Addressing Guidelines

1	What’s In This Chapter

The following sections are covered in this chapter:

2

Overview

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Canada Post’s computerized systems can decipher a wide range of addressing styles – from handwritten notation to typed and printed labels, but studies show that a consistent approach to mail addressing leads to more efficient handling. For Canada Post’s Customers, large and small, this translates into better service and lower costs. Consistent and accurate addressing eliminates the need for extra handling or redelivery by Canada Post. Standardized addressing helps ensure that mail is consistently “delivered on time, the first time, every time.”

The guidelines in this chapter promote the most technologically efficient formats for addressing. It does not limit mailers to any one format. In some cases, because of individual preference or other considerations, mailers may not be able to follow these formats.

Visit canadapost.ca/postalstandards for more technical information on the physical characteristics necessary for effective processing by Canada Post’s automated systems.

3

General Information

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To avoid unnecessary delays to your mail items, follow these addressing guidelines:

• addresses should be written in upper case, however mailers may wish to use lower case due to individual preference or other considerations
• Postal Codes^OM should be printed in upper case with the first three elements separated from the last three by one space (no hyphens; if the Postal Code is not formatted in this manner, the mail may be delayed)
• the municipality, province or territory, and Postal Code should always appear on the same line and there should be one space between the municipality, province or territory and two spaces between the province or territory and Postal Code
• characters in the address block should not be underlined
• punctuation should not be used unless it is part of a proper name, such as in “ST. JOHN’S”, but mailers may wish to use punctuation due to individual preference or other considerations
• accents may be used as they are an integral part of language but they are not considered to be punctuation
• the # symbol should never be used, nor the French equivalent n^o as part of the address
• all lines of an address should be formatted with a uniform left margin and should be less than 40 characters per line, excluding spaces
• space between address lines should be at least 0.5 mm but no more than one blank line between lines of addressing
• for machineable mail, printed characters should be between 2 and 5 mm in height and be written in non-proportional fonts, such as the examples shown in Table 1

• the return address should be formatted in the same fashion as the destination address, however it cannot be printed larger and must be clearly separated from the destination address (acceptable locations include the top-left corner or on the back of the item along the top).

4

Illustrations

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The following sections illustrate Canada Post’s recommended addressing guidelines.

4.1	Civic Addresses (Street Addresses)

1. Additional delivery information is optional data that a mailer wishes to include (title, floor, etc.). It is always placed above the civic address.
2. A unit number is placed before the civic number with a hyphen between, OR after the street type, using an acceptable unit identifier (ex. APT 10). See Table 3: “Unit Designators” for a complete list. The unit information may be placed on the line above the street information if space is an issue.

3. The civic number is the official number assigned to an address by the municipality.

4. When a civic number suffix is present, there is no space when it is alpha (123A), and there is one space when it is a fraction (123 1/2).

5. The street name is the official name recognized by each municipality and should not be translated. (Ex.: Main is not Principale.) There is no space between a numerical street name with an ordinal or an alphanumeric character. (Ex.: 2ND ST or 36A ST). When the street name is numeric, there is only one space (no hyphen) between the civic number and the street name. (Ex.: 123 22ND AVE).

6. The street type is provided by the municipality. Common abbreviations should be used. See Table 1: “Street Type” for a complete list. In some instances, the street type is also the street name (THE PARKWAY). The only street types that may be translated are:

7. The street direction uses the common one- or two-letter abbreviation. See Table 2: “Street Directions” for a complete list.

8. The official municipality name, as provided to Canada Post, the official abbreviation of the municipality, or an official alternate name, should be used and should not be translated. (Ex.: TROIS-RIVIÈRES is not THREE RIVERS.)

9. The province should always be presented using the recognized two-letter symbol. See Table 4: “Canadian Provinces and Territories Names and Abbreviations” for a complete list. Mailers may wish to have the province written in full and placed in brackets. Ex.: (Quebec)

10. The Postal Code should be in upper case and placed two spaces to the right of the province with one space between the first three and last three characters.

4.2	Postal Box Addresses

1. Additional delivery information is optional data that a mailer wishes to include. (title, floor, municipal address, etc.). It is always placed above the post office box address.
2. The postal box number should always be placed on the line just above the municipality, province and Postal Code. The # symbol should not be used, nor the French equivalent n^o. Punctuation should not be used.

3. Station information should be present to direct mail to the proper postal installation when there is more than one installation within a municipality.

4. The official municipality name, as provided to Canada Post, the official abbreviation of the municipality, or an official alternate name, should be used and should not be translated. (Ex.: TROIS-RIVIÈRES is not THREE RIVERS.)

