Addressing an envelope correctly helps your letter reach the correct destination on time. Many people do not realize that there is a "correct" way to write addresses on an envelope. If it comes to the right place, it's because you did it the right way, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. If you are going to write an address on an envelope that is addressed to a business contact, it is extremely important that you write it in the correct way to give a more professional image. This is a skill that you use frequently for work so you must perform it correctly.
Steps
Method 1 of 7: Personal Letter (United States)
Step 1. Write the recipient's name on the first line
The first line should contain the name of the person who is to receive the letter. How you spell the name will depend on how the recipient of the letter likes to be treated. If, for example, you know that there is a preference to remain anonymous, you can just put P. Jones, instead of Polly Jones.
Include the necessary titles. You could omit the titles if you are writing to close friends or family members, but you could consider including them if you are writing to members of the government, the military, doctors, teachers, or the elderly. For example, if you wrote a letter to your day old Polly, who was widowed many years ago, you might want to call her Mrs. Polly Jean
Step 2. Enter someone else's address (optional)
If you are sending someone a letter to an address where he or she does not regularly reside, you might want to put something like "in the care of" or "courtesy of …" under the name.
- Write "c / o" before the name of the person who lives in the house, hotel, hostel, etc.
- For example, if your Aunt Polly is staying with a cousin for a few weeks, and you want to send him a letter there, you can write: "c / o Henry Roth" under his name.
Step 3. Write the street address or PO box on the second line
If you are typing in an address, be sure to include any address information (for example, 400 west, instead of 400) or apartment numbers. If the street address and apartment number are so long that they do not fit on one line, just write the apartment number on the line below the street address.
- For example, if your friend lives at 50 Oakland Avenue in apartment # 206, enter 50 Oakland Ave, # 206.
- You can use some abbreviations for whatever type of street it is, as long as you use them correctly. You can write "blvd." Instead of "boulevard", "ctr." instead of "center", "ct." In place of "court", "dr" in place of "drive", "ln" in place of "lane", and so on.
- If you are sending a letter using a PO box, there is no need to include the street address of the post office. Based on the zip code, the postal service will know where the box is.
Step 4. Enter the city, state, and zip code on the third line
The state should be abbreviated with two letters, not the whole word.
You can use a 9-digit zip code, even if you don't have to. Five digits should be enough
Step 5. If you are sending something from another country, write “United States” in the address
If you're sending a letter from outside the United States, you need to change the format a bit. Write the city and state on one line, "United States of America" on the next line, and the zip code on the last line.
Step 6. You are done
Method 2 of 7: Professional Letter (United States)
Step 1. Enter the recipient's name
This can be a person or an organization, depending on where your letter is going. If possible, try to name one person as the recipient rather than the entire organization. Your letter is more likely to get more attention that way. Make sure to use formal titles like "Mr.", "Ms.", "Dr." or whatever the title of the person.
- Write the receiver's position after their name (optional). For example, if you are writing a letter to the Chief Marketing Officer, you could say: Paul Smith, Chief Marketing Officer.
- Write: "Attn." followed by the person's name if they occupy a single office at the address you are shipping to. For example: Attn: Shirley Shatten. If you are submitting your work to a magazine and you do not know the name of the fiction publisher, write: "Attn: Fiction Editor" to ensure that your submission reaches the fiction publisher.
Step 2. Write the name of the organization on the second line
For example, if you are writing to Paul Smith about a business matter and he works for Widgets. Inc., You should write Paul Smith in the first line and Widgets. Inc. in the second.
Step 3. Write the street name or PO box on the third line
If you're typing in an address, be sure to include any annotations for the address (for example, 400 west instead of just 400) or the office number.
If you use a PO box, you do not need to include the postal address of the post office. The zip code you include advises the postal service of the office location where the letter should go
Step 4. Enter the city, state, and zip code on the third line
The status should be abbreviated to two letters, not show the whole word.
You can use a 9-digit zip code, although it is not completely necessary. Five digits should be enough
Step 5. You are done
Method 3 of 7: UK
Step 1. Write the recipient's name on the first line
Includes all necessary titles. You can omit these titles when sending a letter to a friend or family member, but you might consider including them when writing to government officials, the military, doctors, teachers, or the elderly. This could be a person or an organization.
Step 2. Write the address number and street name on the second line
It is important that you write the number first and then the street name. For example: 10 Downing St.
