Standard Abbreviations

State/Possession	Abbreviation	State/Possession	Abbreviation
ALABAMA	AL	MONTANA	MT
ALASKA	AK	NEBRASKA	NE
AMERICAN SAMOA	AS	NEVADA	NV
ARIZONA	AZ	NEW HAMPSHIRE	NH
ARKANSAS	AR	NEW JERSEY	NJ
CALIFORNIA	CA	NEW MEXICO	NM
COLORADO	CO	NEW YORK	NY
CONNECTICUT	CT	NORTH CAROLINA	NC
DELAWARE	DE	NORTH DAKOTA	ND
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	DC	NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS	MP
FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA	FM	OHIO	OH
FLORIDA	FL	OKLAHOMA	OK
GEORGIA	GA	OREGON	OR
GUAM	GU	PALAU	PW
HAWAII	HI	PENNSYLVANIA	PA
IDAHO	ID	PUERTO RICO	PR
ILLINOIS	IL	RHODE ISLAND	RI
INDIANA	IN	SOUTH CAROLINA	SC
IOWA	IA	SOUTH DAKOTA	SD
KANSAS	KS	TENNESSEE	TN
KENTUCKY	KY	TEXAS	TX
LOUISIANA	LA	UTAH	UT
MAINE	ME	VERMONT	VT
MARSHALL ISLANDS	MH	VIRGIN ISLANDS	VI
MARYLAND	MD	VIRGINIA	VA
MASSACHUSETTS	MA	WASHINGTON	WA
MICHIGAN	MI	WEST VIRGINIA	WV
MINNESOTA	MN	WISCONSIN	WI
MISSISSIPPI	MS	WYOMING	WY
MISSOURI	MO

 

Military “State”	Abbreviation
Armed Forces Africa	AE
Armed Forces Americas (except Canada)	AA
Armed Forces Canada	AE
Armed Forces Europe	AE
Armed Forces Middle East	AE
Armed Forces Pacific	AP

 

The USPS recommends the address be written in block capital letters for better processing by their OCR machinery. They prefer standard abbreviations for common terms in street addresses.

AVE = avenue
BLVD = boulevard
CIR = circle
CT = court
EXPY = expressway
LN = lane
PKWY = parkway
RD = road
ST = street
WY = way
APT = apartment
CTR = center
NO = number
STE = suite
E = east
N = north
S = south
W = west