5. The province should always be presented using the recognized two-letter symbol. See Table 4: “Canadian Provinces and Territories Names and Abbreviations” for a complete list. Mailers may wish to have the province written in full and placed in brackets. Ex.: (Quebec)

6. The Postal Code should be in upper case and placed two spaces to the right of the province with one space between the first three and last three characters.

4.3	Rural Route Addresses

1. Many rural areas now have civic addresses. Civic addresses may be added above the rural route. In some locations, the rural route (RR) designator is no longer required.
2. Additional address information is often required for delivery to this type of address. Some examples include: SITE/ COMPARTMENT, LOT/CONCESSION, civic address, attention line, title, floor. The word “BOX” should not be used in place of “COMPARTMENT”.

3. The rural route identifier should use the two-letter symbol (RR, SS, MR), followed by the number, one space to the right. The # symbol should not be used, nor the French equivalent, n^o. Punctuation should not be used in RR, SS, or MR.

4. Station information should be present to direct mail to the proper postal installation when there is more than one installation within a municipality.

5. The official municipality name, as provided to Canada Post, the official abbreviation of the municipality, or an official alternate name, should be used and should not be translated. (Ex.: TROIS-RIVIÈRES is not THREE RIVERS.)

6. The province should always be presented using the recognized two-letter symbol. See Table 4: “Canadian Provinces and Territories Names and Abbreviations” for a complete list. Mailers may wish to have the province written in full and placed in brackets. Ex.: (Quebec)

7. The Postal Code should be in upper case and placed two spaces to the right of the province with one space between the first three and last three characters.

4.4	General Delivery Addresses

1. The General Delivery indicator should be the two-letter abbreviation “GD.” Punctuation should not be used.
2. Station information should be present to direct mail to the proper postal installation when there is more than one installation within a municipality.

3. The official municipality name, as provided to Canada Post, the official abbreviation of the municipality, or an official alternate name, should be used and should not be translated. (Ex.: TROIS-RIVIÈRES is not THREE RIVERS.)

4. The province should always be presented using the recognized two-letter symbol. See Table 4: “Canadian Provinces and Territories Names and Abbreviations” for a complete list. Mailers may wish to have the province written in full and placed in brackets. Ex.: (Quebec)

5. The Postal Code should be in upper case and placed two spaces to the right of the province with one space between the first three and last three characters.

4.5	Bilingual Addresses

1. A solid black line must be placed between the two addresses. It must be a minimum of 0.7 mm thick.
2. There must be a clear space on each side of the black line. This clear space should be approximately 10 mm.

4.6	Military Addresses

Military addressing is defined as mail sent to or by the Department of National Defence, Canadian Forces personnel, their dependants and civilians attached to Canadian Forces served through Canadian Forces Post Offices and Fleet Mail Offices. See the “Canadian Forces Postal Service” chapter for more information.

4.7	United States of America Addresses

Addressing elements required by the United States Postal Service should be prepared according to the United States postal standards.

1. All U.S.A. mail items must be addressed to a specific individual, organization or company name.
2. The full municipality name should be used and should appear as the first component in the second last line of the address block.

3. The two-letter state symbol is preferred over the full state name. The state symbol should appear on the second last line of the address following the municipality, separated by one space. See Table 5: “States, Territories and Possessions Names and Abbreviations U.S.A.” for a complete list.

4. The ZIP code must be separated from the state symbol by two spaces. It may be either five or nine digits. If the nine-digit format is used, a hyphen will be used to separate the fifth and sixth digits.

5. The country name must be the last entry on the address. It is placed alone on the last line of the address block, below the municipality/city name and the ZIP code information.

4.8	International Addresses

All international mail items must be addressed to a specific individual, organization or company name. Also, to ensure proper processing, the country name must be spelled correctly and in full. (Ex.: UAE is not acceptable for UNITED ARAB EMIRATES).

The name of the country must be the last entry on the address. It is placed at the bottom, below the municipality/city name and any Postal Code/ZIP code information.

4.9	International Destination Names

See “Part H: International Destination Listing” for a complete list of international destination names.

5

Symbols and Abbreviations Recognized by Canada Post

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5.1	Street Types

5.2	Street Directions

5.3	Unit Designators

The following are the most technologically efficient unit designators. In some cases, because of individual preference or other considerations, a mailer may use other unit designators.

5.4	Canadian Provinces and Territories

5.5	States, Territories and Possessions – U.S.A.