How to properly write an address on an envelope

Posted by in Immigrants | Updated on August 23, 2022

If there was one thing our grandparents loved, it was writing letters to their near and dear almost every day. Day in and day out letters would pour in from across the city, state, country, and for some even from across the world. Labeling an envelope was pretty much the most common knowledge thing there was. And then the phones arrived, and the rest is history, literally.

Our parents got to see the best of both worlds as the art of labeling envelopes slowly but surely faded away and was pretty much non-existent by the time millennials ended college. Nevertheless, envelopes are important even in this day and age; many of us send our resumes via an envelope. We send important couriers with an envelope and even receive our magazines in an envelope. How to label an envelope is still an essential part of our lives, and we should have a good understanding about the same, for our own sake.

• How To Address An Envelope?
• How To Format Military Address
• How To Write An International Shipping Address
• How To Find Your Recipient’s ZIP Code?
• How Many Stamps Should You Use?
• Read More
• Final Thoughts

How To Address An Envelope?

Addressing an envelope is the most important part of labeling the envelope. Do it wrong, and in a best-case scenario, it will take unnecessarily long to be received by whomever you sent it to, or it could be returned to you due to the wrong address. Worst case scenario, your envelope gets lost in transit because it could not be appropriately categorized. If it contained anything important, you could lose it forever because you didn’t address it properly.

So follow the following instructions TO THE LETTER to make sure you don’t fall into this problem.

Step 1: Recipient’s Address

ALWAYS write the address on the longest side of the envelope. If it is like a box, you write your address on the side that has the most space to write.

The recipient’s address should be written in the following format to avoid confusion and make it as straightforward as possible.

• Recipient’s name
• Business name (only if it is any business-related envelope, not necessary for personal ones unless you’re sending to the business address)
• House/ building number, flat number:, floor number:, street name (make sure all three numbers are in line and rightly marked, because if they are not, you could risk having it delivered to the wrong address)
• You could write the street name in the following line too if that’s what you prefer.
• City, state, and pin code (Of the three, your pin code is the most important one here.)
• In fact, your pin code is an essential piece of information on your address next to your recipient’s name and house/ building number.
• Country. (Of course, you only need to mention country for international envelopes. If you don’t mention the country, it is assumed that it is a domestic envelope by default.)

Step 2: Sender’s Address

This is also called the return address. Most envelopes do not need you to write this address since it’s yours and doesn’t serve any purpose in delivering your envelope. However, you should write it regardless because, if your envelope could not be delivered, your postal service needs to be able to find you to give you back your envelope.

The sender’s address must be written to the top left side of the envelope side that you are writing on. Make sure it is clear and precise and a little bit smaller than the recipient’s address and titled in bold “sender’s address” / “return address” or any variation of those words to avoid confusion.

The format to write the return address is the same as that of the recipient’s address. However, if you find yourself writing too much into the center of the envelope, avoid this by writing your address in the next line. For example, if your building number, floor number, and apartment number do not seem to fit in a small space, write floor number and apartment number in the next line separately. You can divide your address into however many pieces to suit you best.

How To Format Military Address

Military addresses are a little different from regular addresses. You need to know specific codes and lines to use instead of the city, and usually, the pin code stays the same but sometimes, an additional four-digit code is required.

• In the first line, the name is written the same way, except for the person’s rank. No Mr Ms or anything like that. Make sure you mention the rank of the person correctly.
• Then, instead of the city name, you write APO, FPO, or DPO.
• APO stands for Army/airforce post office, FPO stands for Fleet post office, and DPO stands for Diplomatic post office.
• Instead of the state, you should write any one of AA, AE, or AP depending on the station of duty of your recipient. AA stands for Armed forces America. AE stands for armed forces Europe, and AP stands for Armed forces pacific. Write this wrong, and your letter will end up in the wrong continent!
• The zip code is mostly the same, but sometimes you may need an additional four-digit code as well.

How To Write An International Shipping Address

Next, we’re going to look at ways you can send a package along the international routes. It is very much similar to the first one. You just write your recipient’s address on the envelope along with a return address. However, you should also mention the country you are sending in the last line underpin code.

Some countries have a postal zip code in front of the city, and it varies from country to country. And hence you should check it out at your local post office before writing it on your envelope.

How To Find Your Recipient’s ZIP Code?

If you do not know your recipient’s ZIP code, USPS has a feature where you can search for a ZIP code based on the person’s remaining address. Go to their website, find the pin code lookup tool, give all the necessary details, and then press “FIND.” The website will provide you with the ZIP code along with the military +4 codes as well.

How Many Stamps Should You Use?

Stamps are placed on the top right corner of the envelope. That’s the method. However, how many stamps should you use? As long as your envelope is under one ounce, you can use a forever stamp and post it anywhere within the US. For every ounce more than that, you would have to add an additional 15 cents stamp. Using the same logic with 2-ounce stamps is also an option.

Read More

• How Do I Speak to a Live Person at USCIS?
• How Many Citizenships Can You Have?
• How Do I Know Which USCIS Service Center?
• How Do I Know If USCIS Received My Application?
• What “Country of Residence” and How to Know Yours When on a Visa
• How to Check Dropbox Eligibility with the App

Final Thoughts

Envelope sending is a fading art, to say the least. But there are some times in everyone’s life that they might need to use this service for whatever reason. Some things just can’t be sent over e-mail. Different purposes have different formats, and knowing them all doesn’t take much effort. It can save us a lot of confusion if the situation ever arrives. So, go ahead, and find the right envelope for you to be perfect with.

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Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.