Of course, as long as you have written the address and paid the postage, your letter or parcel will reach its final destination in the vast majority of cases. The CN22 label should be included when the contents are worth less than £270, and CN22 and CN23 labels are required when the contents is worth more than £270. If you are sending a parcel somewhere outside the European Union, you will need to include a customs sticker. Again, stamps should be placed at the top right. And unless you are sending via the Royal Mail’s International Economy service, you’ll need to stick an Air Mail sticker to the bottom right of the envelope. You will also need to add the country you’re sending the letter to add the very end of the address, which should be written in block capitals.

If there is no postal code, make sure you include either the state, province or department. However, postcodes are not in use in every country. The conventions for addressing international mail are almost identical to those relating to domestic mail in the UK. Although customary to include this on the top left of the envelope, most postal services prefer it to be written on the back – in case it interferes with automated reading and sorting machines. If you’re concerned about the letter getting lost, mislaid or reaching the wrong person, it may be prudent to include a return address. If applicable, the appropriate stamp should be located at the top right of the envelope.The full postcode should be written in capitals, and it should have its own line at the bottom of the address.The name of the district or neighbourhood (the locality).The house number (or name) and the full name of the street.The full name of the recipient (addressee).When sending letters and parcels to a UK address, a minimum amount of information is required: And if you have included the name of the village, town or city – as well as the postcode – there is no need to write down the county. Every line of the address should be aligned to the left, and should not be indented or centred. In order that letters and parcels reach their UK destination quickly and safely, the Royal Mail requests that you avoid the use of punctuation completely, as it can confuse computerised reading equipment. Addressing an envelope legibly also allows the modern postal services’ computerised sorting machines to read it without delay.Īddressing mail intended for mainland Britain Not only are these guidelines in place to ensure accuracy, they are there to make the life of postal workers easier – meaning mail reaches its intended destination as quickly as possible.

Whether you are sending business mail or personal mail, the Royal Mail and most of the world’s major postal services have guidelines for addressing envelopes effectively.

How to address an envelope