Are street labels (i.e. road, boulevard, circle, etc.) optional when addressing a letter?

Question

My job entails answering reader snail mail, and I receive many letters with return addresses that don't include street clarification (such as the word road or boulevard.) A typical letter will look like this:

234 Harrison
Boulder, CO 55555

I have received MANY letters addressed like this (even on resumes) while working at two different companies now. Is including a street label optional? Where is everyone getting the idea to do this?

Answer 1

The idea to do this comes from laziness, of course. Technically, it's not a complete address without the designation St., Ln., Blvd., etc. However, it now seems common (in both senses of the word, naturally) to leave off that designation if it is not absolutely necessary for the letter's arrival. If there is only one street called Xavier in town, those who live there may feel no need to write Xavier St., but will simply write Xavier.

I'd say you're safe to use whatever form those who've written to your company have used in writing their own addresses. When writing your own address, I'm guessing you'd prefer to be correct and include the designation.

Answer 2

I guess these days, it is optional, but I'd rather put the street label on the letter because some roads have the same name, but one might say road and the other might say court or circle, just so the mail carrier can get it straight to the right address without all the added stress of driving around looking for it all afternoon.

Answer 3

Though it is possible mail will be delivered, it's not certain without a Blvd, St, Rd, Lane, etc. In an area there are many similar street names that need the street tags to properly get there. And zip codes don't mean they will. Within a zip code there could be a Harrison Blvd, St, etc. which would make it difficult to get to the right address. I would be surprised that people don't know or wouldn't use their proper address but maybe I shouldn't be if you are having this problem.

Answer 4

Most postal carriers know the local route.

For instance, if it's 1432 Hillsborough Ave, if you put 1432 Hillsborough I'm sure they would know, as long as you have the city, state, etc. It's a bad idea in practice, but if it's local, most of the time it's not an issue. If it's official, time sensitive, or the like, def. not a good idea.

For major roads and what not, it's not too big of a deal. If it's a tiny country road or a private one, it might be a good idea. Most of the times I haven't had a problem, but as a rule of thumb, if you want it to get there, address the whole thing.

Answer 5

In most instances, mail will still make it to the destination, regardless of whether the street designation is included. However, if you have the information, it is always advisable to go ahead and include as much as possible, as sometimes there might be a street and a road in the area with the same name (I know we have a few of those here locally.)

Answer 6

I think it depends on the town where it's going and the actual street. I'm from a small town, and we don't have more than one street with similar names (I can just say south 6th, and everyone knows what street that is), so we don't have to worry about it. I can see where 34th Street and 34th Terrace in the same city might cause a problem without the street clarification.

Answer 7

No, without the street label it could wind up anywhere. In my city, we have Main St , Main Ave, Main Drive, and it's just a suburb of the larger city. Your customers are in for a shock when their products don't arrive.

Answer 8

nicely, a highway is expounded to a distinctive highway and is going perfect by, a lane is a no by highway and a highway many times stretches for an prolonged way and is typically on outskirts of a city. that is all desperate by the dimensions and site of the line etc.

Answer 9

That's a bad bad idea. Elm st., Elm ct., Elm ave., Elm way., seewatimsayn?