Whether a close family member, a cheaper business partner or a downright obnoxious former friend lives in England, there may be a need to communicate with this person by letter from time to time. If you think it could happen, but you don't know how to send a letter across the Channel, read the advice given starting from the first step of this guide to find out how to prevent the letter addressed to your dear aunt from being delivered to your former friend instead.
Steps
Step 1. Turn the envelope over, so the blank side is facing up
Seal the letter in the envelope. If you are using bubble wrap - a protective bubble wrap - or if the package has an uneven surface, write the address on the package before inserting the contents, making sure it is legible.
Step 2. Where to write the address
The address of the recipient of the letter must be written in the center of the envelope. Leave enough space for up to nine lines of text in the center, or between the center and the lower right side of the package. Apply the stamp to the upper right corner of the envelope.
Step 3. Write the recipient's name in the center of the envelope
Specify title, name (which you can also write only the initial) and surname.
- Example of full name: Mr. Jim Stewart
- Example with the initial only: Mr. J. Stewart
Step 4. Write the business name below the recipient's name
In the case of a business letter, the name of the company or organization to which the recipient belongs must be written on the envelope under their name. However, this is only necessary in the case of a business letter - it is not necessary to specify the business name if you are writing a personal letter. Let's imagine, for example, that the organization is "British Imports / Exports". The address will be:
-
Mr. Jim Stewart
British Imports / Exports
Step 5. Write the name of the building to send the letter to
This indication is to be placed under the name of the company - in the case of a business letter - or under that of the recipient if you choose not to include the name of the business. If the building that will receive the letter has a house number, the name of the building is not strictly necessary. Let's say in the example that the name of the building is Pilton House, you would write:
-
Mr. Jim Stewart
British Imports / Exports
Pilton House
Step 6. Mark the house number and street name
Write the house number of the building to send the letter to, as well as the name of the street. To our example address we will therefore add:
-
Mr. Jim Stewart
British Imports / Exports
Pilton House
34 Chester Road
Step 7. Write the name of the city, or country, on the next line
It is only necessary to do this if there is another street - within the area of responsibility of the same post office - which has the same street name as the recipient. If the street to which you are addressing the letter is the only one with that name in the entire postal city area, there is no need to specify the name of the city or town. Continuing with Jim Stewart's example:
-
Mr. Jim Stewart
British Imports / Exports
Pilton House
34 Chester Road
Greenway End
Step 8. Type the name of the "postal town"
The "postal city" is the main town or city that is in the recipient's area of interest. His name must be written in capital letters. For example, if we wanted to send our letter to Timperley, we would write:
-
Mr. Jim Stewart
British Imports / Exports
Pilton House
34 Chester Road
Greenway End
TIMPERLEY
Step 9. It is not necessary to write the name of the county
However some prefer to do it, it depends on your preference. Going forward with the example we will have:
-
Mr. Jim Stewart
British Imports / Exports
Pilton House
34 Chester Road
Greenway End
TIMPERLEY
Altrincham
Step 10. Find the recipient's postal code
Unlike many other countries, England uses a postcode made up of numbers and letters. You can search online for the recipient's postcode using a search engine. For instance:
-
Mr. Jim Stewart
British Imports / Exports
Pilton House
34 Chester Road
Greenway End
TIMPERLEY
Altrincham
SO32 4NG
Step 11. Write the name of the state
On the last line of the address, write the name of the state to send the letter to. In this case, it is the UK or England. So, to conclude our example, we will write:
-
Mr. Jim Stewart
British Imports / Exports
Pilton House
34 Chester Road
Greenway End
TIMPERLEY
Altrincham
SO32 4NG
England
Step 12. Verify that the written address is correct
Each address will contain different information, depending on whether you are writing a personal or business letter, or whether or not you choose to include the county name. If we wrote every piece of information, we would have:
