Clarity drives speed. While postal workers can decipher cursive, sorting cameras prioritize clean, dark lettering on a high-contrast background. USPS formatting guidelines favor black ink on white paper, written in standard block capitals with all lines left-justified.
Line one must identify the recipient. Write the full legal name of the person or business entity. For institutional mail, you can add an attention line immediately beneath or above the entity name:
ATTN: COMPLIANCE DIRECTOR
ACME HOLDINGS LLC
Line two carries the primary delivery route, whether that is a physical street address, an intersection, or a PO Box address format. If the address features apartment and suite numbers, postal regulations specify placing them at the end of the street address line. If space runs short, place the unit designation on the line directly above the street address, never below it.
1244 MARKET ST APT 4B
Line three resolves the geographic destination. Write the city, followed by official two-letter state abbreviations, and the base postal code. Expanding this to the full ZIP+4 code drastically accelerates routing. The extra four digits pinpoint a specific city block, office building, or floor, removing sorting ambiguity before the envelope leaves the regional distribution hub.
PHILADELPHIA PA 19107-3214
