How Correctly Specify Address in English

The possibility of unlimited communications powered by the web has long been taken by our contemporaries for granted, but written communications remain an important part of our life. And yet. many of us have a hard time when trying to do something as simple as writing the postal address in English to send a parcel or formal correspondence. As the need to use postal services arises less frequently, we tend to forget the code of filling in the postal forms; but the postal workers are required to determine accurately where the shipment — a parcel or a letter — they are going to send. It is important also to correctly fill in the box with the sender's address and not only the receiver's address. No problem at all — you just have to keep the code in mind and to sort out all nuances please follow the tips below.

Receiver's Address in Overseas Shipment

Firstly, when you send a letter or a parcel to an English-speaking country such as the U.S. or Great Britain, remember to write down the receiver's details (the area which is located in the bottom right corner) in reverse order: receiver's name first, followed by apartment/house, street, and the country.

Let us look at the example:

The Post of Russia guidelines specify that the address line shall contain country name both in English and in Russian — this ensures that there will be no mistakes during the sorting that can lead to a long delay of the shipment. For U.S. addresses, use established state name abbreviations (e.g., Alaska — AK, Delaware — DE, Oklahoma — OK, Kentucky — KY, and etc.). The commonly used in postal addresses words such as 'street', 'boulevard', 'house', and so on shall be reduced accordingly. In business correspondence, the receiver's name follows the appropriate form of address (Mr. for gentlemen and Ms./Mrs. or Miss, depending on the martial state, for ladies).

Postal Address in U.K. Shipments — Key Features

When you prepare your shipment to be sent in this specific region of an island state, you have not only to know how to correctly write down the postal address in English but also to keep in mind specific requirements of the Royal Post. For England, use:

• upper case letters in the name of the settlement;
• first name initial before the second name;
• address or initials without full stop.

So, the first address line shall have the following form: Mr J Kerry, Mrs S Pollard, Miss R Johnson. Another difference in filling in the address line concerns the recipients residing in apartment houses — you shall write 'apartment' (APT) for the U.K. and 'flat' (FLT) for the U.S.

Writing Russian Postal Address in English

If for any reason, the shipment has to be returned to the sender, the postal office manager shall be able to recognize the sender's address. As the evidence from practice suggests, translation of Russian postal addresses can lead to some issues.

It is worth knowing that writing down Russian postal address, personal names, and words like region, city, and street do not require to be translated in English — you just have to write them down in Roman letters. In Russia, the address line requires to be filled in following the conventional order: street name, house No., and apartment No.

Of course, the native English speakers who live and work in Russia know well these rules of completing the address areas on the shipments; that is these teachers can offer the full knowledge of the English language, national culture, and customs to Russian children.

If you want your child to be proficient in English and to obtain education in high-profile universities, please find out the terms of study in the British CIS International School in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Tashkent (starting from preschool and up to graduation with the state certification of secondary education).