Address (geography)

An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used for describing the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along with other identifiers such as house or apartment numbers. Some addresses also contain special codes to aid routing of mail and packages, such as a post code.

Functions

Addresses have several functions:

History

Until the advent of modern postal systems, most houses and buildings were not numbered. Streets may have been named for landmarks, such as a city gate or market, or for the professions of their inhabitants. In many cities in Asia, most minor streets were never named. This is still the case today in much of Japan. When postal systems were introduced, it became necessary to number buildings to aid in mail delivery.

Current addressing schemes

House numbering or naming

Main article: House numbering

In most English-speaking countries, the standard is an alternating numbering scheme progressing in one direction along a street, with odd numbers on one side (usually west or south or the lefthand side leading away from a main road) and even numbers on the other (usually north or east or the righthand side leading away from a main road), although there is significant variation on this basic pattern. Many older towns and cities in the UK have "up and down" numbering where the numbers progress sequentially along one side of the road, and then sequentially back down the other side. Cities in North America, particularly those planned on a grid plan, often incorporate block numbers, quadrants (explained below), and cardinal directions into their street numbers, so that in many such cities, addresses roughly follow a Cartesian coordinate system. Some other cities around the world have their own schemes.

Although house numbering is the principal identification scheme in many parts of the world, it is also common for houses in the United Kingdom and Ireland to be identified by name, rather than number, especially in small towns. In these cases, the street name will usually follow the house name. Such an address might read: "Smith Cottage, Frog Lane, Barchester, Barsetshire, BA9 9BA" or "Dunroamin, Emo, Co. Laois, Ireland" (fictional examples).

Quadrants

In cities with Cartesian-coordinate-based addressing systems, the streets that form the north-south and east-west dividing lines constitute the x and y axes of a Cartesian coordinate plane and thus divide the city into quadrants. The quadrants are typically identified in the street names, although the manner of doing so varies from city to city. For example, in one city, all streets in the northeast quadrant may have "NE" prefixed or suffixed to their street names, while in another, the intersection of North Calvert Street and East 27th Street can be only in the northeast quadrant.

Street-naming conventions

Street names may follow a variety of themes. In many North American cities, such as, San Francisco USA, and Edmonton, Canada, streets are simply numbered sequentially across the street grid. Washington, D.C. has its numbered streets running north-south and lettered or alphabetically named streets running east-west, while diagonal avenues are typically named after states. In Salt Lake City, and many other Utah cities, streets are in a large grid and are numbered in increments of 100 based on their location relative to the center of the city in blocks. A similar system is in use in Detroit with the Mile Road System. In some housing developments in North America, streets may all follow the same theme (for example, bird species), or start with the same letter. Streets in Continental Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America are usually named after famous people or auspicious dates.

Postal codes

Postal codes are a relatively recent development in addressing, designed to speed the sorting and processing of mail by assigning unique numeric or alphanumeric codes to each geographical locality.

Postal alternatives to physical addresses

For privacy and other purposes, postal services have made it possible to receive mail without revealing one's physical address or even having a fixed physical address. Examples are post office boxes, service addresses and poste restante (general delivery).

Address format

Write Your Address Clearly, public service poster, James Fitton (1958)

In most of the world, addresses are written in order from most specific to general, i.e. finest to coarsest information, starting with the addressee and ending with the largest geographical unit. For example:[1]

Format Example
Name
Company name
Street
City area/District
City/Town/Village
County
Postal code
Country (in French or English)
Mr A. Payne
ARAMARK Ltd.
30 Commercial Road
Fratton
PORTSMOUTH
Hampshire
PO1 1AA
Royaume-Uni

In English-speaking countries, the postal code usually comes last. In much of Europe, the code precedes the town name, thus: "1010 Lausanne". Often, the country code is still placed in front of the postal code: "CH-1010 Lausanne". However, this is no longer demanded by postal authorities.[2]

If a house number is provided, it is written on the same line as the street name; a house name is written on the previous line. When addresses are written inline, line breaks are replaced by commas. Conventions on the placing of house numbers differ: either before or after the street name. Similarly, there are differences in the placement of postal codes: in the UK, they are written on a separate line at the end of the address; in Australia, Canada and the United States, they usually appear immediately after the state or province, on the same line; in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and The Netherlands they appear before the city, on the same line.

East Asian addressing systems, including Chinese, Japanese and Korean addressing systems, when written in their native scripts, use the opposite ordering, starting with the province/prefecture, ending with the addressee. However both have the same order as western countries when written in the Latin alphabet. The Hungarian system also goes from large to small units, except the name of the addressee is put into the first line.

The Universal Postal Convention strongly recommends the following:

"The addressee’s address shall be worded in a precise and complete manner. It shall be written very legibly in roman letters and arabic numerals. If other letters and numerals are used in the country of destination, it shall be recommended that the address be given also in these letters and numerals. The name of the place of destination and the name of the country of destination shall be written in capital letters together with the correct postcode number or delivery zone number or post office box number, if any. The name of the country of destination shall be written preferably in the language of the country of origin. To avoid any difficulty in the countries of transit, it is desirable for the name of the country of destination to be added in an internationally known language. Designated operators may recommend that, on items addressed to countries where the recommended position of the postcode is in front of the name of the location of destination, the postcode should be preceded by the EN ISO 3166–1 Alpha 2 country code followed by a hyphen. This shall in no way detract from the requirement for the name of the destination country to be printed in full."[3]

Mailing address format by country

Argentina

In Argentina, an address must be mailed this way:

Format Example
Name
Streetname, number
Complements, Neighbourhood (if needed)
Postal code, Municipality
Luis Escala
Piedras 623
Piso 2, depto 4
C1070AAM, Capital Federal

The postal code has been changed from a four digit format to an eight digit format, which is shown in the example. The new format adds a district or province letter code at the beginning, which allows it to be identified. As the system has been changed recently, the four digit format can still be used: in that case it is necessary to add the name of the province or district.

Old Format (4d) New Format (8d)
Luis Escala
French 392
Banfield (1828)
Lomas de Zamora, Pcia Buenos Aires
Luis Escala
French 392
Banfield
B1828HKH, Lomas de Zamora

Australia

In common with the English-speaking world, addresses in Australia put the street number—which may be a range—before the street name, and the placename before the postcode. Unlike addresses in most other comparable places, the city is not included in the address, but rather a much more fine-grained locality is used, usually referred to in Australia as a suburb or town – although these words are understood in a different way than in other countries. Because the suburb or town serves to locate the street or delivery type, the postcode serves only as routing information rather than to distinguish previous other parts of an address. As an example, there are around 8000 localities in Victoria (cf. List of localities in Victoria (Australia) and List of Melbourne suburbs), yet around 700 unique geographic postcodes.[4] For certain large volume receivers or post offices, the "locality" may be an institution or street name. It is always considered incorrect to include the city or metropolis name in an address (unless this happens to be the name of the suburb), and doing so may delay delivery.

Australia Post recommends[5] that the last line of the address should be set in capital letters. In Australia, subunits are essential and should be separated from the street by two spaces; apartments, flats and units are typically separated with a forward slash instead. As in the US, the state/territory is crucial information as many placenames are reused in different states/territories; it is usually separated from the suburb with two spaces and abbreviated. In printed matter, the postcode follows after two spaces; in handwritten matter, the postcode should be written in the boxes provided.

