{"title":"How to Address an Envelope","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/adulting/how-to-address-an-envelope","category":{"slug":"adulting","name":"Adulting"},"creator":{"name":"Cristin Sierra","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmUN98JbXJBl7qnTVsAhxpA","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBIHr9dYhbQ"},"tldr":"Address an envelope correctly: stamp top right, your return address top left, recipient centered. Step-by-step layout, formats, and USPS abbreviation tips.","totalDurationSeconds":305,"difficulty":"easy","tools":[],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Put a Stamp in the Top Right Corner","text":"Place a stamp in the top right corner of the envelope. A Forever stamp covers any standard letter under 1 ounce. Add it before you start writing so you don't forget - it's the easiest part to skip past."},{"number":2,"title":"Write Your Return Address in the Top Left","text":"Start with your name on the first line, written in the top-left corner. Print clearly so the post office can read it - if the letter doesn't make it to the recipient, this is the address it gets returned to."},{"number":3,"title":"Add Your Street Address (or PO Box)","text":"On the line below your name, write your street address (house number + street name) or PO Box number. One line is fine - no need to abbreviate words like 'Street' if you have room to spell it out, although 'St' is also acceptable."},{"number":4,"title":"Add City, State, and ZIP","text":"On the next line write your city, comma, two-letter state abbreviation, then your ZIP code. If you don't know your state's abbreviation, you can spell out the state name and drop the ZIP to the next line - both formats work for the post office."},{"number":5,"title":"Write the Recipient's Name and Address in the Center","text":"Write the recipient's name on the first line, centered horizontally and roughly in the vertical middle of the envelope. Below that, their street address (or PO Box). Below that, their city, state, and ZIP. Same blocky format as your return address."},{"number":6,"title":"Use 5-Digit ZIP (or 9-Digit ZIP+4)","text":"The 5-digit ZIP code is all the post office requires - mail with just 5 digits arrives fine. The full 9-digit ZIP+4 (with a hyphen, like 95763-6391) routes a little faster because it points to a specific city block or address range. Use whichever you have on hand."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-05-20T13:29:27.731Z","published":"2026-04-27T23:59:36.231Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}