Canada Post’s computerized systems can decipher a wide range of addressing styles – from handwritten notation to typed and printed labels, but studies show that a consistent approach to mail addressing leads to more efficient handling. For Canada Post’s Customers, large and small, this translates into better service and lower costs. Consistent and accurate addressing eliminates the need for extra handling or redelivery by Canada Post. Standardized addressing ensures that mail is consistently “delivered on time, the first time, every time.”
The guidelines in this chapter promote the most technologically efficient formats for addressing. It does not limit mailers to any one format. In some cases, because of individual preference or other considerations, mailers may not be able to follow the formats that this Guide presents.
For more technical information on the physical characteristics necessary for effective processing by Canada Post’s automated systems, Go to Canadian Postal Standards.
General Information
Addressing Guidelines
Addresses should be written in upper case; however, mailers may wish to use lower case due to individual preference or other considerations.
Postal codes should be printed in upper case with the first three elements separated from the last three by one space (no hyphens). If the postal code is not formatted in this manner, the mail may be delayed.
The municipality, province or territory, and postal code should always appear on the same line. There should be one space between the municipality, province or territory and two spaces between the province or territory and postal code.
Characters in the address block should not be underlined.
Punctuation should not be used unless it is part of a proper name, (ST. JOHN'S). However, mailers may wish to use punctuation due to individual preference or other considerations.
Accents may be used as they are an integral part of language but they are not considered to be punctuation.
The # symbol should never be used, nor the French equivalent no as part of the address.
All lines of an address should be formatted with a uniform left margin and should be less than 40 characters per line, excluding spaces.
Space between address lines should be at least 0.5 mm but no more than one blank line between lines of addressing.
All characters should be larger than 2 mm and smaller than 5 mm from the top to bottom (10 to 12-point). Return addresses may use smaller characters and should not be larger than the destination address.
Only non-proportional fonts (characters which occupy the same width) should be used. The following are examples of acceptable fonts: OCR B, Letter Gothic, Elite, Lotus Line-Draw, MS Line Draw, Courier, Courier New, Pica and Copy Pica.
Return addresses should be formatted in the same fashion as the destination address, and located in the top-left corner of the mail piece, clearly separated from the destination address, or on the back of the mail piece at the top. The return address is mandatory on Priority Courier, Xpresspost, Expedited Parcel and Regular Parcel items.
Illustrations
The following examples illustrate Canada Post's recommended addressing guidelines.
Civic Addresses (Street Addresses)
Figure B.3.1
Additional delivery information is optional data that a mailer wishes to include. (title, floor, etc.) It is always placed above the civic address.
A unit number is placed before the civic number with a hyphen between, OR after the street type, using an acceptable unit identifier (ex. APT 10). Please see Unit Designators for a list. The unit information may be placed on the line above the street information if space is an issue.
The civic number is the official number assigned to an address by the municipality.
When a civic number suffix is present, there is no space when it is alpha (123A), and there is one space when it is a fraction (123 1/2).
The street name is the official name recognized by each municipality and should not be translated. (Ex.: Main is not Principale.) There is no space between a numerical street name with an ordinal or an alphanumeric character. (Ex.: 2ND ST or 36A ST). When the street name is numeric, there is only one space (no hyphen) between the civic number and the street name. (Ex.: 123 22ND AVE).
The street type is provided by the municipality. Common abbreviations should be used. Please see Street Types below for a complete list. In some instances, the street type is also the street name (THE PARKWAY). The only street types that may be translated are:
ST
=
RUE
AVE
=
AV
BLVD
=
BOUL
A French street type is placed before the street name, unless it is an ordinal number (1re, 2e, PREMIÈRE, DEUXIÈME, etc.)
The street direction uses the common one- or two-letter abbreviation. Please see Street Directions for a complete list.
The official municipality name, as provided to Canada Post, the official abbreviation of the municipality, or an official alternate name, should be used and should not be translated. (Ex.: TROIS-RIVIÈRES is not THREE RIVERS.)
The province should always be presented using the recognized two-letter symbol. Please see Province and Territory Symbols below for a complete listing. Mailers may wish to have the province written in full and placed in brackets. Ex.: (Québec)
The postal code should be in upper case and placed two spaces to the right of the province with one space between the first three and last three characters.
Post Office Box Addresses
Figure B.3.2
Additional delivery information is optional data that a mailer wishes to include. (title, floor, municipal address, etc.) It is always placed above the post office box address.
The post office box number should always be placed on the line just above the municipality, province and postal code. The # symbol should not be used, nor the French equivalent n o. Punctuation should not be used.
Station information should be present to direct mail to the proper postal installation when there is more than one installation within a municipality.
Station
=
STN
Retail Postal Outlet
=
RPO
The official municipality name, as provided to Canada Post, the official abbreviation of the municipality, or an official alternate name, must should be used and cannot should not be translated. (Ex.: TROIS-RIVIÈRES is not THREE RIVERS.)
