Formatting Street Addresses

Addressing an envelope or postcard seems easy, but it can be tricky for many. The United States Postal Service (USPS) requires senders to follow its mailing address format, making formatting street addresses essential.

This blog discusses the correct USPS format with many examples for your reference. Also, we propose an alternative approach to manually cross-checking addresses to help you save time, effort, and resources.

Let us begin!

The shipping address is crucial for sending a postcard, letter, or package.

Knowing the proper street address format allows you to ensure accurate deliveries.

Here’s the USPS-prescribed format that you can use:

Address line 1: Recipient’s name

Address line 2: Unit or apartment number and street address

Address line 3: City, state, and ZIP code

Here’s an example:

STEVE PARKER
129 MAPLE DR
NEW YORK CITY NY  10005

Also, let us consider an example of shipping to a commercial address:

LIAM KELLY
MILLER ASSOCIATES
5810 KENSINGTON CT
CONCORD NH  03305

The second line moves to the third, and so on, when formatting street addresses for commercial locations. You can mention the company name below the recipient’s and add all the other information on the following lines.

USPS automated mail sorting machines read your delivery addresses from the bottom up. Hence, correctly writing the last two lines helps ensure the carrier drops off your items at the correct destinations.

Adding any information after the last two lines, like your tagline, attention line, or slogan, can misdirect your mailings. Hence, try avoiding them while formatting street addresses to avoid confusing the machines.

 Also Read: PO Box vs. Street Address

Many shippers have a common question: How to ensure proper street address formatting in Excel?

First, you must know the correct format for mailing to different location types.

You can encounter many address types on your mailing list, like commercial, P.O. box, or international.

PO Box Address

PO box addresses have a different format than street addresses. 

You should mention the P.O. box number instead of your apartment number and street name. 

Here’s an example:

HENRY COPELAND
PO BOX 7823
EMLYN KY  40769

You can also use the PO box street address format, where you mention each address component on a different line. For example,

LAYLA AHERN
901 SECOND ST
PO BOX 80390
SAN FRANCISCO CA  94115

International Address Format

You may need to ship items to Canada, Australia, and other countries. Thus, knowing global address formats can come in handy.

Canada street address format:

Recipient’s name

Civic address number and street address
City, province or territory abbreviation, and postal code
Country name

Find below an example:

RYAN CAMERON
707 NW GRAND AVE
MONTREAL QC  H1T 3J5
CANADA

 Also Read: Varying Address Format by County and Ways to Standardize It

More Examples!

Below, we have mentioned a few more examples with the suite number, building number, or attention line. Also, we will discuss how to format addresses for mailing to an Army or Fleet Post Office.

Here’s an example of using an apartment street address format with the building number:

SCOTT CHRISTIE
ABC COMPANY
12 SLYVAN BLVD BLDG 8
LAS VEGAS, NV  89104

Now, let us cover a postal address with the suite number:

APRIL JONES
1630 2ND DR STE 64
PASADENA, CA  91114

Note: BLDG and STE are abbreviations for building and suite, respectively.

Below is an example of a numbered address with the attention line:

ATTN: RICHARD SMITH
49 ROCKY LN
HOUSTON TX  71001

Finally, here’s an example of a military address format:

SGT. KEITH SERRAO
UNIT 1879 BOX 257
APO AE 09876

British Address Format 

A standard British address has six lines. 

• Line 1: Mention the recipient’s full name with the appropriate title. 
• Line 2: If you’re sending the mail item to an organization, write the organization's full name and department. 
• Line 3: The third line details the unit, apartment, suite, flat, etc. 
• Line 4: Include the house or building number, street name, dependent locality, and double-dependent locality. 
• Line 5: Write the name of the town or city of the recipient in Britain. 
• Line 6: Include the city name, followed by the province or territory abbreviation, and the postal code. 
• Line 7 (Only for International Mail): Write “UNITED KINGDOM” in capital letters at the end of the address if you are sending mail internationally. 

Canadian Address Format 

A standard Canadian address has four lines. 

• Line 1: Use the first line to include the recipient’s full name with an appropriate title. 
• Line 2: Write the organization’s name and department if you are addressing a business location. 
• Line 3: The third line is used as the civic address line. Add the house or building number, street name, and any unit or apartment information. 
• Line 4: Write the city or town name, and provide the two-letter province-territory abbreviation followed by the postal code. 
• Line 5 (Only for International Mail): Write “CANADA” on the last line of the Canadian addresses for international operations. 

Australian Address Format 

A standard Australian address has four lines. 

