Writing the address correctly on an envelope helps you get that letter to the specified recipient on time. Many people don't even realize that there is a "correct" way to put the address on the envelope; if it arrives at its destination, it means that the address was right, right? No, unfortunately this is not the case. If you're writing an address on an envelope for a business contact, it's absolutely important to set it up correctly so it looks professional. This is a skill that you will probably use very often for work, so you need to do it in the best way.
Steps
Part 1 of 7: Personal Letter (United States)
Step 1. Write the recipient's name on the first line
The way of spelling the name depends on how this person prefers to be called. For example, if you know he cares about his anonymity, you can just write his initials. If, for example, you know your aunt prefers a certain level of anonymity, you could simply list her as "P. Jones" instead of "Polly Jones".
Add any titles. This step can be skipped if it is a letter to a family member or friend. However, if you need to send one to a government officer, military officer, professor, doctor, or elderly person, write the title. For example, if you want to send a letter to elderly Aunt Polly, who was widowed years ago, you could write "Mrs. Polly Jones"
Step 2. Address the letter to someone else (optional)
If you are sending a letter to an address where the recipient does not reside regularly, you may want to put it under the name "care of" or "courtesy of", which mean "at".
- Write "c / o" before the name of the person who lives there: it can be a hotel, a hostel, etc.
- For example, if your Aunt Polly is staying at her cousin Henry Roth's house for a few weeks and you want to send her a letter there, you should write "c / o Henry Roth" under her name.
Step 3. Write the address or Post Office Box number on the next line
Make sure it is complete and includes all relevant information ("400 West" instead of a simple "400") or apartment number, if any. If all this information does not fit on the same line, write it in line.
- For example, if your friend lives on 50 Oakland Avenue at 206, write "50 Oakland Ave, # 206".
- You can use abbreviations for the type of road. Boulevard is shortened to blvd, center becomes ctr, court is written ct, drive becomes dr, lane is shortened to ln and so on.
- If the letter is addressed to a PO Box, you do not need to enter its address. The postal service will know where it is thanks to the ZIP code.
Step 4. Write the city, state and ZIP code on the third line
The state should be abbreviated to two letters.
You can write the nine digits of the ZIP code (but it is not always necessary; five can be enough)
Step 5. If you are not located in the United States, you will need to make some minor changes
Write the city and state on one line, then add the postcode on the next line and finally, on the last line, write "United States of America".
Step 6. Finished
Part 2 of 7: Professional Letter (US)
Step 1. Write the recipient's name, which can be a person or an organization
If possible, use a person's name, using the right title (Mr., Ms., Dr., etc.). If possible, make the recipient a person so you have a better chance of getting someone's attention.
- Write the recipient's location after the name (optional). For example, if you need to send a letter to the marketing director, you can write "Paul Smith, Director of Marketing" on the first line.
- Write "Attn:" followed by the person's name if the person occupies a single office at a generic address, if you like. For example: "Attn: Shirley Shatten". If you're submitting your work to a magazine and don't know who the director of the fiction department is, you'll write "Attn: Fiction Editor" to make sure your presentation ends up in the right place.
Step 2. Write the name of the organization where the recipient works, in this case Widgets, Inc
on the second line. For example, if you are writing to Paul Smith of Widgets, Inc. for business purposes, you would type "Paul Smith" (first line) - "Widgets, Inc." (second line).
Step 3. Write the address or PO Box on the third line
Make sure you have all the necessary data. If you have the full address, be sure to include the specification (eg "400 West" instead of just "400") or the house number.
If you are sending it to a PO Box, you do not have to enter the address of the post office: it will be identified thanks to the ZIP code
Step 4. Write the city, state and postal code on the third line
The state should be abbreviated to two letters, rather than being written in full.
You can use a nine or five-digit zip code
Step 5. Finished
Part 3 of 7: United Kingdom
Step 1. Write the recipient's name on the first line, which can be a person or a corporate body
Write the necessary qualifications if the letter is addressed to a government or military executive, doctor, professor, or elderly person.