Format Example
Street address
Recipient Name

Other recipient information
(etc.)
Street (Subunit  Number Name)
Locality  State  Postcode

Ms H Williams

Finance and Accounting
Australia Post
219-241 Cleveland St
STRAWBERRY HILLS  NSW  1427

Other delivery type
Recipient Name

Other recipient information (etc.)
Type Number
Locality  State  Postcode

Mr J. O'Donnell

Lighthouse Promotions
PO Box 215
SPRINGVALE  VIC  3171

In addition to PO Boxes, other delivery types (which are typically abbreviated) may include:

Delivery type Abbreviation
Care of post office CARE PO
Community mail bag CMB
General Post Box (in capital cities) GPO BOX
Mail service MS
Roadside delivery RSD
Roadside mail service RMS
Community mail agent CMA
Community postal agent CPA
Locked bag LOCKED BAG
Roadside mail box/bag RMB
Private bag PRIVATE BAG

Australian Post Addressing Guidelines

Austria

In Austria, the address is generally formatted as follows:

Format Example
Addressee (Natural person/Organization)
More detailed description of addressee (optional)
Streetname + number
Postal code + town
Country (if other than Austria)
Firma ABC
Kundendienst
Hauptstr. 5
1234 Musterstadt
 

The postal code always consists of four digits.

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, the format used for rural and urban addresses is different.

Urban Addresses

Format Example
Addressee (Natural person/Organization)
More detailed description of addressee (optional)
Flat Number, Building Name (if available)
Streetname + number
Town + postal code
Country (for international mail)
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
--
--
Dhanmondi. 32
Dhaka-1209
Bangladesh

The postal code always consists of four digits.

Rural Addresses

Format Example
Name
More detailed description of addressee (optional)
Village Name
Post office
Thana Name
District Name
Country (for international mail)
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
--
Village: Tungipara
P.O.: Tungipara
Thana: Tungipara
District: Gopalganj
Bangladesh

Belarus

Some neighbourhoods may be planned in such a way that some, or most, apartment buildings don't face a named street. In this case, a number of expedients can be used. In older neighbourhoods, a "main" building may have the same number as one or more "subsidiary" buildings accessible via driveways behind the main building. They will be addressed as vul. Lenina, d. 123 (123 Lenin St) An address may also cover one or more subsidiary buildings behind the main building, addressed as vul. Lenina, d. 123, bud. 2 (123 Lenin St, unit 2, where bud. (abbreviation for будынак, budynak) means a '(subsidiary) building'). In newer areas with more regular street plans, apartment buildings that don't face a named street may be designated with Cyrillic letters appended to the building number, e.g. 123-а, 123-б, etc., in Cyrillic alphabetical order.

In some microraion neighbourhoods, with few, if any, buildings facing named streets, the name (or more likely number of the microraion (planned housing development)) would be used instead of the street name; thus someone may live at 4-th microrayon, d. 123, kv. 56, i.e. 123 - 4th Microraion, apt. 56.

Format Cyrillic example Latin example
Name of addressee
Streetname, number, apartment/room
Village (in rural areas when different from post office)
Postal code, post office (in rural areas) or city/town
Raion
Region
Country (for international mail)
Свістунову Івану Пятровічу
вул. Цэнтральная, д. 20
в. Караліставічы
223016, п/а Новы Двор
Мінскага р-на.
Мінскай вобл.
Беларусь (BELARUS)
Svistunov Ivan Piatrovič
vul. Centraĺnaja, d. 20
v. Karalistavičy
223016, p/a Novy Dvor
Minskaha r-na
Minskaj vobl.
BELARUS

Source: Belposhta

Belgium

The address starts with the most specific information (addressee individual identification) and ends with the most general information (postcode and town for domestic mail or country for cross border mail.) Spatial information of a physical address (including building, wing, stairwell, floor and door) may be useful for internal path of delivery, but is not allowed in the delivery point location line (i.e. the line containing street, number and box number). If needed, this information will appear on a line above the delivery point location line.

In Belgium the street number is mentioned after the thoroughfare name (unlike in France), separated by a space. Separators such as punctuation (point, comma or other signs) or ‘n°’, or ‘nr’ are not allowed. Extension designation (box numbers), if present, appears in the delivery point location line, preceded by the word for ‘box’ (‘bus’ in Dutch, ‘bte’ in French). The symbols ‘b’, ‘Bt’, ‘#’, ‘-’, ‘/’, … are not allowed as separators between the street number element and the box number element.

Example of a correctly formatted postal address:

Format Example (French) Example (Dutch)
Addressee individual information
Function / department (optional)
Organization (if applicable)
Spatial/dispatching information (if applicable)
thoroughfare + street number + box number
Postal code + town
Country (only for international mail)
Monsieur Alain Dupont
Directeur Service Clients
Acme SA
Bloc A - étage 4
Rue du Vivier 7C bte 5
1000 Bruxelles
BELGIUM
Dhr Paul Janssens
Afdeling Kwaliteit
Acme NV
Gebouw A - Verdieping 3
Volklorenlaan 81 bus 15
2610 Wilrijk
BELGIUM

The Belgian addressing guidelines are registered with the Universal Postal Union (UPU and see the link http://www.upu.int/en/activities/addressing/postal-addressing-systems-in-member-countries.html). These guidelines indicate exactly how to combine the various address components in order to obtain a correctly formatted postal address. The complete set of addressing guidelines can be found on the website of the Belgian postal operator (bpost). The correct representation of an address is not limited to the correct structure of address components but also relates to the content of addresses and their position on envelopes (see http://www.bpost.be/site/fr/residential/letters-cards/send/best_practices.html (in French)).

It is also possible to validate a Belgian postal address on bpost’s website and to receive feedback on the content and the format of an address. More information can be found on bpost’s website (see http://www.bpost.be/validationadresse/ (in French)).

Brazil

In Brazil, an address must be mailed this way:

Format Example
Name
Street type (avenue/terrace), Streetname, number, apartment/room (if needed)
Neighbourhood (optional)
Municipality, State
Postal Code
Carlos Rossi
Avenida João Jorge, 112, ap. 31
Vila Industrial
Campinas - SP
13035-680

States can have their name written entirely, abbreviated in some way, or totally abbreviated to two letters (SP = São Paulo, RJ = Rio de Janeiro, etc.).

Only towns with 60,000 inhabitants and above have postal codes individualized for streets, roads, avenues, etc. One way can have several postal codes (by odd/even numbers side or by segment). These postcodes range from -000 to -899. Other towns have only a generic postcode with the suffix -000. Recipients of bulk mail (large companies, condos, etc.) have specific postcodes, with a suffix ranging from -900 to -959. P.O. boxes are mailed to Correios offices, with suffixes ranging from -970 to -979. Some rural settlements have communitarian postboxes with suffix -990.

Canada

Canada uses a similar system to the United States (below), but there are key differences.

See the example below for a French address.

Format Example
Recipient name
Apt. number-House number street name
City (Province) and postal code
Jean-Pierre Lamarre
101-3485 RUE DE LA MONTAGNE
MONTRÉAL (QUÉBEC) H3G 2A6

Chile

Chilean urban addresses require only the street name, house number, apartment number (if necessary) and municipality; however, more information is frequently included, such as neighbourhood, city, region. Postal codes are rarely included by people. All postal codes have seven digits, the first three indicating the municipality, the next four identifying a block or in large and scarcely populated areas a quadrant within the municipal territory.

