The Right Way to Addressing an Envelope
Addressing an envelope is an important
matter in processing letter. That’s why we need to know the right way to
addressing an envelope. Here are a few simple rules about the best way of
addressing an envelope you have to know.
The number precedes the street name. Words like street, square, avenue are written separately, each word starting with a capital letter.
Commas
may be placed at the end of each line (closed punctuation), or only
between city and state or county (open punctuation). Use the same form as
in the letter.
The
British postcode is written below the address. The American zip
code is on the same line as city and state.
The
postcode should always be the last item of information in the address and
in block capitals.
Whenever
possible place the postcode on a line by itself at the end of the address.
When an
address formerly included Postal District letters and / or numbers, these
will usually be incorporated in the postcode.
Do not
use full stops or any other punctuation marks between or at the end of the
characters of the postcode.
Always
leave a clear space, at least equivalent to one character, between the two
halves of the postcode.
Never underline
the postcode.
Never
join the characters of a postcode in any way.
No
writing should appear below the postcode. It is better to show return
addresses on the back of an envelope rather than in the bottom corners of
the front. “for the attention of … “ and similar messages should be shown
above the address, not below it.
Example
of addressing an envelope
Miss K. Neil,
110, North Street,
Purley,
Surrey,
AR1 4TP
If you use private reference numbers on
letters for your own purposes, they too should be placed immediately above the
address, or be kept to the upper left hand side of the address panel.