Foreign addresses except Canada: The last line of the address on mail, including Election Mail, being sent to a foreign country must contain the country name printed in full, using capital letters. No abbreviations are permitted. When using a foreign postal code, place it on the line above the country of destination.
Example:
MR THOMAS CLARK
117 RUSSELL DRIVE
LONDON WIP 7HQ
ENGLAND
Canadian addresses: For mail addressed to Canada, the last line of the address must show only the country name, written in full (no abbreviations) and in capital letters. There must be two spaces between the province abbreviation and the postal code, as shown below between ON and K1A OB1.
Example:
MRS HELEN K SAUNDERS
1010 CLEAR STREET
OTTAWA ON K1A 0B1
CANADA
For additional information on addressing mail to foreign countries, consult Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM) 122 available online at https://pe.usps.com/text/Imm/ welcome.htm.
Military addresses: Overseas military and diplomatic addresses must conform to domestic addressing standards format, while also including the correct Air Force/Army Post Office (APO), Fleet Post Office (FPO), or Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) and AA, AE, or AP designation. AA, AE, and AP are used for addresses with the 3-digit ZIP Code prefixes 340, 090-098, and 962-966, respectively. APO/FPO/DPO addresses must not include a foreign city and/or country name.
Mail must be addressed to an individual or job title such as “Commander,” “Commanding Officer,” or other charges. Mail addressed to “Any Service Member,” or similar wording such as “Any Soldier,” “Sailor,” “Airman,” or “Marine”; “Military Mail”; or any other vague description, is prohibited.
The correct format and correlating examples are as follows::
- Line 1: Job Title and/or Full name.
- Line 2: The delivery line (the second line from the bottom in the address) must show the word “UNIT”, “CMR”, “PSC”, “OMC”, or “UMR” and number; as well as the box number assigned.
- Line 3: The bottom line must contain the APO/FPO/DPO (“city”) designation and the appropriate two-letter AA, AE, or AP (“state”) abbreviation followed by the ZIP Code or ZIP+4 code.
SEAMAN JOHN DOE
UNIT 100100 BOX 4120
FPO AP 96691
JOHN DOE
PSC 5698 BOX 2002
APO AE 09400
Department of State addresses: Overseas mail addressed to Department of State personnel must show on the top line: full name, including first and last name with middle name or initial. The delivery line must include: unit, number, and box number assigned. The bottom line must contain: DPO “city” designation and the appropriate two-letter “state” abbreviation (AA, AE, or AP), followed by the ZIP Code or ZIP+4 code.
Example:
JANE T DOE
UNIT 9900 BOX 0500
DPO AE 09701-0500