The territories of most of the larger cities comprise several adjacent municipalities, so it is important to mention it.

Format Example
Recipient name
Street and number
Apartment (if needed)
Postal code (rarely used)
Municipality
City (not needed)
Sr. Rodrigo Domínguez
Av. Bellavista N° 185
Dep. 609
8420507
Recoleta
Santiago

Smaller cities often consist of only one municipality with several unofficial neighbourhoods that are usually mentioned even for official addressing purposes.

Format Example
Recipient name
Street and number, Apartment number
Neighbourhood
Municipality
Sra. Isidora Retamal
Nelson N° 10, Dep. 415
Cerro Barón
Valparaíso

Several large and mostly rural municipalities contain more than one small town, in such cases, the recipient address must mention either the town, the postal code or both.

Format Example
Recipient name
Street and number
Town or village
Postal code
Municipality
Inversiones Aldunate y Cía. S.A.
Los Aromos N° 12185
Maitencillo
25000311
Puchuncaví

China

The Postal area when written in Chinese characters (preferably Simplified Chinese characters), has the order of the largest unit first, ending with the addressee, i.e. country, province, municipality, town, street or road, building name, floor/level, house/flat number, company name, addressee. This is the most common language used when posting within China.

Format Chinese example English example
Country, Postal Code
Province, City, District, Street Name or Road Name with Street Number or Road Number, Building Name or Number, Room Number
Recipient
邮编 528400
北京市东城区名都路恒大花园7栋702室

张小明先生收
P.R. China 528400
Beijing City, East District, Mingdu Road, Hengda Garden, 7th Building, Room 702
To: Mr Xiaoming Zhang

The whole address is commonly written as a string of characters with no particular format regarding where a new line would start, similar to one long sentence, with any new lines appearing depending on the space available on the envelope. Generally, the district is omitted when posting within China.

Croatia

Format Example
Name
Street name + number
HR- Postal code + town
Hrvoje Horvat
Ulica maršala Tita 174
HR-51410 Opatija

Croatia uses five-digit postal code numbers. The Croatian postal service recommends using 2-letter ISO country codes as prefixes before international and domestic postal codes, though the practice is not mandatory.

Czech Republic

Common format in Czech Republic:

Format
(Company + department)
Name
Street name (or village name) + number
Postal code + Town (or post office)

Postal codes are in the format "### ##" (i.e. 158 00 = Prague 58) or "CZ-#####" (especially for international sendings). At pre-printed Czech postcards and envelopes, the postal code is filled into frames at separate last row. If the envelope doesn't have pre-printed rows and frames, the postal code should be before the town (or post office) name.

In private mails, the first line is usually constituted by a courtesy title (pan, paní, slečna, žák…) For private mails addressed to the workplace, the order is inverse (name + company) as in official mails (company + name).

The basic system of house numbering are conscription house numbers (čísla popisná, čp. or č. p.). In case of temporary or recreational house, an evidentional house number (číslo evidenční, ev. č. or če., or distinguished by initial 0 or E prefix) is used instead. In most of bigger cities and also in some towns and big villages with street names, there is double system of house numbering. As the first number is used the conscription or evidentional number (which corresponds to the chronologic order of cadastral registration of the house), as the second number (past a slash) is used the orientational number (orientační číslo, č. or., č. o.) which expresses position on the street. Sometimes, only one of the two numbers is used or the numbers are used in inversed order and it can be difficult to distinguish which number is which. Generally, orientation numbers (if exists) are preferred for mail services.

Ex.: Josef Novák, Brněnská 2256/16, 123 07 Jitrnice

How to correctly label the consignment

Denmark

Further information: List of postal codes in Denmark

In Denmark, apartment buildings will usually have two or three apartments per floor. Thus, if the addressee lives in an apartment, the address should contain the floor they live on, and a side (t.v., mf. or t.h., meaning "to the left", "in the middle" and "to the right", respectively) or an alphanumeric character (1,2,3... or A,B,C...= starting from left seen from the top most step just before the floor).

Also, for postal codes 2000 and up, there is a 1:1 relationship between postal code and town.

Format Example
Name
Streetname + number + apartment floor and t.h./mf./t.v. (optional)
Postal code + town
Stig Jensen
Solvej 5, 4. t.v.
5000 Odense C

Estonia

Format Example
Name
Street + Building number + apartment number
Postal code + town
COUNTRY
Kati Kask
Aia tn 1–23
10615 Tallinn
ESTONIA[6]

Finland

Format Example
Company
Name or Department
Street name + number + *apartment number (optional)
Postal code + Town
Country
Eduskunta
Matti Mallikainen
Mannerheimintie 30 (as. 1)
00100 Helsinki
Finland

If a person's name is written before the company name in the address field of a letter, then that person is considered the recipient. In this case, no other employee is allowed to open the letter but the indicated recipient. If the company name is before the person's name, then the company is the recipient and any employee is allowed to open the letter.

* apartment number can formulated as "as 5" (as = asunto, 'apartment' in English) or as "C 55" (the letter A, B, C ... indicates the correct staircase in apartment blocks with several entrances)

Finland uses a five-digit postal code. Note that some of the larger companies and organizations have their own postal codes.

France

In France, the address is generally formatted as follows:

Format Example
Addressee (Natural person/Organization)
More detailed description of addressee (optional)
Housenumber + Streetname
Postal code + uppercase town
Country (if other than France)
Entreprise ABC
M. Frank Bender
12 rue de la montagne
01234 EXAMPLEVILLE

The postal code always consists of five digits.

Organisations, government agencies, and companies which receive large amounts of mail often have a special "CEDEX" address which goes after the last line (for instance, "75001 PARIS CEDEX").

Germany

In Germany, the address is generally formatted as follows:

Format Example
Addressee (Natural person/Organization)
More detailed description of addressee (optional)
Streetname + number
Postal code + town
Country (if other than Germany)
Firma ABC
Kundendienst
Hauptstr. 5
01234 Musterstadt

Greece

Hellenic Post recommends the following format for Greek addresses:[7]

Format Example (Greek) Example (Latin)
Recipient
Address
Postcode, DESTINATION
Π. Παύλου
Δοϊράνης 25
653 02  ΚΑΒΑΛΑ
P. Pavlou
Doiranis 25
653 02  KAVALA

The most widespread format, shown above, gives at the last line the recipient's five-digit post code (with a single space between the third and fourth digits) and the name of the town or village that is the base of a post office, in capital letters and separated from the postcode by two spaces. When sending mail abroad, or when sending mail from abroad to Greece, Hellenic Post recommends the following format:[8]

Format Example (Greek) Example (Latin)
Recipient
Address
COUNTRY CODE-Postcode, DESTINATION
COUNTRY
Α. Αποστόλου
Καρκησίας 6
GR-111 42  ΑΘΗΝΑ
GRÈCE
A. Apostolou
Karkisias 6
GR-111 42  ATHINA
GRÈCE

Similarly to main for delivery within the country, mail sent from abroad (or mail sent abroad) must contain the postcode in the same manner but the postcode must be preceded by the international prefix of the country of delivery (for Greece, GR). Below the destination, the country of delivery must be written in capital letters, either in English or French (for Greece, GRÈCE or GREECE).

