international shipmentsThe five-digit postal code is ELTA's routing field and sits before the city name on the same line. In Athens and Thessaloniki it narrows delivery to a specific district, so it matters as much as the street text.
The country-specific rules that generic autocomplete and single-line address fields tend to get wrong.
Greek writes Ermou 15, not 15 Ermou. A form hard-coded to the US number-first order produces a label that couriers read wrong.
The code is five digits with a space after the third, as in 105 51. Running it together (10551) or dropping to four digits breaks ELTA lookups.
Routing runs on the postal code and city. Adding a region or prefecture (the old nomoi, abolished as administrative units) is unnecessary and can confuse a parser. Required fields are street, postal code and city.
Street and city names come from Greek script and romanize inconsistently: Athina or Athens, Kifisias or Kifissias, Panepistimiou or Panepistemiou. Keep one spelling across systems, or match on the postal code.
Each of these passes a basic "is this field filled in" check but fails at the carrier, turning into a redelivery, a return, or an address correction fee.
15 Ermou instead of Ermou 15 reverses the Greek street-then-number order.10551 without the 105 51 space breaks many ELTA and courier lookups.Athina and Athens, or Kifisias and Kifissias, causes address mismatches.How the major carriers handle Greece addresses, and what your label needs to satisfy each one.
The national postal operator and universal-service provider. Routing keys off the five-digit code, so validate the spaced NNN NN code against the city first.
The largest private courier networks for Greek ecommerce. They expect the street-then-number order and a clean code plus city line for first-time delivery.
International carriers for inbound shipments. Include the country line and keep the romanized street and city consistent; they charge for address corrections on misrouted parcels.
Address Guard checks Greece addresses against carrier and postal databases before the order ships, normalizes the format, and flags the errors that cause failed deliveries. 240+ countries, $0.05 per check.
Part of the Address Guard international address format guide, covering 240+ countries.