U.S. addresses

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

Basic U.S. addresses

U.S. addresses should have the following information:

A correct basic U.S. address
  1. The addressee (first line)
  2. Delivery address (second line)
  3. City name, state abbreviation, and ZIP Code (third line)
  4. Country name (fourth line)

Important information - U.S. addresses

You must address all U.S. mail items to a specific:

  • Person
  • Organization
  • Company name (the addressee)

The delivery address should have all its components, such as the:

  • Primary address number
  • Predirectional
  • Street name
  • Suffix
  • Postdirectional
  • Secondary address identifier
  • Secondary address

There should be one space between address elements.

You should use the full city name and it should appear as the first part in the second-last line of the address block.

We prefer the two-letter state abbreviation over the full state name. The state abbreviation should appear on the second-last line of the address block after the city name, separated by one space. See our complete list of U.S. states, territories, and possessions names and abbreviations. 

You must separate the ZIP Code from the state abbreviation by two spaces. The ZIP code may be five or nine digits. If you use the nine-digit format, use a hyphen between the fifth and sixth digits.

The country name must be the last entry on the address. You place it alone on the last line of the address block, below the city name and the ZIP Code information.