Hong Kong

The official languages of Hong Kong are English and Cantonese Chinese. For domestic mail within Hong Kong, the address may be written entirely in either English or Chinese. For overseas mail going out from Hong Kong, the address may be written in the language of the destination country, provided that the city name and the country name are in English.[9] However, for an overseas mail from Hong Kong to China, Macao, Taiwan or Singapore, the address may be written entirely in Chinese. While traditional Chinese characters are commonly used in Hong Kong, simplified Chinese characters are also understood by Hong Kong's postmen. Note that Hong Kong does not use any postal codes, though many rural properties have a property identification code, e.g. HKT-12345.

An address written in English should begin with the smallest unit and end with the largest unit, as in the following example for a domestic mail within Hong Kong.

Format Example
Name of addressee
Flat number, Floor number, Name of building (if a rural address: (Flat number, Floor number,) Name/number of house)
Street number and street name (if a rural address: Village name)
Name of district
"Hong Kong", "Hong Kong Island" or "H. K." for Hong Kong Island/"Kowloon" or "Kln" for Kowloon/"New Territories" or "N. T." for New Territories
Mr. Jackie Chan
Flat 25, 12/F, Acacia Building
150 Kennedy Road
Wan Chai
Hong Kong Island

An address written in Chinese should begin with the largest unit and end with the smallest unit, as in the following example for a piece of domestic mail within Hong Kong. Traditional Chinese characters are used in this example.

Format Example
["香港", "港島" or "香港島" for Hong Kong Island/"九龍" for Kowloon/"新界" for New Territories]
[Name of district]
[Street name][Street number] (if a rural address: [Village name])
[Name of building][Floor number][Flat number] (if a rural address: [House name/number]([Floor number][Flat number]))
[Name of addressee]
香港島
灣仔
堅尼地道105號
雅佳大廈12樓25室
陳港生先生

For mail to Hong Kong from overseas, "Hong Kong" should be added at the end of an address written in English, and "香港" should be added at the beginning of an address written in Chinese.

Hungary

In Hungarian mail addresses, the town name precedes the street address.

Format[10] Example
Addressee (name or company name)
City or town
Street name and number and floor/door - or - P.O. Box number
Postal code
Kis János
Budapest
Fiktív utca 82., IV. em./28. - or - Pf. 184. (where 'Pf' means P.O. Box)
2806

The postal code consists of four digits.

Iceland

Further information: List of postal codes in Iceland
Format Example Explanation
Name
Streetname + Number
Complements
Postal code + Place
Agnes Gísladóttir
Holtsflöt 4
íbúð 202 (flat 202)
300 Akranes
first name, middle name(s), last name
address in the dative case
flat number etc.
place: municipality, town or rural area

India

The format used for rural and urban addresses is different.

Rural Addresses

Format Example
Name
Street Number, Street Name
VILLAGE NAME
District Name
Postal Code (PIN)
State
Ishan Deb
5, Mahatma Gandhi Road
BUDHAGAON
District Sangli
471594
Maharashtra

Urban Addresses

Format Example
Name
Occupation (Optional)
Flat Number, Building Name
Street Number, Street Name
Locality or Neighbourhood
CITY - Postal Code (PIN)
State
Dr. Ashok Padhye
General Physician
A-205, Natasha Apartments
2, Inner Ring Road
Domlur
BANGALORE - 560071
Karnataka

The state is optional in both cases, but is typically used.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, the address format is like this:

Format Example
Name


Building name (if needed)
Street name number
Village/Kelurahan, Subdistrict/Kecamatan
City or Regency Postal Code
Province (sometimes not needed)
State

Bapak Joko Widodo


Gedung Balaikota DKI Jakarta
Jalan Medan Merdeka Selatan No. xx
Kelurahan Gambir, Kecamatan Gambir
Jakarta Selatan 10110
Jakarta
Indonesia

Generally "Jalan" or "Jl." means 'street' and should go before the street name, e.g. Jalan Cemara. More info about Indonesia administrative divisions see Administrative divisions of Indonesia.

Iran

Postal addresses in Iran has a standard which should be used by mail or parcel senders. This standard is registered and qualified in Universal Postal Union (UPU). According to the below table, Iran has 4 types of standard address:

Address Type Format
Urban Urban Locality
Street
Premise
Province
Postcode
Rural Rural Locality
Street
Premise
Province
Postcode
PO Box Locality
Province
PO Box
Post Restante Restante
Locality
Province
Post Office

Iraq

Format Example
Name of Addressee
Name of the District
Mahla (Area) + Number
Zuqaq (Alley) + Number
Building number
Name of Province
Postal code
Country
Ali Hassan
Al-Mansour
Mahla 609
Zuqaq 8
House no. 12
Baghdad
10013
Iraq

Ireland

In July 2015 Ireland introduced Eircodes, a seven digit alphanumeric code, consisting of a 3 character routing key and a 4 character unique identifier for the property. Example A65 F4E2. Up until the introduction of Eircode's Dublin was the only county with a form of postal district identifier, these have been incorporated into the Eircode scheme; example Dublin 2 is routing code D02.

Format Example Dublin Example outside Dublin
Addressee's Name
Number + Street Name
POST TOWN + Eircode
The Shelbourne Hotel
27 St Stephen's Green
Dublin
D02 H529
Lissadell House
Lissadell
Ballinfull
Sligo
F91 ED70

Rural addresses are specified by the county, nearest post town, and the townland. Urban addresses are specified by county, city or town name, street name, house number, and apartment or flat number where relevant. A house name may be used instead of a number. The Eircode is appended to the bottom of the address.

Israel

Basic format

Format Example
Name
Streetname + number
Town + Postal code
Yisrael Yisraeli
HaDoar 1
Jerusalem 1234567

Example of common address with apartment number

Format Example
Name
Streetname + number/apartment
Town + Postal code
Yisrael Yisraeli
HaDoar 1/20
Jerusalem 1234567

Example of common address with building entrance and apartment number

Format Example
Name
Streetname + number incl. entrance + apartment
town + Postal code
Yisrael Yisraeli
HaDoar 1 B, Apt. 20
Jerusalem 1234567

Or

Format Example
Name
Streetname + number incl. entrance/apartment
town + Postal code
Yisrael Yisraeli
HaDoar 1B/20
Jerusalem 1234567

Italy

An internal address, in Italy, must be composed of three to five rows. Up to six rows can be used if the mail is sent abroad:

Format Example
Addressee's name and surname or company name
Optional - Additional information about the addressee
Optional - Additional information about the building (building number, floor, apartment number)
Street name and number (via/viale/corso/piazza...) or CASELLA POSTALE (P.O.Box number)
Postcode Town Province_abbreviation
Foreign State name
Claudio Verdi


via Roma 35
81055 Santa Maria Capua Vetere CE
 

Line ordering may not be changed.

Japan

A Japanese postal address, when written in Japanese phonetic and Chinese characters, starts with the largest geographical division, continues with progressively smallers subdivisions before ending with the addressee, i.e. country, prefecture, town, chōme, banchi, building number, building name, floor number, company name, addressee. This is the most common addressing format used when mailing within Japan. It is common practice to add the appropriate honorific to the addressee's name, e.g. 様 for a private individual or 御中 for a company or institution.

