How to Fill Out an Envelope by Country

Written by CFI Team

Updated September 8, 2021

How to Fill Out an Envelope by Country?

Filling out an envelope when sending a letter or parcel to someone sounds easy enough. What makes it a bit tricky is the fact that different countries follow different formats or guidelines to ensure that your envelope makes its way safely to its destination. Common elements such as the number of the street and state or zip code may not even be required in some countries.

Fill Out an Envelope by Country

Sending an envelope to another country is also different from sending it domestically. When mailing something overseas, you may be asked to fill out an official mailing form instead of just writing the name and address on the envelope. It also entails more postage.

Guidelines in Filling Out an Envelope

So how do you fill out an envelope depending on the destination? Here are some postage guidelines by country:

US

Here are the guidelines for the destination address from the US Postal Service (USPS):

Use uppercase letters.
Type or write the address in English.
Make sure that it is no more than five lines. Include the following details:

Name of the recipient
Street address or P.O. box number
City or town or principal subdivision
Postal code

UK

When sending a parcel or envelope to someone who is in the UK, write the address in this manner:

Name of the recipient
House number and name of the street
Name of locality (if applicable)
Town (use uppercase letters)
Postal code (use uppercase letters)

Note that there’s no need to write the name of the county if you’ve already written or typed the town and postcode.

Canada

Sending an envelope to someone in Canada? Make sure to keep the guidelines below in mind:

Use uppercase or block letters.
Write the title or floor above the street address.
Use a hyphen between the unit/suite/apartment number and the street number.
Abbreviate the street type and street direction.
Make sure to write the city, province, and postal code on the same line.
Abbreviate the province.
Separate the first and last three elements of the postal code with a space.
Put one space between the city and the province.
Put two spaces between the province and the postal code.

Example:

JOHN SMITH

10-5 MAIN AVE S

MONTREAL QC W4B 1N8

Australia

Include the following details when sending an envelope to someone in Australia:

Name
Street Address
Suburb and state/territory (use uppercase letters)
Postcode

Example:

John Smith

6894 Willow Street

CLEVELAND QLD

4567

South Africa

There are no specific dimensions when sending an envelope to someone in South Africa, but make sure to write legibly on the front of the envelope, left-aligned. Include the following details:

Name of the recipient
Number and street address
Suburb
Name of the city
Postal code

India

Below are the guidelines when filling out an envelope for someone in India:

The recipient’s address should be written on the front side of the envelope.
Use uppercase letters when writing the postal town.
The name of the state is not used. If you need to include the state, write it after the postal code.
Write the postal code and delivery post office in one line.

China

Here are the guidelines when sending an envelope to China:

Write the address in Chinese.
Write the full name of the recipient with the job title or a generic title 先生 (xiānshēng, Mr.) or 女士 (nǚshì, Ms.).
Write 收 (shōu, which means to receive) in parentheses after his or her name.
When writing the number of the street or building, use the Arabic numeral followed by 号 (hào). When writing the number of the room or apartment, use the Arabic numeral followed by 室 (shì).

Mexico

When sending an envelope to someone in Mexico, make sure to include the following details:

Name of the recipient
Street number and name
Name of the quarter (colonia)
Postcode, locality name, and province abbreviation.

More Resources

CFI offers the Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst (FMVA)™ certification program for those looking to take their careers to the next level. To keep learning and advancing your career, the following CFI resources will be helpful: