How Do You Write an Apartment Address on an Envelope?
- Write Your Name on the First Line
- Write the Street Name and Number on the Second Line
- Write the City, State, and Zip Code on the Third Line
1. Write Your Name on the First Line
The first step of writing an apartment address on an envelope is to write your name on the first line. If you're sending mail to an apartment, you'd write the recipients name on the first line instead.
2. Write the Street Name and Number on the Second Line
Then, on the second line, you will write the street name and number, followed by a comma and your apartment number.
3. Write the City, State, and Zip Code on the Third Line
Finally, the last step to writing an apartment address on an envelope is to put your city, state, and zip code on the bottom line.
How to Write Apartment Address Example
An apartment address should be written on 3 lines, as described above. When done, your entire address block will follow the format below.
Oliver Hardy
22 Waterloo Avenue, Apartment 2B
Hollywood, CA 90210
Incorrect Way to Write an Apartment Address
The above style of address is what the USPS considers to be standard. However, many people also choose to use the second optional address line for their apartment. While this isn’t the correct way to write an apartment address, your mail will still likely get to its destination if your address your envelope like this:
Oliver Hardy
22 Waterloo Avenue
Apartment 2B
Hollywood, CA 90210
How to Write Apartment Address Abbreviations
Part of writing your apartment address correctly is knowing which word to use for your unit and how to abbreviate it. Some of the most common are apartment, suite, unit, and penthouse. Here’s how to abbreviate them.
- Room/Rm: Used to denote a room that is marked off in an apartment or a room in a hotel or office.
- Suite/Ste: Though this is more common among office buildings, it occasionally happens in apartments or “hard lofts.”
- Apartment/Apt: This is the classic go-to. If you don’t know which abbreviation to use, use this one.
- Building/Bldg: This is to denote a building.
- Unit/Unit: Some buildings call their apartments “units.”
- Mailbox/Box: If you are assigned a mailbox or use a mailbox number for your mail, you might be able to use the mailbox number instead.
- Penthouse/PH: Penthouse typically refers to the top floor(s) of a building.
What Happens if You Don’t Put the Apartment Number on the Envelope?
In many cases, not putting your apartment number will lead to your package or envelope getting returned to the sender. This can be a very bad thing, depending on what you want to receive.
In some cases, this might result in a package getting received by a doorman or a community mailbox. However, this only happens in a handful of cases, and it’s never guaranteed. To prevent any mishaps or confusion, always write the complete address.
What are You Actually Supposed to Put on the Third Address Line?
Sometimes, company websites won’t have an extra space for your suite or apartment number when you have online forms to fill out for shipping. If you just need the street address for mailing, then you should expect it to look like this:
22 Waterloo Avenue, Apt. 2B
Most, if not all, websites allow you to use commas to delineate your own apartment number from the rest of the people in the building’s addresses. However, there is an official reason for that third line.
It’s where you are supposed to put the name of whoever is going to be officially receiving it if there is more than one party in the address. This typically happens when the address’s first line is a company. If you use the third line, it’ll look like this:
Crayon Shin-Chan Associates
1313 Nohara Lane
Care Of Hiro Nohara
Tokyo, NY 11011
You can also abbreviate “Care Of” into “℅” if you so choose.
How do You Write an Address That Has Both a Building Number and Room Number?
In most cases, it all goes next to the street address on the second line. The building number gets added right before the room number like this:
Oliver Hardy
22 Waterloo Avenue, Building 2, Room 2
Hollywood CA, 90210
If the second line is a bit too long, you can drop the building and room details to the third line. It’ll look like this:
Oliver Hardy
22 Waterloo Avenue
Building 2, Room 2
Hollywood CA, 90210
What Happens if You Don’t Use Your Legal Name on the Address?
In most cases, it won't be a big deal if you don't use your legal name when writing your address. Most shippers won’t care unless you are getting mail from a major government agency or financial institution.
How to Write an Apartment Address Bottom Line
When you are sending a letter or a care package to your family, it’s still important to make sure you write the apartment address correctly. Sending a letter to the wrong address is a very easy way to waste a ton of postage and also get your letter returned to you in a matter of weeks.
Writing your letter is the easy part, but then again, so is writing your address. The USPS has a little bit of leeway when it comes to how you can write it, so don’t stress too much.