Thursday, May 20, 2010

Useful Info for International Mail

My very United States self has to shop out a package to the United Kingdom. Normally I have the luxury of the flat-rate priority box's online label and postage system, but not today. These are salt and pepper shakers and it would be a crime to double the shipping cost just so I don't have to wait in the three person line at my post office.

So!

How the hell do I format the address label?

I like official answers from official sources, so I went to royalmail.com (UK mail service) which brought me to http://www.postoffice.co.uk and the exact information I needed.
Here's the direct link and here's what it said:

When sending mail to someone in the UK, you should write the address as follows:

  • Line 1: name of the person you’re sending the item to
  • Line 2: house number and street name
  • Line 3: locality name, if required
  • Line 4: post town, printed in capitals
  • Line 5: full postcode, printed in capitals on a separate line
Addressing international mail

Addressing formats vary by country, but ideally you should include:

  • Line 1: name of the person you’re sending the item to
  • Line 2: building number and street name
  • Line 3: name of the city or town
  • Line 4: name of the province, state or department and postal code
  • Line 5: name of the country, in capitals

When addressing international mail:

  • write the country name last and in capitals
  • write your address on the back of the envelope so it’s easy to return your item if there’s a problem delivering it
  • start each line on the left (do not centre the lines)

1 comment:

Heather Leavers said...

My UK address is actually 7 lines!
Name
house number and street name
locality
town
county
post code
UK

I have to say I worried no end about USA addresses at first, they just look so minimal.

And even when you've got it right, there's no accounting for the postal service foolery.

One of my packages from UK to USA was routed via AUSTRALIA! (Why? who knows. it was part of the meerkat world tour, maybe the postie knew it would add to the interest of the journey?)