Format (large to small) Japanese example Japanese example (mailed from overseas)
Country, 〒Postal Code
Prefecture, City, District, Chōme, Banchi, Building Number and Name, Room Number
Recipient
日本国 〒112-0001
東京都文京区白山4丁目3-2

田中 太郎 様
日本国 〒112-0001
東京都文京区白山4丁目3-2

田中 太郎 様
JAPAN

When written in the Latin alphabet, the address begins with the smallest geographical area and ends with the largest one as in the following example. Macrons (as on ō and ū) may be omitted.

Format (small to large) English example English example (alternative)
Recipient
Chōme, Banchi, Building Number, Building Name, Room Number
District, City, Prefecture
Postal Code
Country
Mr Tanaka Tarō
Hakusan 4-Chōme 3-2
Bunkyō-ku, TŌKYŌ
112-0001
Japan
Mr Tanaka Tarō
4-3-2, Hakusan
Bunkyō-ku, TŌKYŌ
112-0001
Japan

Japanese-style envelopes are vertically aligned and the address is written from top to bottom, then right to left. Western-style envelopes are horizontally aligned and the address is written from left to right, top to bottom.

Latvia

In Latvia, the address in generally formatted as follows:

Address Type Format Example
Rural Area Addressee’s Name
Street Name, House Number, Flat Number or House Name
Village (if applicable)
Parish (if applicable)
Amalgamated Municipality
Postal Code
Andris Lapa
Liepu iela 1
Ērberģe
Mazzalves pag.
Neretas nov.
LV-5133
Urban Area Addressee’s Name
Street Name, House Number, Flat Number
City or Town
Amalgamated Municipality (if applicable)
Postal Code
Andris Lapa
Jelgavas iela 1-12
Aizpute
Aizputes nov.
LV-3456

Notes:

Further references: Latvijas Pasts

Macao

The official languages of Macao are Portuguese and Cantonese Chinese. For domestic mail within Macao, the address may be written entirely in either Portuguese or Chinese. For overseas mail going out from Macao, the address may be written in the language of the destination country, provided that the city name and the country name are in English. However, for an overseas mail from Macao to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan or Singapore, the address may be written entirely in Chinese. While traditional Chinese characters are commonly used in Macao, simplified Chinese characters are also understood by Macao's postmen. Note that Macao does not use any postal codes.

An address written in Portuguese should begin with the street name and end with the area in Macao, as in the following example for a domestic mail within Macao.

Format Example
Name of addressee
Street name, Street number, Name of building, Floor number, Flat number,
"Península de Macau" for Macao Peninsula/"Taipa" for Taipa/"Coloane" for Coloane/"Cotai" for Cotai
Sr. João Kuok
Rua de Macau, n.o 1, Edifício ABC, 2 andar, moradia C,
Península de Macau

An address written in Chinese should begin with the largest unit and end with the smallest unit, as in the following example for a piece of domestic mail within Hong Kong. Traditional Chinese characters are used in this example.

Format Example
["澳門半島" for Macao Peninsula/"氹仔" for Taipa/"路環" for Coloane/"路氹" for Cotai]
[Street name][Street number]
[Name of building][Floor number][Flat number]
[Name of addressee]
澳門半島
澳門街1號
ABC大廈2樓C室
郭若昂先生

For mail to Macao from overseas, "Macau" should be added at the end of an address written in Portuguese, and "Macao" at the end of an address written in English; "澳門" should be added at the beginning of an address written in Chinese.

Malaysia

Main article: Addresses in Malaysia

Pos Malaysia recommends the following formats:

Address Type Format Example
Residential Salutation, Name of recipient
Unit number, Street name
Residential area
Postcode Post office/Mail centre
State (optional)
Country
Mr. Zack Ahmad
11 Jalan Budi 1
Taman Budiman
42700 BANTING
SELANGOR
MALAYSIA
Business Salutation, Name of recipient
Name of Position & Department (if applicable)
Company name
Unit/Lot number, Building name/Commercial area
Lot number (for building), Street name
Postcode Post office/Mail centre
State (optional)
Country
Dato' S.M. Nasrudin
Managing Director
Capital Shipping Bhd.
Lot 323, 1st Floor, Bintang Commercial Centre
29 Jalan Sekilau
81300 JOHOR BAHRU
JOHOR
MALAYSIA
Business + Post Office Box /
Locked Bag /
Counter Deposit Ticket
Salutation, Name of recipient
Name of Position & Department (if applicable)
Company name
Unit/Lot number, Building name/Commercial area
Lot number (for building), Street name
Postcode, Post office/Mail centre
P.O. Box number
Postcode of P.O. Box, Post office/Mail centre of P.O. Box
Country
Ms. Jenny Chan
COO
Target Insurance Brokers
Level 2, Principal Towers
11 Jalan Sultan Ismail
50250 KUALA LUMPUR
P.O. BOX 10073
50704 KUALA LUMPUR
MALAYSIA

Notes:

Mexico

Correos de México recommends the following formats:[11]

Address Type Format Example
Personal Recipient's Name
Street Type and Name + Number
Settlement Type and Name
Postal Code + Locality (Optional), Municipality, Federal Entity
Alejandro Ramírez
C. Francisco I. Madero No. 115
Col. Nuevo Casas Grandes Centro
31700 Nuevo Casas Grandes, Chih.
Business Recipient's Name
Company Department or Position within Company (Optional)
Company Name
Street Type and Name + Number
Settlement Type and Name
Postal Code + Locality (Optional), Municipality, Federal Entity
Ing. Juan Rodríguez Altamirano
Farmacéutica Altamirano
Av. Durango No. 264 Int. 1
Col. Primer Cuadro
81200 Los Mochis, Ahome, Sin.
Apartado Postal,
Lista de Correos
or Poste Restante
Recipient's Name
[Business] Company Department or Position within Company (Optional)
[Business] Company Name
Delivery Method + [Apartado Postal] Number
Postal Administration
Post Office's Postal Code + Locality (Optional), Municipality, Federal Entity
Daniel González Oritz
Apartado Postal A44
Administración Postal
Calvillo
20801 Calvillo, Ags.

Esteban Martínez Hernández
Lista de Correos
Administración Postal
Esperanza
85211 Cajeme, Son.

Esperanza Rodríguez Domínguez
Poste Restante
Administración Postal
Bermejillo
35231 Mapimí, Dgo.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the address is generally formatted as follows:

Format Example
Name
(Businesspark name etc.)

Street + number
Postal code + town
Country - Optional
Thomas van der Landen

Boschdijk 1092
5631 AV EINDHOVEN
Nederland

The postal code is a unique street identifier, and always consists of four numbers followed by a space and then two capital letters. PostNL, which is appointed by the Dutch government to carry out the UPD (Dutch for Universal Postal Service), recommends putting two spaces between postal code and town. Also, the name of the town should be written in capitals.[12]

Because the Dutch postal code uniquely identifies a street, a shortened format may also be used. This method only needs the postal code and the number. The ideal format for this method is the number after the postal code, meaning that this: '5631 AV 1092' will still get the letter delivered to the correct location.

It is also possible to replace the street name line with a PO box (e.g. "postbus 1200") or freepost number (e.g. "antwoordnummer 150"), which have their own postal code.

