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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