How to write an address.

Sender’s address

If you are the one sending the letter, this will be your address. If you are mailing a letter on behalf of a business or organization, use the organization’s address. Place the sender’s address in either the top-left or top-right corner of the letter, depending on the letter template or letterhead design.

Avery Jones
123 Main Street
Apartment 2B
New York, NY 10001

Date

Place the date one line below the sender’s address.

May 12, 2030

Recipient’s address

Two to four lines below the date, write the recipient’s address. The recipient address is left-aligned.

Hiring Manager
Company X
456 State Street
Suite 800
Los Angeles, CA 90005

Salutation

Below the address block, you can now begin the text of your formal letter. Begin with a formal greeting known as a salutation. Options include:

• To whom it may concern
• Greetings
• Dear Sir or Madam
• Dear Hiring Manager
• Dear Mrs. Lopez

Dear Customer Service Manager

Use this address format when you are submitting a letter of recommendation or a reference letter, sending a formal job application letter, or mailing a business communication or government correspondence.

Although it may seem superfluous, using the correct address formatting matters. Incorrectly formatted addresses can create confusion about who the letter is for, reflect poorly on your professionalism and capabilities, and delay delivery or review of your materials.

If you need help getting started, be sure to check out this reference letter template from Acrobat to speed up your writing process and guide your formatting. If you draft your letter in a standard word processor like Microsoft Word, export it to PDF using the Word to PDF tool to ensure your formatting doesn’t change across devices.

Recipient’s address

Begin by writing the recipient’s address on the envelope. This address is placed in the center of the envelope. Standard practice is to left-align text, but centered text is also acceptable in most cases.

Marie Kwan
789 Oak Lane
Dallas, TX 75051

Return address

The return address is the location where you would like the envelope returned if, for some reason, it can’t be delivered. This is typically the sender’s address or the address of the business or group mailing the letter. This address block is placed in the top left corner of the envelope.

Bradley Koy
489 Rose Avenue
Madison, WI 53001

Postage stamp

With both addresses in place, all that remains is to place the postage stamp in the upper right-hand corner of the envelope.

When addressing an envelope, use black or blue ink for clear reading. Write legibly in block letters. Always use print, not cursive, handwriting. Do not use punctuation unless it is required in an apartment or unit number.

If you don’t want to address your envelopes by hand, you can use a template and a free online PDF editor to fill out printable shipping labels or envelopes digitally.

Street address

Begin by writing the street address. Include the house number, street name, and unit if applicable.

987 Canal Street, Suite 201

City, state, and ZIP code

Separate the city and state with a comma. The ZIP code follows the state abbreviation.

San Francisco, CA 94105

Country

Listing the country in the address is optional. It is usually only necessary when addressing something internationally or writing out multiple addresses in one place with multiple countries of origin.

Remember, one-line addresses must be clearly understood by the reader without relying on the line breaks in other address blocks. Misplaced commas or out-of-order phrasing can create confusion, especially in professional settings or international contexts.

If you’re managing bulk addresses in a database or spreadsheet, import them into a PDF for easy editing, clean presentation, and simple sharing.