New Zealand

New Zealand Post recommends the following format:

Format Example
Recipient name
Flat number/House number Street address or PO Box number
Suburb or RD Number or PO Box lobby name (if not the same as the town/city)
Town/City Postcode
Mr John Key
43 Vogel Street
Roslyn
Palmerston North 4414

Note that no space or full stops exists between P and O in PO Box or R and D in RD. One should put only one space between the town/city and the postcode.

Note for Wellington metropolitan area, users should use the city name (i.e. Wellington, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua), not the metropolitan area name. For example:

Incorrect Correct Correct
1 Molesworth Street
Taita
Wellington 5011
1 Molesworth Street
Taita
Lower Hutt 5011
1 Molesworth Street
Thorndon
Wellington 6011

The city in this case is important, as if Wellington is used instead of Lower Hutt and the postcode is unclear (note only the first digit differs), someone's private mail could accidentally be sent to the New Zealand Parliament Buildings instead (or vice versa).

One anomaly about this system is the Wellington Mail Centre, which is addressed as Wellington Mail Centre, Lower Hutt 5045, due to its location in the Lower Hutt suburb of Petone.

Norway

In Norway, the address is generally formatted as follows:

Format Example
Name
(Businesspark name, etc.)
Streetname + number
Postal code + TOWN
Nancy Vanderon

Storgata 81
6415 MOLDE

The postal code is unique, and is a four-digit number. The town name is always written in capital letters. It is also possible to replace the street name line with a PO box (e.g. Postboks 250).

Oman

In the Sultanate of Oman (2012), the address is formatted as follows:[13]

Format Example
Name
Street number + house number
Block number
Area
City

Way 2259, 2919
Block 222
Murtafaat Al Qurm
Muscat

Physical addresses only exist in major urban centers like those of Greater Muscat, Sohar, Salalah, Sur and Nizwa.

Pakistan

The format used in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

Official Addresses

Format Example
Name
Street Number, Street Name
CITY NAME
District Name
Postal Code (PIN)
Province
Mohammad Ali Abu Bakr
15, M. A. Jinnah Road
Karachi
Karachi District
457700
Sindh

Peru

In Peru, addresses in the Metropolitan Area of Lima and Callao are generally formatted as follows:

Format Example
Name
Street name, number
Apartment (if needed)
District
Postal code
Roberto Prada
Juan de Aliaga 230
Dpto 12
Magdalena del Mar
Lima 17

Addresses elsewhere in the country are formatted as follows:

Format Example
Name
Street name, number
Apartment (if needed)
District
City (province)
Camilo Rada
Av. del Ejército 450
Dpto 5
Yanahuara
Arequipa

Philippines

Poland

In Poland, the address is generally formatted as follows:

Format Example
First name & surname of addressee
and/or company name & department
ul. Streetname + house (building) number / flat number
or al. Avenuename + house (building) number / flat number
or pl. Squarename + house (building) number / flat number
or Smalltown/Village name + house number
Postal code + City or town
Country name (optional)
Jan Kowalski

ul. Wiejska 4/6



00-902 Warszawa
POLAND (POLSKA)

ul. = Str (Street)
al. = Ave (Avenue)
pl. = Sq (Square, or Circus)

The abbreviation "m." (meaning "mieszkania" = "flat") can be used instead of "/" before the flat number.

The postal code always consists of five digits separated with a hyphen (in the "XX-XXX" format), i.e. 00-486 (00=Warsaw); 20-486 (20=Lublin), etc. The first digit signifies the postal district, the second: the code zone, the third: the code sector, the fourth and fifth signify the post office and its area of operation. Usually the code is unique on the street level for cities and the town level for smaller towns and villages.

Portugal

Portuguese postal addresses is similar to continental European addresses:

Format Example (manuscript) Example (computer) Example (PO Box)
Addressee
Streetname + Street number + door
Postal code + Town
Country
José Saramago
Rua da Liberdade, 34, 2º Esq.
4000-000 Porto
Portugal
José Saramago
Rua da Liberdade 34  2 Esq
4000-000 Porto
Portugal
José Saramago
Apartado 1234
4000-000 Porto
Portugal

Postal codes have the NNNN-NNN format. Street name and the number is traditionally separated by a comma, but nowadays CTT recommends just a blank space, or two blank spaces for extra clarity; this is to avoid OCR mistakes. The º after the number is the ordinal for floor number. Usually followed by "Esq." (Left, abbr from "Esquerdo") or "Dir." (Right, abbr from "Direito"), or an apartment letter (A, B, C, etc.). PO Boxes are called Apartado, followed by a number (e.g., Apartado 1001).

Qatar

Q-Post recommends the following format:

Format Example
Name of addressee
P.O. Box number
Name of town
Country
Mr. Ali Al-Matwi
P.O. Box 1714
Doha
Qatar

Not all of Qatar's roads and buildings are numbered, and Q-Post doesn't deliver to any street addresses.

Romania

In Romania, the address is generally formatted as follows:

Format Examples
First name & surname of addressee and/or company name & department
str. (abbreviation for street) + Street Name + nr. (abbreviation for street number) + Number
(for apartment buildings) bl. (abbreviation for building) + Building number + sc. (abbreviation for entrance) + Entrance number/letter
et. (abbreviation for floor number) + Floor number + ap. (abbreviation for apartment number) + Number
City/Village + jud. (abbreviation for county) / sector (city district - for residents of Bucharest) + County name / Sector number (in the case of Bucharest) + Postal code
Country name (optional)
Mihail Ionescu
str. Pacienței, nr. 9
bl. U13A, sc. M
et. 7, ap. 96
Victoria, jud. Brașov, 505722
România
Gheorghe Codreanu
str. Virtuții, nr. 44


București, sector 6, 313988
România

Russia

The address must be written in Cyrillic or Latin alphabet, in usual format (from most specific to general).

Example:[14]

Format Cyrillic example Latin example
Name of addressee

Streetname, number, apartment/room
City/town/village
Sub-region
Region
Country
Postal code

Гусев Иван Сергеевич

ул. Победы, д. 20, кв. 29
пос. Октябрьский
Борский р-н
Нижегородская обл.
Russia, Россия
606480

Gusev Ivan

ul. Pobedy, d. 20, kv. 29
pos. Oktyabrskiy
Borskiy r-n
Nizhegorodskaya obl.
Russia
606480

Note: sub-region and region names are void if the city is Moscow or Saint Petersburg or if it is sub-region administrative center.

Some neighbourhoods may be planned in such a way that some, or most, apartment buildings face no named street. In this case, a number of expedients can be used. In older neighbourhoods, such as the historical center of Moscow, a "main" building may have the same number as one or more "subsidiary" buildings accessible via driveways behind the main building. They will be addressed as, for example, ul. Lenina, d. 123 (that is, 123 Lenin St). An address may also cover one or more subsidiary buildings behind the main building, addressed as ul. Lenina, d. 123, str. 2 (123 Lenin St, Unit 2, where str. (abbreviation for строение, stroenie) means a '(subsidiary) building'. In newer areas with more regular street plans, apartment buildings that face no named street may be designated with Cyrillic letters appended to the building number, such as 123-а, 123-б, etc., in alphabetic order.

In some microraion neighbourhoods, with few, if any, buildings facing named streets, the name (or more likely number of the microraion (planned housing development)) would be used instead of the street name; thus someone may live at 4-th microrayon, d. 123, kv. 56, that is, 123 - 4th Microraion, apt. 56.

