Canadian addresses

The following sections illustrate our recommended addressing guidelines for Canadian addresses. Please note that in all cases the number of lines in the address block may not exceed six.

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Civic address

Civic address with additional delivery information

Civic address in a rural area

Postal Box address

Postal Box address with civic address and additional delivery information

Rural Route address

Rural Route address with civic address

Rural Route address with additional address information

General Delivery address

Bilingual addresses

Military addresses

Civic address

Civic addresses should contain:

A correct civic address
  1. The addressee (first line)
  2. Civic address (second line)
  3. Municipality name, province or territory, and postal code (third line)
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Civic address with additional delivery information

If you wish to include additional delivery information, it should appear between the first line (the addressee) and the third line (the civic address).

Civic addresses with additional delivery information should contain:

A correct civic address with additional delivery information
  1. The addressee (first line)
  2. Additional delivery information (second line)
  3. Civic address (third line)
  4. Municipality name, province or territory, and postal code (fourth line)
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Civic address in a rural area

Civic addresses are also commonly used in rural areas (with rural postal codes).

A correct civic address for a rural area (using a rural postal code)
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Postal Box address

Postal Box addresses should contain:

A correct Postal Box address
  1. The addressee (first line)
  2. Postal Box number and station information (second line)
  3. Municipality name, province or territory, and postal code (third line)
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Postal Box address with civic address and additional delivery information

If you wish to include additional delivery information, it should appear under the first line. If you wish to include the civic address, it should appear above the Postal Box number and station information.

Postal Box addresses with civic address and additional delivery information should contain:

A correct Postal Box address with civic address and additional delivery information
  1. The addressee (first line)
  2. Additional delivery information (second line)
  3. Civic address (third line)
  4. Postal Box number and station information (fourth line)
  5. Municipality name, province or territory, and postal code (fifth line)
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Rural Route address

Rural Route addresses should contain:

A correct Rural Route address
  1. The addressee (first line)
  2. Rural Route identifier and station information (second line)
  3. Municipality name, province or territory, and postal code (third line)
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Rural Route address with civic address

If you wish to include additional delivery information, it should appear under the addressee. If there’s a civic address for the rural area, it should appear above the Rural Route identifier and station information.

Rural Route addresses with civic address should contain:

A correct Rural Route address with civic address
  1. The addressee (first line)
  2. Civic address (second line)
  3. Rural Route identifier and station information (third line)
  4. Municipality name, province or territory, and postal code (fourth line)
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Rural Route address with additional address information

Rural addresses that don’t contain a civic address may need additional address information. The additional address information should appear above the Rural Route identifier and station information.

Rural Route addresses with additional address information should contain:

A correct Rural Route address with additional address information
  1. The addressee (first line)
  2. Additional address information (second line)
  3. Rural Route identifier and station information (third line)
  4. Municipality name, province or territory, and postal code (fourth line)
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General Delivery address

General Delivery addresses should contain:

A correct General Delivery address
  1. The addressee (first line)
  2. General Delivery Identifier and station information (second line)
  3. Municipality name, province or territory, and postal code (third line)
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Bilingual addresses

Bilingual addresses must have a solid black vertical line (at least 0.7 mm thick) separating the two addresses. There must be an empty space about 10 mm wide on either side of the black line.

A correct bilingual address demonstrating the empty 10 mm space on either side of the black line separating the two addresses
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Military addresses

We define military mail as mail sent between the Department of National Defence, Canadian Forces personnel, their dependents, and civilians attached to Canadian Forces. We serve them all through Canadian Forces Post Offices and Fleet Mail Offices. See Canadian Forces Postal Service for more information about addressing guidelines for military mail.

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