Step 3. Write the name of the town or city on the third line
For example: London
Step 4. Write the name of the county on the fourth line (if applicable)
If, for example, you want to send a letter to London, you probably don't need to put the county. But if you are sending a letter to a rural area, it would be a good idea to include this section. If you know of another main subdivision, such as province, state, or county, then include that as well.
Step 5. Write the zip code on the last line
For example: SWIA 2AA.
Step 6. Include the name of the country (if necessary)
If you are sending a letter to the United Kingdom from another country, write "UK" or "United Kingdom" on the last line.
Step 7. You are done
Method 4 of 7: Ireland
Step 1. Write the recipient's name on the first line
This could be the name of a company or a person. Includes all necessary titles. You can omit these titles when sending a letter to a friend or family member, but you might consider including them when writing to government officials, the military, doctors, teachers, or the elderly.
Step 2. Write the name of the house on the second line (if necessary)
This is especially important in rural areas, where houses or farms are known by name rather than postal address. For example: Trinity College Dublin.
Step 3. Write the street on the third line
You can include the street number if you only have the street address. If you know the name of the farm, however, the street name should suffice. For example: College Green.
Step 4. Write the name of the town or city on the fourth line
If you are sending a letter to Dublin, you will need to fill in the information with a specific one or two digit postal code to specify the area of the city. You could write "Dublin 2".
Step 5. Write the name of the county on the fifth line (if applicable)
If you're sending a letter to a big city like Dublin, you probably don't need to indicate the county, but if you're sending a letter to a rural area, you'd better do it.
Note that in Ireland, the word "county" comes before the name, and is abbreviated to "Co.". So, for example, if you send a letter to County Cork, you have to write Cork Co. on the envelope
Step 6. Write the name of the country (if applicable)
If you want to send a letter from outside Ireland, you must write in the last line “Ireland”.
Step 7. You are done
Method 5 of 7: France
Step 1. Write the recipient's name on the first line
Note that it is common to write the person's last name in capital letters - for example, Mme. Marie-Louise BONAPARTE. Includes all necessary titles. You can omit these titles when sending a letter to a friend or family member, but you might consider including them when writing to government officials, the military, doctors, teachers, or the elderly.
Step 2. Write the name of the house or property on the second line
This is especially relevant in rural areas, where houses or farms are known by name. You could write, for example: Chateau de Versailles.
Step 3. Write the street number and name on the third line
The street name must be in capital letters. For example, you can write: 1 ROUTE of ST-CYR.
Step 4. Write the zip code and city name on the fourth line
Step 5. Write the name of the country on the fifth line (if applicable)
If you are sending something between two countries, include "France" in the last line.
Step 6. You are done
Method 6 of 7: Most of Europe
Step 1. Write the recipient's name on the first line
The recipient could be a person or an organization.
Includes all necessary titles. You can omit these titles when sending a letter to a friend or family member, but you might consider including them when writing to government officials, the military, doctors, teachers, or the elderly
Step 2. Write the name of the house on the second line (if applicable)
This step is important if your letter is addressed to a rural area, where houses or farms are known by name rather than address.
Step 3. Write the street name and number on the third line
For example, it could be Neuschwansteinstrasse 20.
Step 4. Write the zip code of the city, and the initials of the province (if applicable) on the fourth line
For example, 87645 Schwangau.
Step 5. Write the country on the fifth line (if applicable)
If you are writing from another country, include the name of the recipient country in the last line.
Step 6. You are done
Method 7 of 7: Other Countries
Step 1. If the country you are looking for is not in this guide, you can consult this database of international address formats
Advice
- If you send mail to other countries, always write the name of the country on the postcard. You can also use abbreviations, as in the case of "UK" for "United Kingdom".
- To successfully send an envelope to a member of the United States military:
- Write the grade and full name of the recipient (including initials and last names) on the first line.
- On the second line, write the PCS number, unit number, or ship name.
- For the third line, military addresses use an OCM (Military Post Office) or OCF (Fleet Post Office) code, then a regional designation such as AE (Europe, Middle East, Africa, and parts of Canada), AP (Ocean Pacific) or AA (the Americas and part of Canada), followed by the zip code.
- Use the extended version of the zip code to speed up internal mail delivery. In the United States, this extension has 4 digits (ex. 12345-9789).