Include any necessary titles. You can probably skip titles for close friends and family members, but you might consider including them for government officials, military personnel, doctors, professors, or elderly people. For instance, if you were addressing a letter to your elderly aunt Polly who was widowed many years ago, you might call her “Mrs. Polly Jones. "

Write “c/o” before the name of the person who does live there, the hotel, the hostel, etc. For instance, if your aunt Polly is staying with a cousin for a few weeks and you’re sending her a letter there, you might write “c/o Henry Roth” below her name.

For example, if your friend lives on 50 Oakland Avenue in apartment #206, write, “50 Oakland Ave, #206. " You can use some abbreviations for the type of street it is, as long as you use them correctly. You can write blvd instead of boulevard, ctr instead of center, ct instead of court, dr instead of drive, ln instead of lane and so on. [1] X Research source If you’re addressing a letter using a PO box, there’s no need to include the street address of the post office. Based on the ZIP code, the postal service will know where the PO box is.

You can use a 9-digit ZIP code, though you don’t have to. Five digits should be enough.

Write the recipient’s position after their name (optional). For instance, if you’re writing the director of marketing, you might say “Paul Smith, Director of Marketing” on the first line. Write “Attn:” followed by the person’s name if the person occupies a single desk or office at an address, if you like. For example: “Attn: Shirley Shatten. " If you’re submitting your work to a journal and do not know who the fiction editor is, write, “Attn: Fiction Editor” to make sure your submission ends up in the right place.

If you’re addressing a letter using a PO box, there’s no need to include the street address of the post office. Based on the ZIP code, the postal service will know where the PO box is.

You can use a 9-digit ZIP code, though you don’t have to. Five digits should be enough.

Note that in Ireland, the word “county” comes before the name, and is abbreviated “Co. " So, for example, if you’re sending a letter to County Cork, you’d write “Co. Cork” on the envelope.

Include any necessary titles. You can probably skip titles for close friends and family members, but you might consider including them for government officials, military personnel, doctors, professors or elderly people.