Step 2. Write the address on the second line
It is important to write the number first and then the street. For example: 10 Downing St.
Step 3. Write the city on the third line
For example: London.
Step 4. Write the county name on the fourth line (not always necessary)
If, for example, you are sending a letter to someone living in London, you do not need to add the county. If, on the other hand, the letter is to be sent to a rural area, you may want to write it. Enter any other important information, such as the province and state, in addition to the county.
Step 5. Write the postcode on the last line
For example: SWIA 2AA.
Step 6. Include the country name (if needed)
If you are sending the letter to Great Britain and are in another country, write "UK" or "United Kingdom" on the last line.
Step 7. Finished
Part 4 of 7: Ireland
Step 1. Write the recipient's name on the first line, which could be a person or an association
If the letter is not addressed to a family member or friend, write the recipient's title. You could probably avoid it with friends and family, but you'd do well to include it with government executives, military, doctors, professors, or older people.
Step 2. Write the house name on the second line (if necessary)
This is especially relevant in rural areas, where houses and estates are known by their name and not by their address. For example, you could write Trinity College Dublin.
Step 3. Write the street on the third line
You can include the number if you don't have the house name; if I had it, just write which is the way. For example, College Green.
Step 4. Write the city name on the fourth line
If your recipient lives in Dublin, you will need to add a specific one or two digit postcode corresponding to the area of the city where they live. For example, Dublin 2.
Step 5. Write the county name on the fifth line (if necessary)
If the letter goes to Dublin, you won't need it, but it will be needed if the destination is a rural area.
Note that the word "county" must be written before the actual county name and abbreviated to "Co.". For example, if the letter is to a recipient living in County Cork, write "Co. Cork" on the envelope
Step 6. Write the country name, "Ireland", on the last line if you are not in Ireland at the time of submission
Step 7. Finished
Part 5 of 7: France
Step 1. Write the recipient's name on the first line
In France, it is common to capitalize a person's surname; for example: Mme. Marie-Louise BONAPARTE. Add the necessary titles if you are not writing to a friend or family member.
Step 2. Write the house name on the second line
This is especially relevant in rural areas, where the properties are known by their name, such as Chateau de Versailles.
Step 3. Capitalize the street number and name on the third line; eg:
1 ROUTE de ST-CYR.
Step 4. Write the postcode and city name in the fourth line
For example, 78000 Versailles.
Step 5. Write the country name, "France", on the last and fifth lines only if you are not in France at the time of submission
Step 6. Finished
Part 6 of 7: Letters to Most of Europe
Step 1. Write the recipient's name on the first line, which can be a person or an organization
Add any titles of the person in question, as long as it's not a friend or family member
Step 2. Write any house name on the second line
This is especially true for rural areas, where houses and properties are known by their name rather than their address.
Step 3. Write the address and house number on the third line; example:
Neuschwansteinstrasse 20.
Step 4. Write the postal code, city and, if appropriate, the initials of the province on the fourth line; eg:
87645 Schwangau.
Step 5. Write the country name on the last line if you are in another place at the time of submission
Step 6. Finished
Part 7 of 7: Letters to Other Nations
Step 1. If your country of interest is not in this list, visit a database containing international formats
Advice
- If the letter will be sent to another country, write it in capital letters on the last line. You can also use its abbreviation, such as "UK" instead of "United Kingdom".
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To properly write the address on the envelope of a letter addressed to a member of the U. S. military:
- Write the recipient's grade and full name (including middle initial or middle name itself) on the first line.
- On the second line, write the Permanent Change of Station number, unit number or ship name.
- On the third line, write the APO (Army Post Office) or FPO (Fleet Post Office) and the regional designation, such as AE (Europe, Middle East, Africa and some parts of Canada), AP (Pacific) or AA (le Americas and certain parts of Canada), followed by the postcode.
- Use the extended version of the zip code to speed up domestic mail delivery. In the United States, the extension is four digits (example: 12345-9789).
