How to Address UK & International Mail (With Examples)

Write the delivery address in the lower-right half of the envelope, with each part on its own line and plenty of space around it so Royal Mail's sorting machines can read it. Keep it left-aligned and avoid slanting the lines.

Put your own return address on the back of the envelope, or in the top-left corner of the front — well away from the delivery address.

A standard UK address has the recipient, the building and street, the post town, and the postcode:

Ms J Smith
12 Acacia Avenue
Didsbury
MANCHESTER
M20 6XY

• The post town (MANCHESTER) goes in capital letters.
• The postcode (M20 6XY) goes on its own final line, in capitals, with a space in the middle.
• The county is optional — the post town and postcode are what Royal Mail sorts on, so you can usually leave it out.

For post leaving the UK, add the country name in capitals on the last line, in English:

John Doe
123 Main Street
Springfield IL 62701
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Use the destination country's own format for the lines above the country — for example, US addresses put the city, state, and ZIP code on one line. When in doubt, copy the address exactly as the recipient gave it to you, then add the country on the final line.

• Always write the postcode in capital letters.
• Leave a single space between the two halves: EC1A 1BB, not EC1A1BB.
• Put it on the last line of the address, on its own.
• If you're not sure of a postcode, Royal Mail's free Postcode Finder will confirm it from the street address.

With PostPal you just fill in the fields — name, street, post town, postcode — and we lay the address out correctly, in the right case and on the right lines, every time. Nothing to measure and nothing to smudge.

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