Proper US Postal Addressing
So I’m re-writing some subpoenas duces tecum (or “subpoena duces tecums”?), and I’m abhorred at the inconsistency in addressing formats. I learned that there were proper ways to write postal addresses–and now I’m learning how no one follows them.
Straight from the USPS:
Addresses should be typewritten or machine printed in dark ink on a light background using uppercase letters. Except for the hyphen in the primary or secondary street number (if needed) or the ZIP+4 code, all punctuation may be omitted. All lines of the address should be formatted with a uniform left margin. When using a foreign address, always place the country name by itself on the last line. (See sample address types in section A2.)
Address characters must not touch and should be equally spaced. All lines of the address should be parallel to the bottom of the envelope. Be sure to include all pertinent information such as the directional code, apartment, floor, and suite number.
The entire address should be contained in an imaginary rectangle known as the OCR read area (see illustration in section A1) that extends from 5/8″ to 2 3/4″ from the bottom of the mailpiece, with 1/2″ margins on each side.
The barcode clear area, 5/8″ from the bottom, and 4 3/4″ from the right edge of the mailpiece (see illustration in section A1), is the area where a POSTNET barcode is preapplied or printed by an OCR.
Extraneous (nonaddress) printing that appears in the OCR read area should be positioned above the delivery address line and as far away from the address block as possible.
So you may ask, “Paul, what does this have to do with intellectual property, or law and technology?” It has nothing to do with IP, but it does have to do with lawyerly anal-ness and technology.
The reason for proper US postal address formatting is for the OCR, or optical character recognition, that sorts and sends mail. When mail fails OCR for one reason or another, then its sent to human readers who sort the mail. (My mom used to do this.) That’s the tech reason.
The lawyerly anal-ness reason is that before we resort to the common law (or “tradition”) of addressing mail, we should first look to the rule.
NC State has a helpful–though egregiously spelled and punctuated–image, referring to the USPS’s “Addressing for Success” document:
The question that spurned this little rant, though, is the question of where to put a floor designation on an address. As above, the postal service wants the floor designation when applicable, but nowhere does it say where.
The consensus amongst my colleagues is that it should go after the location, e.g., “street.” But if you were to put an office or building name, it would go above the location. A floor is somewhere inbetween an office/building and a suite.
I am thus paralyzed and can do no more.
Update: I “asked” the postal service (thanks to my friend, Fipi Lele!) on their online address checking service. I entered:
256 FREEPORT ST
2ND FL
DORCHESTER MA 02122-2845
It removed the “2ND FL” and tried to replace it with a “STE.” So no help from them on this. Maybe “floor” is not a valid designation. If not, then it should properly go above the location, I believe.
Regulatory, Technology | paul | 
February 15, 2007 2:36 pm
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By Jakob, June 30, 2007 @ 3:34 pm
This is exactly what I expected to find out after reading the title Proper US Postal Addressing. Thanks for informative article
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