## [Addresses: Addresses on envelopes and parcels](/writing-tips-plus/addresses-on-envelopes-and-parcels) ## Accéder à du contenu similaire en français Du contenu similaire en français est présenté dans l’article [Adresse sur une enveloppe ou un colis](/fr/cles-de-la-redaction/adresse-sur-une-enveloppe-ou-un-colis). Pour plus d’information sur la correspondance en français, veuillez consulter la page [Correspondance et adressage – Règles et difficultés](/fr/cles-de-la-redaction/correspondance-et-adressage-regles-et-difficultes). ## Section: Correspondence and addresses Go to the main page of this section: [Correspondence and addresses – Guidelines and resources](/en/writing-tips-plus/correspondence-and-addresses-guidelines-and-resources). ## On this page - [Recommended format for addresses on envelopes and parcels](#recommended-format) - [Contexts in which these guidelines apply](#contexts) - [Order of elements in an address ](#order-of-elements) - [Guidelines for formatting an address](#guidelines) - [Name of receiver](#name-of-receiver) - [Job title and organization name](#job-title) - [Building name](#building-name) - [Street address](#street-address) - [Compass point](#compass-point) - [Floor or unit number](#floor-unit) - [Post office box and station](#post-office-box) - [Municipality and province](#municipality-province) - [Postal code](#postal-code) - [Country name](#country-name) - [Additional information](#additional-information) ## Recommended format for addresses on envelopes and parcels To standardize usage within the federal public service, in the case of addresses being used for mail delivery, the Translation Bureau recommends following the format prescribed in [Canada Post’s addressing guidelines (opens in new tab)](https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/articles/addressing-guidelines/overview.page?). The Canada Post guidelines explain the address format that you should use on envelopes and parcels to facilitate automated mail sorting. These addressing guidelines allow mail to be handled and sorted more rapidly, thus reducing the carbon footprint of your delivery. ## Contexts in which these guidelines apply The guidelines below apply in the following contexts: - the receiver’s address on an envelope or parcel or on a document mailed in a window envelope - the sender’s address (return address) on an envelope or parcel - any contact address provided in the body of a text for use on an envelope or parcel - addresses in a data source used to generate form letters and envelopes or address labels for mass mailings In all other cases (letters, resumés, etc.), the recommended format for addresses is the one described in the article [Addresses: Addresses in letters or other documents](addresses-in-letters-or-other-documents). For guidance on how to arrange the elements on an envelope, see the article [Envelope: Arrangement of elements](envelope-arrangement-of-elements). For information on the use of English and French in writing or translating addresses, see the article [Addresses: Translating Canadian addresses](addresses-translating-canadian-addresses). ## Order of elements in an address The elements that make up an address go from specific to general: - the receiver’s first name (or initials) and last name - the receiver’s job title - the department or division (if applicable) - the name of the organization (business, non-profit organization, government department, etc.) - the building name (if applicable) - the floor number (if applicable) - the unit or apartment number, building number, street name and compass point (if applicable); or the post office box and station - the municipality, followed by the province (or territory) and postal code An address won’t necessarily include all of the above elements. It’s important to note than an address block must be no longer than six lines. The examples below show how these elements are arranged. JODIE SAMSON DIRECTOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRANSLATION BUREAU PLACE MONTCALM PHASE III 70 CRÉMAZIE ST GATINEAU QC K1A 0S5 EDMONTON TAX SERVICES OFFICE CANADA REVENUE AGENCY 10-9700 JASPER AVE EDMONTON AB T5J 4C8 MAX ATWATER MANAGER NORTHERN ONTARIO FIELD UNIT PARKS CANADA PO BOX 998 NIPIGON ON P0T 2J0 MR CHRIS FERNANDEZ FINANCE MANAGER \[COMPANY NAME\] 2ND FLOOR 850 QUEEN ST FREDERICTON NB E3B 1B5 JANINE SMITH-PETERS 400-254 18TH AVE YELLOWKNIFE NT X1A 1A7 CHIEF PEGUIS SECONDARY SCHOOL 765 LARKWOOD DR W CLEAR STREAM MB R0G 1Z9 ## Guidelines for formatting an address Addresses used for mail delivery are ordinarily written entirely in capitals (although lower case is also accepted). The address should contain no punctuation (except in the case of a proper name, such as **ST. JOHN’S**). In addition, no line should be longer than 40 characters. The lines of an address are blocked on the left (in other words, there’s no indentation at the beginning of each new line). The minimum number of lines in the receiver’s