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This is a list of traditional abbreviations for U.S. states and territories These abbreviations (short names) were used in mailing addresses before the introduction of two-letter U.S. postal abbreviations. The traditional abbreviations are still commonly used in other ways besides mailing addresses. For example, they can be used in writing ...
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Aug 4, 2015 · Two-letter postal abbreviations for state names went into effect on July 1, 1963. The two-letter abbreviations were adopted by the U.S. Postal Service to make room on letters for the new five-digit zip code that was developed at the same time.
In 1831 the USPS developed its first list of state abbreviations, each consisting of two letters except Ohio’s, which was simply “O.”. In 1874 the list was updated to include new states, and longer abbreviations were introduced, largely to avoid confusion.
The names of states should be always spelled out when they are written in sentences. Below is a list of state abbreviations, both two-letter and traditional for all of the 50 US states and other territories outside the Union.
May 7, 2021 · However, since most mail addressing equipment allowed only 23 characters, the state names needed to be shortened to make room for the ZIP Code. Although an initial list of abbreviations for the state names was provided in June 1963, some abbreviations had more than two letters which were still long.
Us StateAbbreviationAlabamaALAlaskaAKArizonaAZArkansasAR- John Misachi
Jan 24, 2020 · Before 1963, there were no ZIP codes used on postal mail in the United States, and the U.S. Post Office preferred that people wrote out state and territory names completely to avoid confusion in sorting mail. In the early 1800s, it had established a standardized list of acceptable abbreviations, updating it in 1874.
As early as October 1831, the United States Post Office recognized common abbreviations for states and territories. However, they accepted these abbreviations only because of their popularity, recommending that people spell names out fully to avoid confusion.