The province should always be presented using the recognized two-letter symbol. Please see Province and Territory Symbols below for a complete listing. Mailers may wish to have the province written in full and placed in brackets. Ex.: (Québec)
The postal code should be in upper case and placed two spaces to the right of the province with one space between the first three and last three characters.
Rural Route Addresses
Figure B.3.3
Many rural areas now have civic addresses. Civic addresses may be added above the rural route. In some locations, the rural route (RR) designator is no longer required.
Additional address information is often required for delivery to this type of address. Some examples include: SITE/ COMPARTMENT, LOT/CONCESSION, civic address, attention line, title, floor. The word BOX should not be used in place of COMPARTMENT.
The rural route identifier should use the two-letter symbol (RR, SS, MR), followed by the number, one space to the right. The # symbol should not be used, nor the French equivalent, n o. Punctuation should not be used in RR, SS, or MR.
Station information should be present to direct mail to the proper postal installation when there is more than one installation within a municipality.
Station
=
STN
Retail Postal Outlet
=
RPO
The official municipality name, as provided to Canada Post, the official abbreviation of the municipality, or an official alternate name, should be used and should not be translated. (Ex.: TROIS-RIVIÈRES is not THREE RIVERS.)
The province should always be presented using the recognized two-letter symbol. Please see Province and Territory Symbols below for a complete listing. Mailers may wish to have the province written in full and placed in brackets. Ex.: (Québec)
The postal code should be in upper case and placed two spaces to the right of the province with one space between the first three and last three characters.
General Delivery Addresses
Figure B.3.4
The General Delivery indicator should be the two-letter abbreviation "GD." Punctuation should not be used.
Station information should be present to direct mail to the proper postal installation when there is more than one installation within a municipality.
Station
=
STN
Retail Postal Outlet
=
RPO
The official municipality name, as provided to Canada Post, the official abbreviation of the municipality, or an official alternate name, should be used and should not be translated. (Ex.: TROIS-RIVIÈRES is not THREE RIVERS.)
The province should always be presented using the recognized two-letter symbol. Please see Province and Territory Symbols below for a complete listing. Mailers may wish to have the province written in full and placed in brackets. Ex.: (Québec)
The postal code should be in upper case and placed two spaces to the right of the province with one space between the first three and last three characters.
Bilingual Addresses
Figure B.3.5
A solid black line must be placed between the two addresses. It must be a minimum of 0.7 mm thick.
There must be a clear space on each side of the black line. This clear space should be approximately 10 mm.
Military Addresses
Military addressing is defined as mail sent to or by the Department of National Defense, Canadian Forces personnel, their dependents and civilians attached to Canadian Forces served through Canadian Forces Post Offices and Fleet Mail Offices. Go to Section E – Chapter 12, Canadian Forces Mail.
United States of America Addresses
Addressing elements required by the United States Postal Service should be prepared according to the United States postal standards.
Figure B.3.6
All U.S.A. mail items must be addressed to a specific individual, organization or company name.
The full municipality name should be used and should appear as the first component in the second last line of the address block.
The two-letter state symbol is preferred over the full state name. The state symbol should appear on the second last line of the address following the municipality, separated by one space. Please see United States of America – States, Territories and Possessions below for a complete listing.
The ZIP code must be separated from the state symbol by two spaces. It may be either five or nine digits. If the nine-digit format is used, a hyphen will be used to separate the fifth and sixth digits.
The country name should appear alone on the last line of the address block.
International Addresses
Figure B.3.7
All international mail items must be addressed to a specific individual, organization or company name. Also, to ensure proper processing, the country name should be spelled correctly and in full. (Ex.: UAE is not acceptable for UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. Go to Section H, International Destination Listing, for a complete listing and correct spelling of countries.
The name of the country should be the last entry on the address. It is placed at the bottom, below the municipality/city name and any postal code/zip code information.)
Canada Post encourages all mailers to respect the wishes of Customers in matters of format. These guidelines have taken care to accommodate the requirements of the English and French languages by recognizing and accepting the use of upper- and lower- case characters, including accents, as well as the full spelling of and punctuation between addressing elements.
The following are the most technologically efficient unit designators. In some cases, because of individual preference or other considerations, a mailer may use other unit designators.
ENGLISH UNIT DESIGNATOR
ABBREVIATION
FRENCH UNIT DESIGNATOR
ABBREVIATION
Apartment
APT
Appartement
APP
Suite
SUITE
Bureau
BUREAU
Unit
UNIT
Unité
UNITÉ
Canadian Provinces and Territories
ENGLISH NAME
SYMBOL
FRENCH NAME
Alberta
AB
Alberta
British Columbia
BC
Colombie-Britannique
Manitoba
MB
Manitoba
New Brunswick
NB
Nouveau-Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
NL
Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador
Northwest Territories
NT
Territoires du Nord-Ouest
Nova Scotia
NS
Nouvelle-Écosse
Nunavut
NU
Nunavut
Ontario
ON
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
PE
Île-du-Prince-Édouard
Québec
QC
Québec
Saskatchewan
SK
Saskatchewan
Yukon
YT
Yukon
States, Territories and Possessions – United States of America
The postal code is an integral part of every postal address in Canada. The postal code was designed to aid in sorting mail by both mechanized and manual methods. It also enables the Customer to presort mail, thereby bypassing a number of sorting processes within Canada Post and reducing costs.