address is three; the maximum is six. For details, see the [page “Important information” in Canada Post’s addressing guidelines (opens in new tab)](https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/articles/addressing-guidelines/important-information.page?). ### Name of receiver The name of the receiver, which may be preceded by the receiver’s preferred courtesy title (if you know it), appears on the first line of the address. **DIANA BELL** \[or **MS DIANA BELL**\] CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER \[COMPANY NAME\] 1793 SIGURDSON ROAD SUITE 9 ALDERMERE ON K5N 5L6 If you don’t have the name of a receiver, you can address the letter to a job title: SALES MANAGER DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES For details, see the articles [Courtesy titles](courtesy-titles-in-english) and [Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms.](mr-mrs-miss-ms) ### Job title and organization name If the receiver is a person occupying a position within an organization, provide the receiver’s job title on the line below the name: SEAN KELLY **MANAGER** The organization name goes on the line below the job title: SEAN KELLY MANAGER **\[COMPANY NAME\]** If you include a department, you can put the receiver’s business title and department together on the line below the name, with no punctuation between them: J. DOE **CHIEF TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT** \[COMPANY NAME\] ### Building name Certain buildings (for example, office or apartment buildings) may have names. If you include a building name, put it on a line by itself, below the organization name and above the street address: KAREN VITALE HEAD ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT \[COMPANY NAME\] **MONDALE BUILDING** ### Street address The street address consists of the building number and the street name. Don’t put the number sign (#) or the abbreviation **No.** in front of the building number, and don’t put a comma between the building number and the street name. The words for certain street types (**street**, **avenue**, **road**, etc.) may be abbreviated; others must be written in full. 241 FOREST **ST** 1739 CLAIRMONT **AV** 8 PIONEER **RD** 64 HARRISVILLE **BLVD** 1942 LOBELIA **LANE** For details, see the [section “Street types” in Canada Post’s addressing guidelines (opens in new tab)](https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/articles/addressing-guidelines/symbols-and-abbreviations.page?#street-types) (on the “Symbols and abbreviations” page). ### Compass point In addresses on envelopes and parcels, abbreviate all compass points. CAITLIN GRESHAM 515 MARTINDALE CRES **E** For more information, see the [section “Street directions” in Canada Post’s addressing guidelines (opens in new tab)](https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/articles/addressing-guidelines/symbols-and-abbreviations.page?#street-directions) and the article [Compass points](compass-points). ### Floor or unit number An address for a public- or private-sector organization may include a suite or floor number, while the address for a private individual may include an apartment number. If the address contains a floor number, put it on the line immediately above the street address: \[COMPANY NAME\] **3RD FLOOR** 170 MOUNTAIN ST You can indicate the number of a unit, apartment or suite in any of the following ways. **Method 1:** You can put the unit, apartment or suite number **before** the building number, with a hyphen between: KARL JACOBSON **900-**602 COBDEN RD **Method 2:** You can put the apartment, unit or suite number **after** the street name instead, using the abbreviation **APT** or the word **UNIT** or **SUITE** (or another appropriate term) before the number: KARL JACOBSON 602 COBDEN RD **APT 900** **Method 3:** If the street address is long, the number of the unit, apartment or suite can go on the line above: LISA GREENWOOD \[COMPANY NAME\] **SUITE 205** 1849 RENAISSANCE BOULEVARD **Note:** Don’t use the number sign (#) or the abbreviation **No.** before the number of the floor, suite, apartment, etc. ### Post office box and station If the receiver’s address includes a post office box number, use it in place of the street address, on the line above the municipality and province. On an envelope or parcel, use the abbreviated form **PO BOX**. Don’t use the number symbol (#) or the abbreviation **No.** before the number. J BERNSTEIN **PO BOX 245** ANYTOWN NS B1C 1O9 If there’s a station name, put it after the post office box number on the same line, using the abbreviation **STN**: ALMA BASRAN PO BOX 139 **STN A** RIVERVALE ON N6O 3G9 If, for some reason, you need to include the street address in addition to the post office box, put the street address on the line above the post office box: ALMA BASRAN **1130 FERNWOOD RD** PO BOX 139 STN A RIVERVALE ON N6O 3G9 ### Municipality and province On the line below the street address or post office box number, put the name of the municipality, followed by the postal abbreviation for the province (or territory), with a space between them: JORDAN BROWN 1289 DURHAM AVE **CRAIGSTON ON** If in doubt, you can find the official name of the municipality in Natural Resources Canada’s [Canadian Geographical Names Database (opens in new tab)](https://toponymes.