Saudi Arabia

The address could be written in Arabic or English in the following format:[15][16][17]

Format Example
Addressee
Building Number + Street Name + Neighbourhood (if applicable)
City + Postal code + Additional Numbers
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Ali Al-Ahmed
8228 Imam Ali Road - Alsalam Neighbourhood
Riyadh 12345-6789
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
 

Serbia

Serbian postal addresses conform to rules similar to continental European rules:

Format Example
Addressee
Streetname + Number
Postal code + Town
Country (if other than Serbia)
Petar Petrović
Krunska 5
11000 Beograd
 

In addition to 5-digit postal code, another line can be added containing PAK, a six-digit number which encodes the town, street and house number section.

Singapore

SingPost recommends the following format for addresses:[18][19]

Format Example
Name of addressee
Street number and name
Name of town + Postcode
 
Ms. Tan Bee Soo
16 Sandilands Road
SINGAPORE 546080
SINGAPORE
Name of addressee
Block number and street name
Floor – Apartment number + Building name
Name of town + Postcode
 
Mr. M. Rajendran
Blk 35 Mandalay Road
# 13–37 Mandalay Towers
SINGAPORE 308215
SINGAPORE

Generally, the last line SINGAPORE is omitted when posting within the country. Addresses are usually written in the English language.

Slovakia

Common format in Slovakia:

Format
Addressee (Name or Company)
Company or Department or Landlord (if applicable)
Street name + number
Postal code + Town
COUNTRY (if sent abroad)

Postal codes are in the format "### ##" (i.e. 851 01 = Bratislava 5).

Street numbers can be written as orientation numbers (related to street) or descriptive numbers (unique within the town) or as a combination separated by a slash (descriptive/orientation). Descriptive numbers are also used within small villages that do not have named streets.

If the delivery is intended exclusively for a specific person at a company site, the address should begin with the individual's name and the company name should follow. The standard format of addresses enables anyone at the company to receive the delivery.

http://www.posta.sk/potrebujem/spravne-napisat-adresu ("How to write addresses correctly", in Slovak, with pictures)

Slovenia

Slovenia uses a four-digit postal number. The first digit indicates the area:

The simpler the code, the bigger the locality: 1000 Ljubljana, 2000 Maribor (big cities); 1310 Ribnica, 9250 Gornja Radgona (mid-sized towns); 4263 Bohinjska Bela, 8262 Krška vas (smaller settlements, including villages).

Some cities have more than one post office, thus having multiple postcodes (usually in the x1xx format). For example, Ljubljana which has a "general" postcode 1000, also has additional ones, ranging from 1101 to 1133 (for some reason, however, omitting 1103 and 1105), Kamnik has 1240 and 1241, etc. Albeit they exist, it is not necessary to use them - usually the "general" postcodes are used.

Format Example
Street address
Company name
     and/or
Recipient's name
Street (road, place, etc.) + number
Postcode + Post town
Cvet, d. o. o.
G. Janez Novak1
Slovenska cesta 64 A2,3
2241 Spodnji Duplek
Locality address (places with unnamed streets)
Company name
     and/or
Recipient's name
Location (village, hamlet, etc.) + number
Postcode + Post town
Juha, s. p.
Ga. Angela Kovač
Pleterje 4892
2324 Kidričevo
PO Box address (poštni predal)4
Company name
     and/or
Recipient's name
p. p. + number
Postcode + Post town
Vino, d. d.
Gdč. Marija Repar
p. p. 12
1234 Mengeš
Special postcode holders5
Company name
Postcode + Post town
Nova Ljubljanska banka
1520 Ljubljana
Poste restante
Recipient's name
POŠTNO LEŽEČE
Postcode + Post town
G. Peter Šilj
POŠTNO LEŽEČE
4270 Jesenice

^1 The abbreviations are: g. for gospod (Mr), ga. for gospa (Mrs), and gdč. for gospodična (Miss) - all always capitalized if in the beginning of the line.

^2 Numbers can have a suffix like A, B, C, etc.

^3 Common abbreviations are: c. for cesta (Street), and ul. for ulica (Road) - both always capitalised if in the beginning of the line.

^4 Bigger towns have special postcodes for PO Boxes in the xxx1 format, e.g. 1001 Ljubljana, 4001 Kranj.

^5 Big companies which receive large amounts of mail are designated their special postcodes in the x5xx format.

South Korea

Spain

Format Example
Recipient name
Street type, name, number, storey and door
Postal code and city
Province
Sr. Francisco Ansó García
Paseo de la Castellana, 185, 5ºB
29001 Madrid
Madrid

5ºB means 5th floor (Spanish: quinto), door B. Also, there may be door number, printed as 1ª (primera-first). Suffixes "o" and "a" derives from Spanish words piso (floor) which is masculine and puerta (door) which is feminine.

Format Example
Recipient name
Street type, name, number, storey and door
Postal code and city
Province
Dña. Antonia Fernandez Garcia
Av. de las Delicias, 14, 1º Dcha.
29001 Madrid
Madrid

Some doors may be indicated with the abbreviations Izq. or Dcha., to indicate either left (Izquierda) or right (Derecha). Streets and avenues can be indicated with the abbreviations C. (for calle) and Av. (for avenida).

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Post recommends the following format:

Format Example
Name of addressee
Street number and name
Name of town
Postcode
Country
Mr. A. L. Perera
201 Silkhouse Street
KANDY
20000
SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka uses a five-digit postal code. Generally, the last line SRI LANKA is omitted when posting within the country. Addresses are usually written in English and Sinhala.

Sweden

In Sweden, the address is generally formatted as follows:

Format Example
Name
Street name + number
Postal code + Post town
Country (if sent from abroad)
Anna Andersson
Storgatan 1
112 01 Stockholm
SWEDEN

The postal code is unique, and is always a five-digit number divided into groups of three and two (e.g. SE-414 73) with the prefix SE (ISO-code for Sweden) used only if sent from abroad. It is also possible to replace the street name line with a PO box (e.g. Box 51).

Switzerland

In Switzerland, the address is generally formatted as follows:[20]

Format Example
Recipient name
Street name and number
Postal code and city
Country (if sent abroad)
Monsieur
Pierre Dupont
Rue Pépinet 10
1003 Lausanne
Suisse

Taiwan

In Taiwan, addresses are regulated by the Department of Household Registration, while mails are handled by the Chunghwa Post. As a result, senders are required to write addresses in different formats in different situations.

