Address Standardizer

In the first example, 456 North Street keeps “North”: there it’s the street’s name, not a direction, and the Postal Service’s rules spell it out.

What it changes

• Street types at the end of the street name: Street → St, Avenue → Ave, Boulevard → Blvd, and every other form in USPS Publication 28 (Str and Strt become St, too).
• Units: Apartment → Apt, Suite → Ste, Floor → Fl, Building → Bldg and the rest of the official list.
• Directions before or after the street name: North → N, Southwest → SW. A direction that is the street’s name stays: 456 North Street → 456 North St.
• State names before the ZIP code: Illinois → IL, District of Columbia → DC.
• PO boxes: P.O. Box and Post Office Box → PO Box.

Names, companies, cities, house numbers and ZIP codes are never changed, and each word keeps its capitals (Street → St, STREET → ST). Tick ALL CAPS, no punctuation for the Postal Service’s preferred style: 123 N MAIN ST APT 4B, SPRINGFIELD IL 62704.

Choose spelled out to go the other way, St → Street and IL → Illinois, as formal and wedding invitations are addressed.

What it doesn’t do

It doesn’t check that an address exists, correct a misspelled street, or add ZIP+4 codes. That’s address verification, which needs the Postal Service’s address database, and paid services and the USPS ZIP Code Lookup offer it. Standardizing first makes a list consistent, easier to deduplicate and ready for labels.

USPS abbreviations

From Publication 28, Postal Addressing Standards.

Common street types

Apartment, suite and other units

Units marked “+ number” are followed by a number or letter (Apt 4B, Ste 200); the others stand alone (Rear, Bsmt). If the kind of unit isn’t known, the Postal Service uses #: 123 Main St # 5.

Directions

A mailing list

Mr. John Smith
123 North Main Street Apartment 4B
Springfield, Illinois 62704

Dr. Ann Baker
456 North Street, Suite 200
Chicago, Illinois 60601

Mr. John Smith
123 N Main St Apt 4B
Springfield, IL 62704

Dr. Ann Baker
456 North St, Ste 200
Chicago, IL 60601

Try this example

Addresses on one line

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia 20500
350 Fifth Avenue, Floor 21, New York, New York 10118

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500
350 Fifth Ave, Fl 21, New York, NY 10118

Try this example

Spelled out, for invitations

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Smith
12 Elm St. Apt 3
Portland, OR 97201

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Smith
12 Elm Street Apartment 3
Portland, Oregon 97201

Try this example