Writing Addresses
If you are writing an address, whether typed or handwritten, on an envelope to be mailed via the post office, do not use any punctuation. Use all CAPS. Center the address on the envelope and use a flush left margin. Put room, suite, and apartment numbers on the same line as the street address.
Example:
JESSIE SANTANA
4325 W PALM BEACH RD RM 419
SAN FRANCISCO CA 94116
If you know the four-digit extension of the zip code, the post office will be even happier with you.
Also, note that you should use RD for Road and W for West. Other abbreviations: STE for Suite and APT for Apartment.
If you are writing an address in the body of a letter, use punctuation.
Example: Please send mail to Jessie Santana, 4325 W. Palm Beach Rd., San Francisco, CA 94116.
January 30, 2007 at 7:01 pm
According to the USPS, all capital letters should also be used.
January 30, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Where have I been? I use punctuation on mailings all the time. When did this change?
January 30, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Aam I glad to see your critique of using commas before “and” in a series of three or more!
This is the way I learned it more than half a century ago and have continued in its use. I have been citicized by many others for fidelity to this pricniple.
Others have said that even our best newspapers don’t follow the principle anymore, with the sole exception, I believe, of the New York Times.
January 31, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Sandra points out that the post office also requests all capital letters on business addresses. She’s absolutely correct. However, I couldn’t find this same instruction on the USPS web site for personal mail.
January 31, 2007 at 6:34 pm
I am glad to see that this is finally getting out there. While I was in an office position, I kept in close contact with the postal office. They taught me decades ago about not putting in any punctuations on the envelope that was going to be mailed. I thought I was the only one who knew, because nobody else seems to do that.
January 31, 2007 at 7:51 pm
In addition to the NO PUNCTUATION rule, a rule of thumb for business that I teach is to type all of the information in ALL CAPITAL letters. This not only is quicker to type but more efficient for the Post Office to sort. Thank you for your invaluable information!
January 31, 2007 at 8:00 pm
I could not find it in my booklet I have in my classroom from the Post Office either. I remember this from a business writing course I took in college.
February 1, 2007 at 1:18 am
That’s a new one to me. THANK YOU!
Nat
February 1, 2007 at 11:30 am
Thank you for the new information of addres writting.
February 2, 2007 at 9:28 am
thanks for all the tips you are sending me. I hope you will continue sending me more of your ideas.
grace
February 4, 2007 at 6:13 am
hi,
Thanks for sending an e-mail like this ……. if u can just send more & more
yours
Dilnia A Qader
February 4, 2007 at 11:53 am
Thank you for sharing. When should a comma go after “and”?
February 4, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Ernestine, you don’t need a comma after “and.”
February 7, 2007 at 5:00 pm
This appears to have been answered in the book Eats, Shoots & Leaves by British author Lynne Truss.
As I recall, Lynne explained this as the “Oxford comma,” and I discuss this each semester in my college composition class. So it seems to have been a true “English” issue–and I would rather have the extra comma.
I use the example of the 60s folk group Peter, Paul and Mary–and I prefer to have the comma after Paul Stookey’s name. The reason for that, I explain, is that if Paul could not make a performance for some reason, would that exclude Mary too?
October 12, 2009 at 12:21 pm
The Associated Press Stylebook dictates the lack of a comma before the conjunction in a series. Most newspapers and journalistic writers adhere to the AP principals/rules of writing.
October 13, 2009 at 3:44 pm
True!
July 16, 2010 at 11:01 am
What if it’s a single-digit house/building number? For example:
Two Penn Center, Suite 1313
Would I write 2 PENN CENTER STE 1313 or TWO PENN CENTER STE 1313?
July 16, 2010 at 10:39 pm
This is from the USPS site, http://pe.usps.com/text/pub28/pub28c2_016.htm: 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. Spell out numeric street names only when there are duplicate street names within a postal delivery area and the only distinguishing factor is that the one you matched is spelled out.
Most of us don’t have the ZIP+4 file; therefore I recommend following the advice given in the second sentence, i.e., generally use numerals.