Address Type Format Example
Chinese-language domestic mail, vertical sender[21]     County or City
    Township, town, city or distinct
    Road or Street name
    Building number
Sender Floor
Postal codes
  台
  北
  市
  市
  府
  路
王 2
小 號
明 2
緘 樓
11060
Chinese-language domestic mail, vertical receiver Postal codes
Receiver County or City
     Township, town, city or distinct
     Road or Street name
     Building number
     Floor
11060
王 台
小 北
明 市
收 市
  府
  路
  2
  號
  2
  樓
Chinese-language domestic mail, horizontal Postal codes
Address'
Name or Company
11060
台北市信義區市府路2號2樓
王小明收
English-language international mail[22] Name or Company
Number, Alley, Lane, Road/Street Name
Township and District, County and City, Postal codes
Country
Mr. Wang
2F., No.2, Shifu Rd.
Xinyi Dist., Taipei City 11060
Taiwan
Complete address for Department of Household Registration, Ministry of Interior[23] Number, Alley, Lane, Road/Street Name, Neighbourhood, Village, Township and District, County and City 2F., No.2, Shifu Rd., Neighbourhood 8, Xicun Vil., Xinyi Dist., Taipei City, Taiwan

Thailand

Format Example
  • Name Surname
  • House (building) number / Flat number
  • Name of address
  • District,Canton,Province,
  • Country
  • Postal code
  • Mr. Siam Rakchart
  • 238/54 Phaithong Village
  • Bangyai , Bangyai
  • Nonthaburi, Thailand
  • 11140

Turkey

Turkish addressing system is as follows:[24]

Format
Name
Neighbourhood name
Street name + number
Building name + flat number (if applicable)
Postal code + town + district name (if applicable) + province

However, in rural areas with decidedly little population and with no street addresses, address format is much simpler:

Format
Name
Village name
Postal code + district name + province

Ukraine

Some neighbourhoods may be planned in such a way that some, or most, apartment buildings don't face a named street. In this case, a number of expedients can be used. In older neighbourhoods, a "main" building may have the same number as one or more "subsidiary" buildings accessible via driveways behind the main building. They will be addressed as vul. Lenina, d. 123 (123 Lenin St) An address may also cover one or more subsidiary buildings behind the main building, addressed as vul. Lenina, d. 123, bud. 2 (123 Lenin St, unit 2, where bud. (abbreviation for будинок, budynоk) means a '(subsidiary) building'). In newer areas with more regular street plans, apartment buildings that don't face a named street may be designated with Cyrillic letters appended to the building number, e.g. 123-а, 123-б, etc., in Cyrillic alphabetical order.

In some microraion neighbourhoods, with few, if any, buildings facing named streets, the name (or more likely number of the microraion (planned housing development)) would be used instead of the street name; thus someone may live at 4-th microrayon, bud. 123, kv. 56, i.e. 123 - 4th Microraion, apt. 56.

Format Cyrillic example Latin example
Name of addressee

Streetname, number, apartment/room
Village/city/town
Raion, Region
Postal code
Country

Петренко Іван Леонідович

вул. Шевченка, буд. 17
м. Біла Церква
Київська обл.
09117
Україна (UKRAINE)

Petrenko Ivan Leonidovych

vul. Shevchenka, bud. 17
m. Bila Tserkva
Kyivs'ka obl.
09117
UKRAINE

United Kingdom

The format specified by the postal operator Royal Mail is as follows:[25]

Format Example
Addressee's name
Number and street name
Locality (only if required)
POST TOWN
POSTCODE
Mr A Smith
3 High Street
Hedge End
SOUTHAMPTON
SO31 4NG

The locality is required only where its absence would be ambiguous, for example where a post town or postcode district includes two streets with the same name. Royal Mail specifies that post towns should be written in block capitals. Until 1996 a postal county (or permitted abbreviation) was required after the post town, unless it was a special post town, for example London. The post town and postcode should each be on a separate line. Traditionally, each line of an address would end with a comma and be indented from the previous line. Royal Mail discourage this usage and specify that all lines should start from the same point and not be staggered or aligned to the centre.[25] The postcode identifies, from left to right, increasingly smaller units of the postal delivery system. The first half of the postcode, known as the outward code, contains the postcode area and postcode district. The second half, known as the inward code, contains the postcode sector and postcode unit.[25]

Further information: Postcodes in the United Kingdom

United States

Format Example
Name of addressee
House number and street name
Name of town, State abbreviation + ZIP code
(typical handwritten format)
Jeremy Martinson, Jr.
455 Larkspur Dr.
Baviera, CA 92908
Name of addressee
House number and street name
Name of town + State abbreviation + ZIP+4 code
(USPS-recommended format)
JEREMY MARTINSON JR
455 LARKSPUR DR
BAVIERA CA 92908‑4601

Notes:

See also

References

  1. Clear addressing - How to address your mail: Royal Mail Guidelines. Retrieved 07 November 2015
  2. Formatting an international address: International Addressing, Universal Posting Union
  3. Universal Postal Convention, Article 14, RL125, #3.3. In: Universal Postal Union – Letter Post Manual Update 3 March 2015, page D.6. Retrieved 07 November 2015.
  4. Australia Post. (29 September 2009). Full postcode datafile. Retrieved 1 October 2009
  5. Australia Post. (nd). Address presentation standards. Retrieved 1 October 2009 Archived 22 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. Omniva guidelines
  7. Πώς γράφεται η σωστή διεύθυνση για παραλήπτη στο εσωτερικό [How to write the correct address for a recipient in Greece] (PDF). www.elta.gr (in Greek). Hellenic Post. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  8. Πώς γράφεται η σωστή διεύθυνση για παραλήπτη στο εξωτερικό [How to write the correct address for a recipient abroad] (PDF). www.elta.gr (in Greek). Hellenic Post. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  9. "POST OFFICE GUIDE PACKING, ADDRESSING AND PROHIBITIONS 6.1" (PDF). Hongkong Post. Sep 2008. Retrieved 30 Sep 2013.
  10. Mail address schemes. Hungarian Post Office Archived 19 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. Correos de México "Manual de Asignación de Códigos Postales y Estandarización de Domicilios Postales" December 2015. Retrieved on 8 February 2016
  12. "Addressing tips". PostNL. PostNL. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  13. Brochure on the addressing system in Muscat, ca 1995
  14. "Rules for mail". Russian Post. Retrieved 30 Sep 2013.((Russian) Почта России. Правила оформления почтовых отправлений)
  15. "Addressing in Saudi Arabia". National Address. Retrieved 26 Jan 2016.((English))
  16. "العنونة في المملكة العربية السعودية". العنوان الوطني. Retrieved 26 Jan 2016.((Arabic))
  17. "Address Format". National Address. Retrieved 26 Jan 2016.((English))
  18. SingPost Webpage Archived 9 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  19. Universal Postal Union: Singapore Guide
  20. "Switzerland" (PDF). Universal Postal Union. Retrieved 30 Sep 2013.
  21. "Domestic mail". Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd. Retrieved 30 Sep 2013.
  22. "International Mail". Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd. Retrieved 30 Sep 2013.
  23. "村里街路門牌查詢".
  24. PTT webpage. Retrieved 1 Dec 2012 (Turkish)
  25. 1 2 3 Royal Mail, Address Management Guide, (2004)
  26. USPS Domestic Mail Manual § 508 (see subsection 4.5.4)
  27. "222 Punctuation". United States Postal Service. Retrieved 30 Sep 2013.
  28. "232 Street Name". United States Postal Service. Retrieved 30 Sep 2013.
  29. "D1 Hyphenated Address Ranges". United States Postal Service. Retrieved 30 Sep 2013.
  30. "Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service Publication 28 - Postal Addressing Standards". United States Postal Service. Jan 2013. Retrieved 30 Sep 2013.
  31. "29 Puerto Rico Addresses". United States Postal Service. Retrieved 30 Sep 2013.
  32. http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub28/28c2_041.htm
  33. http://ribbs.usps.gov/addressing/documents/tech_guides/pubs/PR_AND_USVI_ADDRESSING_-_ENGLISH.PDF

External links

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