Addresses: Addresses in letters or other documents

On this page

• Contexts in which these addressing guidelines apply
• Order of elements in an address
• Guidelines for formatting an address
  • Name of receiver
  • Job title and organization name
  • Building name
  • Street address
  • Compass point
  • Unit or floor number
  • Post office box and station
  • Municipality and province
  • Postal code
  • Country name
• Additional information

Contexts in which these addressing guidelines apply

The guidelines below apply in the following contexts:

• an inside address (the receiver’s address on the first page of a business letter; see also Business letters: Inside address)
• a return address (the sender’s address, in a business letter not written on letterhead; see also Business letters: Return address)
• an address in another type of document (form, resumé, etc.)
• an address written out as part of a sentence

For information on how to write an address intended to be used for mail delivery (that is, an address on an envelope or parcel), see the article Addresses: Addresses on envelopes and parcels.

For information on translating the elements in an address, see the article Addresses: Translating Canadian addresses.

Order of elements in an address

The elements in an address go from specific to general:

• the receiver’s first name (or initials) and last name, preceded by the receiver’s courtesy title (if known)
• the job title
• the name of the department or division (if applicable)
• the name of the organization (business, non-profit organization, government department, etc.)
• the building name (if applicable)
• the building number, street name, compass point (if applicable), and unit or floor number (if applicable); or the post office box and station
• the municipality, followed by the province or territory, and the postal code

An address will not necessarily include all of the above elements.

The examples below show how these elements are arranged in an address.

When an address appears within a sentence, separate the elements in the address with commas, except for the postal code, which is separated from the province or territory by a single space:

• The business is located at 300 Glenwood Place, Suite 22, Halifax, NS B3L 2G9.

Although no comma is used between the province or territory and the postal code, you should put a comma after the postal code when the sentence doesn’t end with the address:

• A reception will be held at 110 Carmody Avenue West, Vancouver, BC V6B 5Z6, from 5 to 7 p.m.

For more information on commas with place names, see the article Commas in geographical names and addresses.

Note: If the address is intended for use on an envelope or parcel, write the elements on separate lines and format them according to the guidelines given in the article Addresses: Addresses on envelopes and parcels.

Guidelines for formatting an address

Each line in the address begins with a capital letter. The guidelines below explain how to format the different elements in an address.

Name of receiver

The name of the receiver appears on the first line of an address. Use the receiver’s courtesy or professional title (“Mr.,” “Ms.,” “Mrs.,” “Miss,” “Mx.,” “Dr.,” etc.) if you know it, followed by the receiver’s first and last names, or initial(s) and last name:

For more information on the use of titles before names, see the articles Abbreviations: Titles with personal names and Courtesy titles.

If you don’t know the gender or gender identity of the receiver, use the name by itself, without any courtesy title:

If you don’t have the name of a receiver, the letter may be addressed to a title:

Note: To learn how to use the notation Attention, see the article Business letters: Attention line.

Job title and organization name

If the receiver is a person occupying a position within an organization, provide the receiver’s job title, department (if applicable) and organization name, according to the guidelines below.

Capitalize all words in the title and organization name except the articles a, an and the, and short prepositions or conjunctions of under four letters (“and,” “of,” etc.):

You may put a one-word job title on the same line as a short name, with a comma between, and put the organization name on the line below:

If the receiver’s name or job title is longer, however, place the business title on the line below the name, and the organization name on the following line:

If a department is mentioned, the receiver’s job title and department may be placed together on the line below the name:

For information on how to write the names of government departments, see Names of government departments (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau).

Building name

Certain buildings (for example, office or apartment buildings) may have names. If you’re including a building name, place it on a line by itself, below the organization name and above the street address.

For information on capitalizing building names, see the article Capitalization: Buildings, monuments and public places.

Street address

The street address consists of the building number and the street name. Don’t put a comma between the building number and the street name in an English address.

Write the street type (Street, Avenue, etc.) in full, with an initial capital:

For more information, see the article Streets and buildings: Abbreviations and numbers.

Compass point

If the street address includes a cardinal compass point (north, south, east, west), write it in full with an initial capital:

A compound compass point (northeast, southwest, etc.) is abbreviated and written entirely in capitals. Note that no period is used after the abbreviation:

For more information, see the article Compass points.

Unit or floor number

The number of a unit, apartment, suite or floor comes after the street name, on the same line. Put a comma after the street name, and use the word Unit, Suite or Floor (written in full) or the abbreviation Apt. before the number:

Alternatively, you can put the unit, apartment or suite number before the building number, with a hyphen between:

If the street address is long, the number of the unit, apartment, suite or floor can go on the line above:

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.

You may write Post Office Box in full, with initial capitals, or use the abbreviated form PO Box:

In writing the post office box number, don’t use the number symbol (#) or the abbreviation No.

If there is a station name, place it after the post office box number on the same line, with a comma between. You may write the word Station in full, with an initial capital, or use the abbreviation Stn.:

A street address is not ordinarily included with a post office box number. However, if a situation arises in which you need to include both, then place the street address on the line above the post office box number.

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 comma and a space between them:

If you’re unsure of a municipality’s official name, you can check it in the Canadian Geographical Names Database (opens in new tab) on the Natural Resources Canada website.

For the province or territory, use the two-letter Canada Post abbreviation, which contains no periods. For a list of these abbreviations, see the article 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:

Place the postal code on the same line as the province or territory, with two spaces between them. Don’t put a comma between the province and the postal code:

If the name of the municipality is long, the postal code can be placed on the line below:

Country name

When sending mail within Canada, don’t include the country 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.

Additional information

• Correspondence and addresses – Guidelines and resources
• Business letters: Model letter in recommended format
• Business letters: Inside address
• Business letters: Return address
• Addresses: Addresses on envelopes and parcels
• Addresses: Translating Canadian addresses
• Commas in geographical names and addresses
• Abbreviations: Titles with personal names
• Courtesy titles
• Business letters: Attention line
• Names of government departments (Linguistic recommendation from the Translation Bureau)
• Capitalization: Buildings, monuments and public places
• Streets and buildings: Abbreviations and numbers
• Compass points
• Abbreviations: Canadian provinces and territories
• Addresses: International addresses

Other resources

• Canadian Geographical Names Database (Natural Resources Canada) (opens in new tab)