The Structure of the Postal Code
The postal code is a six-character uniformly structured, alphanumeric code in the form “ANA NAN” where “A” represents an alphabetic character and “N” represents a numeric character. A postal code is made up of two segments: “forward sortation area” and “local delivery unit.”
The forward sortation area is a combination of three characters (alpha-numeric-alpha). It identifies a major geographic area in an urban or a rural location.
The local delivery unit is a combination of three characters (numeric-alpha-numeric). It identifies the smallest delivery unit within a forward sortation area.
Figure B.3.8
Forward Sortation Area – The First Segment of the Postal Code
The “forward sortation area” or “FSA” represents a specific area within a major geographic region or province. The forward sortation area provides the basis for the primary sorting of forward mail.
The first character of the forward sortation area segment identifies one of the 18 major geographic areas, provinces or districts:
Figure B.3.9
The second character of the forward sortation area is an important component of mail preparation as it identifies either:
an urban postal code: numerals 1 to 9 (E2J). Urban postal codes are generally serviced by Letter Carrier or community mailboxes; or
a rural postal code: numeral 0 (zero) (A0A). Rural postal codes are serviced by rural route drivers and/or postal outlets.
The third character of the forward sortation area segment (E2J) in conjunction with the first two characters, describes an exact area of a city or town or other geographic area.
Figure B.3.10
Local Delivery Unit – The Second Segment of the Postal Code
The “local delivery unit” or “LDU”, identified by the last three characters of the postal code, allows for a more final sort within a forward sortation area.
In urban areas, the last three characters may indicate a specific city block (one side of a street between two intersecting streets), a single building or, in some cases, a large-volume mail receiver.
In rural areas, the last three characters, together with the forward sortation area, identify a specific rural community.
Postal Code Address Data
Canada Post’s postal code address data is used to determine or verify the correct postal code for an address anywhere in Canada or identify the complete range of addresses that correspond to any one postal code. The data is available by download from a secured Canada Post FTP site, on CD-ROM or IBM cartridge, and is updated and distributed monthly.
The Canadian Postal Code Directory can be purchased in hard copy through the National Philatelic Centre at 1-800-565-4362, or at selected postal outlets.
Address Accuracy is a program designed to improve delivery by encouraging Customers to accurately address mail. Every item must be addressed to a specific individual or company. In the case of Addressed Admail and Catalogue Mail, items may also be addressed to a non-personalized descriptor, such as "Occupant" or similar wording. Every item must display a complete mailing address including any required suite or unit information as well as the valid postal code for that address. If the mailing address is not complete, the mail may be delayed or returned.
Consistent and accurate addressing eliminates the need for extra handling and/or redelivery. For Customers, this translates into a more efficient service and lower costs. Accurate addressing helps ensure the mail is delivered on time, every time.
Participation in the Address Accuracy Program is mandatory for all Machineable, Letter Carrier Presort (LCP), and NDG Presort mailings greater than 5,000 items.
The standard for Address Accuracy is 95%. This means that 95% of the addresses on the Customer's database are determined to be valid. This is done by using a Canada Post recognized address validation and/or address validation and correction software. If the percentage on the Statement of Accuracy (SOA) produced by the software is less than 95%, an adjustment will be applied to the mailing.
Customers must record their Address Accuracy percentage and expiry date obtained from their Statement of Accuracy (SOA) on their Order (Statement of Mailing). Failure to record the Address Accuracy percentage and expiry date on the Order (Statement of Mailing) will result in the application of a surcharge.
Customers are requested to keep a valid copy of the Statement of Accuracy (SOA) on file in the event that Canada Post requests a copy.
In the case of Incentive Lettermail, Address Accuracy applies to Low Density Presort and Machineable mailings greater than 5,000 items, as well as to High Density Presort mailings greater than 500 items deposited in a Letter Carrier office. Customers who deposit Short and Long (S/L) High Density Presort mail in non-letter carrier offices (not serviced by letter carriers) for delivery within that same office, are exempt from the Address Accuracy requirements. All other requirements to access the High Density Presort service option must be adhered to.
More information on the Address Accuracy Program can be found in the Address Accuracy Program Customer Guide, on the Canada Post website at www.canadapost.ca/address_management or from a Canada Post Representative.
Address Validation, Address Correction and Postal Code Look-Up
Canada Post recognizes several software packages that provide mailers with automated means to perform address validation, address correction and postal code lookup.
PDF to print
