How to Address U.S. Mail — Postcards, Envelopes & Packages
Learn the correct way to address U.S. mail, so it doesn’t get returned or sent to the Mail Recovery Center (MRC).
The United States Postal Service (USPS) processes and delivers nearly half of the world’s mail. However, without a legible and valid delivery and return address — mail often ends up in the U.S. Postal Service’s official lost and found department called the Mail Recovery Center (MRC). In 2014, they received 88 million items of undeliverable mail!
Whether you’re mailing postcards, letters or packages — ensure your mail is addressed correctly and won’t be returned or sent to the MRC.
In this post, I’m going to share how to correctly address mail.
Step 1. Write the Delivery Address
Left justify and legibly write in pen or print the delivery address on the same side of the postcard, envelope or package that will bear the postage. When printing, use a sans serif typeface (e.g. Helvetica, Arial) with a minimum of 6-point type for uppercase letters.
Format
Recipient’s Full Name
Complete Address
City, State, ZIP Code
1.1 | Use Uppercase Letters
The USPS will accept lowercase letters (10 to 12-point type) as long as they meet postal guidelines for OCR readability. However, to avoid potential errors and delays, always use uppercase letters.
Examples
- Nolan Griffin → NOLAN GRIFFIN
- Dr William Larkin → DR WILLIAM LARKIN
1.2 | Omit Punctuation, Special Characters and Extra Spaces
The USPS prefers punctuation to be omitted. This includes commas, periods, parentheses, quotations, etc. Hyphens, however, are used in the ZIP+4 Code.
Special characters like the at symbol and ampersand should also be omitted.
Double spaces and blanks should be single-spaced, but two spaces are preferred between the state postal code and the ZIP Codes and ZIP+4 Codes.
Examples
- DR. “BILLY” LARKIN → DR WILLIAM LARKIN
- ANN ARBOR, MI, 48108–1000 → ANN ARBOR MI 48108–1000
- GEORGE & SALLY GREEN → GEORGE AND SALLY GREEN
- 1234 E. MAIN ST. STE. B6 → 1234 E MAIN ST STE B6
1.3 | Correctly Address Recipients
Include the recipient’s first and last name. If the recipient is a doctor, lawyer, government official or military personnel, use honorific titles like SSGT and DR. Also, use honorific titles in business or to show respect like MR, MRS and MS.
If recipients are married, write the husband’s honorific title (MR), the wife’s honorific title (MRS), plus the husband’s full name. Remember, the USPS prefers AND instead of the ampersand symbol.
Examples
- WILLIAM LARKIN → DR WILLIAM LARKIN
- RYAN BUTTERWORTH → SSGT RYAN BUTTERWORTH
- SALLY GREEN → MRS SALLY GREEN
- MR. & MRS. NOLAN GRIFFIN → MR AND MRS NOLAN GRIFFIN
1.4 | Abbreviate Common Business Words
Abbreviate organizational endings with USPS-approved abbreviations to compress the recipient line and save space. For example, abbreviate COMPANY as CO and INCORPORATED as INC.
Commonly understood business words should also be abbreviated to save space like abbreviating ACCOUNT as ACCT.
Examples
- GOVERNMENT → GOVT
- CORPORATION → CORP
- FOUNDATION → FNDTN
- LEGAL → LGL
1.5 | Abbreviate Compass Points
There might be a 1234 E Main ST and a 1234 W Main ST. Not including E or W could result in your mail being sent to the wrong location or returned. To avoid problems, include USPS-approved abbreviations for compass points called directionals.
Examples
- SOUTH → S
- SOUTHWEST → SW
1.6 | Abbreviate Street Suffixes
To condense the address line, use USPS-approved street suffix abbreviations like AVE instead of AVENUE.
Examples
- STREET → ST
- CIRCLE → CIR
1.7 | Abbreviate Secondary Unit Designators
Information that precedes the address is called a secondary unit designator (e.g. apartment, suite, floor). The USPS has about two dozen approved abbreviations.
The pound symbol (#) is acceptable as long as there’s a space between the pound sign and the secondary number. The pound symbol should not be used as a secondary unit designator if the correct designation is already specified.
Examples
- APARTMENT → APT
- APT # 207 → APT 207
- SUITE → STE
- # 5497
1.8 | Don’t Abbreviate Cities
While NOLA might be clear to you, it may not be clear to the OCR machine that you meant New Orleans. Don’t abbreviate city names.
Examples
- NOLA → NEW ORLEANS
- SAN SPRG → SANDY SPRINGS
1.9 | Abbreviate States
Abbreviate U.S. states, Washington D.C. and U.S. territories with the USPS-approved 2-letter postal codes. Avoid confusing the USPS-approved abbreviations with other state abbreviations like WASH instead of WA. Also, remember two spaces are preferred between the state and ZIP Code.
Examples
- MICH → MI
- GEORGIA → GA
- CALIFORNIA → CA 94104–1207
1.10 | Include the ZIP Code or ZIP+4 Code
A ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) code is a 5-digit number to identify an area of the country and delivery office where mail is directed — the American equivalent to the postal code in British English. Currently, there are more than 42,000 ZIP Codes used in the United States.
In 1983, the USPS introduced the ZIP+4 Code to reduce the number of handlings and decrease potential errors. The ZIP+4 Code adds a hyphen and four additional digits to denote a delivery sector (e.g. block, office building) and a delivery segment (e.g. office building floor, department in a firm).
Examples
- 94104 1207 → 94104–1207
- 94104–XXXX → 90210–0803
Step 2. Write the Return Address
The return address informs the USPS where the mail should be returned if it cannot be delivered.
In the upper left corner, left justify and legibly write in pen or print the return address on the same side of the postcard, envelope or package that will bear the postage. When printing, use sans serif typeface with a minimum of 6-point type for uppercase letters.
Format
Sender’s Full Name
Complete Address
City, State, ZIP Code
Step 3. Add Postage
Affix the correct postage amount in the upper right corner. The USPS provides a useful postage price calculator on its website for calculating the postage price of postcards, envelopes, boxes and other shapes and sizes.
Where to Buy U.S. Stamps
- Post Offices
- Pharmacies
- Grocery Stores
- USPS.com
- Stamps.com
Final Thoughts
You just learned the correct way to address U.S. mail. If you follow these preferences, you can expect the USPS’ slogan — We Deliver For You — to be their promise and you won’t need to worry about mail being returned or sent to the Mail Recovery Center.
