Start with the basics

Whether you're handwriting an address, typing it or adhering a pre-printed label to the front of your letter or parcel, always follow the addressing guidelines.

Here are some things to remember:

• Write STREET ADDRESS in upper case letters
• Write POSTAL CODES in upper case letters and separate the first three characters from the last three characters with one space. (No hyphens! Hyphenating postal codes could cause delays)
• Place the municipality, province (or territory) and postal code on the same line
• Separate the municipality from the province (or territory) with one space; separate the province (or territory) from the postal code with two spaces
• Don't use punctuation unless it is part of a proper name, e.g., ST. JOHN'S
• Format the return address the same way as the destination address and place it in the top-left corner of the envelope or package OR on the back of the item at the top.

Visual Examples

Canadian Civic Addresses

1. Place additional delivery information such as title, floor, etc. above the civic address.
2. Place the unit number before the civic number with a hyphen in between.
3. Use 1 space when a civic number suffix is present but do not use a space if it is an alpha (e.g. 123A).
4. Separate the postal code from the province symbol by 2 spaces.

United States Addresses

1. Use the full name of the city.
2. Separate the state symbol from the city by 1 space.
3. Separate the zip code from the state symbol by 2 spaces.
4. Use the 2-character state symbol rather than the full state name.
5. A zip code is either 5 or 9 digits. If it's 9 digits, a hyphen separates the 5th and 6th digits.

International Addresses



* Spell the country name correctly so that our mechanized equipment can read it.

Make sure the name of the country appears alone and is the last entry of the address block below the city name and postal code/zip code. Spell the name of the country in full and in capital letters (e.g.: write UNITED KINGDOM and not UK).

Other Examples

For your reference we are pleased to provide examples of properly addressed envelopes along with detailed explanations and helpful tools in the addressing guidelines.

The illustrated examples show how to correctly format address types such as:

• Bilingual
• General delivery
• Post office box
• Rural route
• Civic / Street Addresses
• Military

Symbols and abbreviations

Addresses should be easy to read and concise and should not run off the edge of the envelope. This means you should abbreviate-properly-whenever possible. The addressing guidelines include a complete list of symbols and abbreviations recognized by Canada Post for:

• Street types
• Street directions
• Unit designators for apartments and suites
• Provinces and territories
• U.S. states, territories, and possessions

Address Placement

Double check with the addressing guidelines

Sending holiday cards or wedding invitations to addresses that may be in an unfamiliar format? Need to know the proper formatting for U.S., international or military addresses? Review the addressing guidelines.