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/search?_gl=1*1dnnj31*_ga*MjU5NzUwMjY4LjE2ODY4NjA0Njk.*_ga_C2N57Y7DX5*MTY4OTYxODUzOC41LjAuMTY4OTYxODUzOC4wLjAuMA). For municipalities with a name longer than 13 characters, you may use the official abbreviation indicated on the [Canada Post web page showing municipality abbreviations](https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/kb/business/address-accuracy) for the different provinces and territories: **QUEEN-CHRLTTE** \[for Queen Charlotte\] **NIAGARA-LK** \[for Niagara-on-the-Lake\] **RIV-DU-LOUP** \[for Rivière-du-Loup\] For the province or territory, use the two-letter Canada Post abbreviation, which contains no periods: CAMPBELLTON **NB** HAWKESBURY **ON** RIV-DU-LOUP **QC** **Note:** Canada Post’s two-letter postal abbreviations for provincial and territorial names are different from the traditional abbreviations for these names. For a list of the Canada Post abbreviations, see the article [Abbreviations: Canadian provinces and territories (opens in new tab)](abbreviations-canadian-provinces-and-territories). ### Postal code Use capital letters in the postal code. Put a space (not a hyphen) between the two sets of characters: N2X 7B9 Place the postal code on the same line as the province or territory, with two spaces between the province or territory and the postal code: JORDAN BROWN 1289 DURHAM AVE CRAIGSTON ON **N2X 7B9** If the name of the municipality is long, you can put the postal code on the line below: DR C G FORSTER 1620 PINE RD SASKATOONBERRY SPRINGS, SK **S6H 7W4** For more information, see the [page “Civic address” in Canada Post’s addressing guidelines (opens in new tab)](https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/articles/addressing-guidelines/civic-address.page). ### Country name When sending mail within Canada, don’t include the name **CANADA** at the end of the address. However, you must include a country name on mail being sent to another country. For information on how to format an address on international mail, see the article [Addresses: International addresses](addresses-international-addresses). ## Additional information - [Correspondence and addresses – Guidelines and resources](correspondence-and-addresses-guidelines-and-resources) - [Envelope: Model showing recommended format](envelope-model-recommended-format) - [Addresses: Addresses in letters or other documents](addresses-in-letters-or-other-documents) - [Envelope: Arrangement of elements](envelope-arrangement-of-elements) - [Addresses: Translating Canadian addresses](addresses-translating-canadian-addresses) - [Courtesy titles](courtesy-titles-in-english) - [Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms.](mr-mrs-miss-ms) - [Compass points](compass-points) - [Abbreviations: Canadian provinces and territories](abbreviations-canadian-provinces-and-territories) - [Addresses: International addresses](addresses-international-addresses) - [Commas in geographical names and addresses](commas-in-geographical-names-and-addresses) - [Streets and buildings: Abbreviations and numbers](streets-and-buildings-abbreviations-and-numbers) ### Terminology records - [TERMIUM Plus® record “return address” (opens in new tab)](https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tpv2alpha/alpha-eng.html?lang=eng&i=&index=ent&srchtxt=return+address&where=%27return%2520address%27&menudom=filtrdom&domlistcchd=KEG+%5B1%5D%3BUAC+%5B1%5D%3BHBG+%5B1%5D%3B&domnumtsll=2&dom=HBG&comencsrch=) ### Other resources - [Addressing guidelines (opens in new tab)](https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/articles/addressing-guidelines/overview.page?) (Canada Post) - [Municipality abbreviations (opens in new tab)](https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/kb/business/address-accuracy) (Canada Post) - [Canadian Geographical Names Database (opens in new tab)](https://natural-resources.canada.ca/earth-sciences/geography/querying-canadian-geographical-names-database/canadian-geographical-names-database/19870) (Natural Resources Canada) ## Avis de droit d’auteur pour l’outil Writing Tips Plus © Sa Majesté le Roi du chef du Canada, représenté par le ou la ministre des Services publics et de l’Approvisionnement Un outil créé et mis en ligne par le Bureau de la traduction, Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada ## Rechercher par thèmes connexes Vous voulez en apprendre davantage sur un thème abordé dans cette page? Cliquez sur un lien ci-dessous pour voir toutes les pages du Portail linguistique du Canada portant sur le thème choisi. 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