When mailing a business letter?

Question

and sending it to a person at a company, does the company name go first then the individual's name?

Should it go...
ABC Company name
c/o John Doe
Address

or

John Doe
c/o ABC Company
Address

Answer 1

If you go to www.usps.com and click on find a zip code, another tab comes up with correct postal addressing techniques.

Postal sorting machines only read the bottom 2 lines of your addressing, then hand sorting reads the third line from the bottom which should be the official business name. Then the top line would be sorted by the company and that is where the person's name should go.

There is no need to use c/o if you follow this technique.

The proper format uses ALL CAPS and no punctuation. One space is used between the city and the state, 2 spaces between the state and the zip.

MR JOHN DOE SALES MANAGER
XYZ WIDGIT CORPORATION
123 ANYWHERE ST STE 1
YOURTOWN NY 00000

This guarantees your letter is properly sorted and arrives looking professional.

Answer 2

John Doe
ABC Company (no c/o needed)
Address


The rule is if you put "Attn: John Doe" the letter can be opened by anyone (for example, John Doe's assistant or his successor). Name only is considered "personal" for that person only.

USPS equipment reads from the bottom up so that is why you want the company name next to the address (especially if it is a big company).

Answer 3

Either is acceptable but if the individual is a part of the company the best is

Company Name
Address
Attn: John Doe.
Dept. (if known)

Answer 4

John Doe
ABC COMPANY
Address

or

ABC COMPANY
ADDRESS

ATTN: JOHN DOE

Answer 5

I would say either is good.....the first one looks better though

Answer 6

i think it is the second one.