• Line 1: Write the recipient’s full name and an appropriate title. 
• Line 2: Write the organization’s and department names in the second line. 
• Line 3: The third line includes the house or building number. If there are other address elements, use a separate line. 
• Line 4: Use this line to write the post town (city) and state/territory, followed by the postal code. You don’t need to add punctuation; the extra spaces are enough to separate the address components.
• Line 5 (Only for International Mail): Write “AUSTRALIA) in capital letters at the end of the address for international purposes.

 Also Read: Mexican Address Format & Examples: How to Write & Verify it

USPS has many guidelines and tips for formatting a physical address for shipping mailers. They help you use the correct format and ensure mailing efficiency.

• Use capital letters
• Avoid adding punctuation
• Align your mailing and return address toward the left
• Use dark-colored inks on light-colored paper
• Put the postage and address on the same side of your envelopes or parcels
• Keep the address parallel to the longer side
• Leave one space between the city name and the state abbreviation
• Leave two spaces between the state and ZIP code
• Always mention the attention line above your mailing address
• Put the suite or house number above the street address if you can’t fit it on the same line
• Use the correct abbreviations for street directions, names, and states

Here are the USPS-approved abbreviations you can use:

Also, you may need the following abbreviations for street directions when formatting street addresses:

You may have heard the term ‘address standardization’ or ‘address normalization’ a few times.

It refers to converting addresses into consistent, reformatted formats of the national postal authority, helping you mail accurately and prevent mail returns.

We follow the USPS guidelines in the US. Other countries use the instructions from their postal organizations, like La Poste in France, Canada Post in Canada, and Royal Mail in the UK.

It lets you verify your address data when formatting addresses to improve accuracy, deliverability, and cost-efficiency.

Common Addressing Mistakes to Avoid 

Incomplete or Missing Address Components 

Many individuals fail to provide complete address elements. They might forget to add important information, such as suite or apartment numbers or building names. This information is necessary to deliver mail or packages to the right hands. Missing or incomplete address components might return the mail or package to the sender. 

Invalid ZIP Code 

Each ZIP code in the US corresponds to a particular area or a building. Many people mistakenly provide incorrect ZIP codes when writing their street address. These invalid ZIP codes might send your mail items to an entirely different area. 

Unreadable Handwriting 

This point is only valid if you manually write the addresses with pens or markers. The postal workers might have difficulty deciphering the address labels if your handwriting is poor and illegible. So many times, it results in delivery delays and misrouted mail. Always write the addresses clearly or use printing methods to avoid this issue. 

Outdated Address Information

Street addresses and address formats might change over time. This could be due to new urban developments, street name modifications, new postal regulations, or people moving to new places. However, not all addresses you have will remain the same for decades. You must update them against the National Change of Address (NCOA) database. Obsolete addresses will directly lead to confusion and misdelivery. Use postal resources or contact the recipient for the latest address information.  

Common Challenges When Working With Address Formats 

Standardization 

It is one of the most common challenges you will face while working with address data. Users often write addresses in their own way. However, postal services like USPS only accept an officially accepted format. An address standardization API solves many problems during the data blending process (combining two or more address databases). 

Human Errors

Self-standardizing your database and changing every “street”, “avenue”, or “boulevard” to a standard abbreviation might lead to plenty of mistakes. You might accidentally change numbers, making them unusable in your postal database. These human errors are common in a manual address formatting process. Only an automated system helps format and standardize your address database.  

Unique ZIP Codes 

USPS assigns specific ZIP codes to places that receive a high volume of mail. For example, some university campuses and other large corporate offices get such ZIP codes. The validation service you use might provide all the information about these addresses. You might not understand where specifically the mail items need to go. 

Semi-Validated Addresses 

These addresses might be suitable for mail delivery, but require more precision enhancement. For example, when mailing something to a large apartment building with multiple delivery points, you should specify the apartment number for easier delivery. This unit-level information is necessary to validate your addresses against the USPS database. 

Non-Postals

Some USPS serviceable addresses are not confirmed, but they may still be valid depending on the use case. For example, these addresses might not be valid if you are trying to reach them via mass mailing. But they could be helpful for unique purposes if you are a real estate developer. 

 Also Read:How to Address Mail to A PO Box for Business Use Cases

PostGrid’s address validation API and software allow you to parse, standardize, and verify mailing lists within seconds. 

You can verify 200k addresses simultaneously, facilitating quick results and time-saving processes.

Also, PostGrid is CASS-certified and uses the NCOA data files. It enables us to cross-check your addresses against the USPS authoritative database. 

Gone are the times when you needed to worry about “how to format a street address.”

Now, you can avail of features like

• Geocoding
• Reverse Geocoding
• Restful API
• International address verification
• Native integrations
• Autocomplete

Get a demo for more details on formatting street addresses and how we help smooth the process!