Mailing Your Letter
On the same day that you mail your letter, the United States Post Office will also handle millions of other pieces of mail. To make processing this huge amount of mail easier, the Post
Office asks you to follow these guidelines in preparing and addressing envelopes for mailing:
• Do not mail letters or cards that are less than 88.9 x 127 millimeters
• Put the street address, Post Office box number, or rural route number on the second line from the bottom. Write the city, state, and ZIP code on the bottom line.
• If the address is an apartment building, put the number of the apartment directly after the street address on the second line.
• Two-letter abbreviations for states have been approved by the U.S. Post Office. If you use these abbreviations, always use a ZIP code with them. Here is a list of the approved abbreviations:
| Alabama AL |
Montana MT |
Wyoming WY |
| Alaska AK |
Nebraska NE |
Canal Zone CZ |
| Arizona AZ |
Nevada NV |
District of Columbia DC |
| Arkansas AR |
New Hampshire NH |
Guam GU |
| Colorado CO |
New Jersey NJ |
Puerto Rico PR |
| Connecticut CT |
New Mexico NM |
Virgin Islands VI |
| Delaware DE |
New York NY |
Alberta AB |
| Florida FL |
North Carolina NC |
British Columbia BC |
| Georgia GA |
North Dakota ND |
Manitoba MB |
| Idaho ID |
Oklahoma OK |
New Brunswick NB |
| Illinois IL |
Oregon OR |
Newfoundland NF |
| Iowa IA |
Rhode Island RI |
Northwest Territories NT |
| Kentucky KY |
South Dakota SD |
Nova Scotia NS |
| Louisiana LA |
Tennessee TN |
Ontario ON |
| Maine ME |
Texas TX |
Prince Edward Island PE |
| Massachusetts MA |
Vermont VT |
Quebec PQ |
| Michigan MI |
Virginia VA |
Saskatchewan SK |
| Minnesota MN |
Washington WA |
Yukon Territory YT |
| Mississippi MS |
West Virginia WV |
Labrador LB |
| Missouri MO |
Wisconsin WI |
|
