How To Write An Address (With Examples)

Although the internet and digital technologies have taken over our life, we are still relatively reliant on snail mail. This can be anything from general mail, bills, important documents, and packages of all shapes and sizes.

Of course, you can send a package from any corner of the earth now that we have access to the internet and a variety of different global shipping methods. However, you still need the information necessary for regular mail.

To that end, if you’re looking to ship or send something to someone, you need their address, and you need to know how to format it properly. If the receiver’s address is incorrect or improperly formatted, the package or piece of mail will likely not be delivered in a timely fashion.

That’s why it’s so important to understand what an address is, how to properly format it on an envelope or package, and what it actually looks like in action.

What Is an Address?

Until the 18th and 19th centuries, most dwellings across the world were not numbered, including general buildings and private residences. During the Age of Enlightenment, street naming and house numbering became an important practice.

Due to the effort of conducting a census and actively recruiting for militaries, having houses and buildings numbered was essential.

Numbering homes allowed all individuals to receive mail in an efficient way as the postal system developed during the 18th and 19th centuries until it reached global usage.

Although most of the modern world is used to addresses being commonplace, in some countries (even developed ones) comprehensive addressing is still incomplete.

For example, in 2015, the Navajo Nation in the United States was still assigning addresses to their rural population. In Asia, many minor streets never received names, and even today, this is still the case in many areas of Japan.

To be specific, an address is a piece of information necessary to find a building, piece of land, or structure anywhere in the world. Depending on your country, this information will be used in a specific order.

An address can include things like towns, cities, counties, countries, specific street names and building numbers, company names, a name of a collection of buildings, as well as postal codes.

Postal codes, also known as postcodes, PINs, or zip codes, are a series of numbers or letters, sometimes including spaces and punctuation, that help postal offices sort mail efficiently.

These are typically assigned to geographical areas, but some may be assigned to individual addresses if they receive a high abundance of mail. These institutions are typically limited to government establishments or large organizations.

How to Write an Address on an Envelope

Now that we understand what an address is, the next important step is knowing how to address an envelope or package to send.

You’ll need two addresses for this process: the sender’s address and the recipient’s. The sender’s address must be included in case the address is incorrect or the individual has moved without your knowledge.

The postal service will typically return the package or letter to the sender. This is important to keep the contents of your letter or package safely.

• Sender’s address. The sender’s address should be written in the upper left-hand corner of your envelope package. You’ll want to include the following information:

  • Your name or the name of the sender. This can be an individual name or an organization name. However, it’s always best to put it to a specific person’s attention, especially if the organization is large.

  • Address line one. The next line will be the first line of the address, which is the specific building number and street name.

  • Address line two. Sometimes there are two lines required for an address. For example, if you have a suite number or specific mailbox you are targeting, that would go here.

  • Final line. Your final line will include the town, city, state, and zip code for the specific address, depending on your country.

  • International shipping. If your letter or package is being shipped internationally, you’ll want to include the country beneath the full address.

• Recipient’s address. Now, for the most important part. The recipient’s address should be the largest thing on the envelope or package and be placed in the center of the surface on which you are writing. You’ll want to include the following information:

  • Recipient’s name. Just like the sender, this can be an individual name or an organization name.

    If you are sending your package to an organization, be sure you know where specifically or to whom specifically the package or letter should be sent.

    Otherwise, you meet the risk of the letter or package getting lost in an internal mail sorting system.

  • Address line one. This is the first line of the address, including building number, street name, office complex, or any other necessary information.

  • Address line two. Any specific suite number, office number, or floor number.

  • Final line. Include the town, city, state, and zip code for your package, as you did for the sender’s address.

  • International shipping. It is very important to understand the requirements for international shipping, especially for packages. But for writing the address, ensure this is a detail you don’t leave out!

The formatting of letters and packages can certainly differ depending on the two individuals sending and receiving packages, as well as where you reside in the world. However, these are the common best practices for addressing a letter across the globe.

How to Write an Address on a Business Letter

Mailing things to a company is relatively similar to mailing something to a residential address or a specific individual, but there are a few considerations you may want to make.

To properly address something to someone at a company, you should consider putting the specific package or letter to the attention of someone in the company.

This means you would write “Attention” or “ATTN” and the name of the individual you are seeking. When writing this individual’s name, ensure you know what prefix they go by, such as Mrs., Ms., Mr., or Dr.

You may also consider putting the individual’s job title or professional distinction if you are familiar enough to use it. The proper formatting for including this information is to add a comma after the individual’s surname and write their specific title.

The next lines should include the name of the business, both lines of the address, if necessary, as well as the town, city, state, and zip code.

If you have received the address from someone, it’s never a bad idea to double-check the street name, building number, and zip code on Google just to make sure the address is correct and exists.

How to Format a Military Address

Military addresses are fairly similar to regular residential or business addresses, just with a few extra things to be aware of. We’ll follow the same process as we did when addressing the envelope or package to a specific individual.

The next line should have the building number and street name where they receive mail.

Next, instead of the name of the specific city or town in which they are serving, you’ll include DPO (Diplomatic Post Office), FPO (Fleet Post Office), or APO (Air/Army Post Office), depending on where the individual is serving.

The state’s name will be abbreviated by the specific duty station, such as AE (Armed Forces Europe). Finally, you’ll need to include a full zip code, including the additional four-number code, as this is a requirement for delivery to military individuals.

How to Write an International Address

Although we briefly touched upon this above, let’s dive into a little more detail on how to write an international address.

This varies based on country, so ensure you understand your specific country formats address so you can make sure you have all of the information necessary and that you’re laying it out the right way.

For now, we’ll focus on addressing a letter or package to a European country. First, as with any letter, you’ll address the package or envelope to the specific individual or company.

On the second line, you’ll want to write down the building number and street name. For international shipping, the address lines can be confusing.

In rural areas, you might find that the houses or estates are specifically named and must be included in the address. Next, list the town or city in which the recipient lives.

Next, you’ll need to include the name of the specific county. We don’t typically do this in the United States, but it is quite common in European countries and typically only required in rural areas.

Then, you’ll include the postal code, which will also look different from U.S. zip codes. Where the U.S. uses only numbers, Europeans and other countries typically use a combination of letters and numbers.

Finally, and most importantly, you must include the country name on both the sender and recipient’s address to make sorting your mail and getting it to its desired location easier for the postal service.

Author

Caitlin Mazur

Caitlin Mazur is a freelance writer at Zippia. Caitlin is passionate about helping Zippia’s readers land the jobs of their dreams by offering content that discusses job-seeking advice based on experience and extensive research. Caitlin holds a degree in English from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA.

Expert

Matt Warzel, CPRW, CIR

Matt Warzel a President of a resume writing firm (MJW Careers, LLC) with 15+ years of recruitment, outplacement, career coaching and resume writing experience. Matt is also a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Internet Recruiter (CIR) with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Marketing Focus) from John Carroll University.