Don's Home Reference Address Format
Summary of Address Formatting Standards at the

Type or hand print in dark ink on a light background.
Use upper case letters.
Except for the hyphen in the primary or secondary street number (if needed) or the ZIP+4 code, all punctuation may be omitted (preferred).
Punctuation is normally limited to periods, slashes and hyphens.
e.g. 101 1/2 E MAIN ST

Preferred location for secondary address unit designators such as apartment are at the end of the delivery address line: 
JOHN DOE
425 FLOWER BLVD # 72 
SPRINGFIELD VA 22162-1058
 (Note: Space between # and number)
If All Delivery Address Line Information cannot be continued in the Delivery Address Line, place secondary address on the line immediately above. 
MR M MURRAY
APT C
5800 SPRINGFIELD GARDENS CIR
SPRINGFIELD VA 22162-1058

ATTN JOHN DOE
ABC COMPANY
1401 W MAIN ST
FALLS CHURCH VA 22041-1441

JOE DOE
#234
10 MAIN ST STE 11
HERNDON VA 22071-2716

ABC COMPANY
PO BOX 1001
FALLS CHURCH VA 22041-1001

JOE DOE
PMB 234
RR 1 BOX 12
HERNDON VA 22071-2716

MS HELEN SAUNDERS
1010 CLEAR STREET
OTATAWA ON K1A 0B1
CANADA
International Addresses should have the COUNTRY name only, written in full on the bottom line of the address.
PUERTO RICO is treated as a State in the U.S. 		Numeric Street Names:
Numeric street names, for example, 7TH ST or SEVENTH ST, should be output on the mailpiece exactly as they appear in the ZIP+4 file. The numeric form, e.g. 7TH ST, is usually preferred. 
SAKS FIFTH AVENUE 
611 5TH AVE
NEW YORK NY 10022-6813 

Highway Names:
INTERSTATE 80
US HIGHWAY 1
STATE HIGHWAY 335
STATE ROUTE 39
COUNTY ROAD 20
ROAD 123

Directionals:
E 8TH ST
NW SMITH ST  (no space)
NORTH AVE
1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE N W (space)
SOUTHEAST FWY N
Military Addresses:
Overseas addresses must contain the APO [Army Post Office] or FPO [Fleet Post Office] designation along with a two-character "state" abbreviation of AE (Europe, Middle East, Africa), AP (Pacific) or AA (Americas) and the ZIP code. 
SSGT KEVIN TAYKLOR
UNIT 2050 BOX 4190
APO AP 96278-2050
AE - Europe: AE 090-092 Germany, AE 093 Contingency, AE 094 United Kingdom 
Domestic:

MINOT AFB ND 58705-1253
Iraq military:

Some Iraq (APO AE) Zips:
Al Asad - 09333, Babylon (MND CS) - 09332, Balad (LSA Anaconda) - 09391, BIAP - 09335, Mosul (LSA Diamondback) - 09334, Tallil (LSA Adder) - 09331, Tikrit (FLB Sycamore) - 09393, Umm Qasr (Camp Bucca) - 09375, Rasheed - 09390, Victory Base - 09342, Camp Dogwood - 09344, 1st Airborne Division (Air Assault) - 09325, 1st Armor Division - 09324, 4th Infantry Division - 09323, 3rd ACR - 09320, 2nd LCR - 09322, 82nd Airborne Division - 09394, 09384, 09368, 173rd Airborne Brigade - 09347

Afghanistan:
e.g. APO AE 09356

See: Email Out Troops

Glossary:
MSC - Mail Stop Code
PMB - Private Mail Box

Street Suffix Abbreviations   See: Addressing Standards (pdf) at USPS.gov for others.
ARCADE ARC
AVENUE AVE
BAYOU BYU
BEACH BCH
BOULEVARD BLVD
BYPASS BYP
CANYON CYN
CAUSEWAY CAUSEWAY
CENTER CTR
CIRCLE CIR
COMMONS CMNS
CORNERS CORS
COURT CT
COVE CV
CREEK CRK
CRESCENT CRES
CREST CRST
CROSSING XING
CROSSROAD XRD
DAM DM
DRIVE DR
ESTATES ESTS
EXPRESSWAY   EXPY
EXTENSION EXT
FIELD FLD
FOREST FRST
FREEWAY FWY
GARDEN GDN
GLEN GLN
GROVE GRV
HARBOR HBR
HIGHWAY HWY
ISLAND IS
JUNCTION JCT
KEY KY
KNOLL KNL
LAKE LK
LANDING LNDG
LANE LN
LODGE LDG
LOOP LOOP
MANOR MNR
MILLS MLS
MOUNTAIN   MTN
PARK PARK
PARKS PARK
PARKWAY PKWY
PASS PASS
PATH PATH
PLACE PL
PLAZA PLZ
PORT PRT
RANCH RNCH
RIDGE RDG
RIVER RIV
ROAD RD
SHORE SHR
SKYWAY SKWY
SPRINGS SPGS
SQUARE SQ
STATION STA
STREAM STRM
STREET ST
SUMMIT SMT
TERRACE TER
TRAIL TRL
TUNNEL TUNL
TURNPIKE   TPKE
VALLEY VLY
VILLAGE VLG
VISTA VIS
WALK WALK
WAY WAY
See: Addressing Standards (pdf)
at USPS.gov for others.

Highway Designations

COUNTY HIGHWAY 60E 
STATE HIGHWAY 60 
STATE ROUTE 175
US HIGHWAY 44 
INTERSTATE 10 
HIGHWAY 1080A
ROAD 22
ROUTE 88
Unit Designators:
APARTMENT APT
BUILDING BLDG
FLOOR FL
SUITE STE
UNIT UNIT
ROOM RM
DEPARTMENT   DEPT
Links:
US Postal Service (USPS):
  Addressing Standards (pdf)
  Address Formatting
  Addressing Tips & Tools
  Acronyms & Abbreviations list
Return to Don's Home.
last updated 12 Dec 2007