What's Your Address? Your Guide To International Shipping Address Formats

10 min read

Order fulfillment is one of the most important aspects of the e-commerce industry. As such, companies should take extra care to include correct shipping details on any order.

The concept is simple: if the shipping information is incorrect, couriers are not going to be able to deliver the order. Many countries use a standard shipping address format for all deliveries. Keep this in mind when sending out packages. If you know how to include a proper address, you’ll be one step closer to faultless order fulfillment.

Address formats follow a similar pattern across the world, but each country has a slightly different set of formatting rules.

Today, we’ll be looking at the different ways countries format shipping addresses and cover all the formatting information you need to send packages domestically, internationally, and to PO box addresses.

Within this article, we’ll be touching on the following topics:

Why Address Formatting Is Important For Shipping?
Useful Tips For Addressing A Package
Shipping Address Formats Across The Globe
How To Write A PO Box Address
How To Print Shipping Labels

Read on for more information.

Why Address Formatting Is Important For International Shipping?

Your address format is a series of information that lets couriers know where to send a product. This information is often in a standardized format which changes depending on the destination country.

Couriers and delivery staff are trained to understand shipping address information. A shipping address usually includes the following information:

The recipient’s name
A house or flat number
A street name
A city name
An area or state
A postal or zip code
A destination country

Remember, if you make mistakes with the shipping address, your delivery may go to another location or be returned at your own expense. Speedy order fulfillment depends on accurate information in the destination country’s preferred format.

Useful Tips For Adding A Shipping Address To A Package

If you want to ensure you package stands the best chance of reaching its destination, try these tips:

Wrote your address in English
Use capital letters when necessary
Include your return info
Keep the address around five lines maximum
Do not include phone of fax numbers in the delivery details

Shipping Address Formats Across The Globe

Whether you are sending goods domestically or to another country, make sure you follow that country’s shipping address format. The addresses will contain the same information, but they’ll be written differently depending on the location. Stick to these formats when sending to the following regions:

The United States

US shipping addresses include the recipient’s name in the first line. Then, add the street (generally house number and street name). Add the name of the city, two-letter state abbreviation, and relevant zip code. Then, add the country at the bottom.

A US shipping address should look like this:

Charlotte Davies, Apartment 3C, 48 Eleanor Street

San Diego, CA 2240, USA

Canada

If shipping to Canada, include everything you would in a US shipping address. Add the name on the first line. Then add the street on the second line. Finally, add the municipality, province, and postal code.

A Canadian shipping address should look like this:

Dale Peters, 23 Eastcroft Street SA

Montreal QC H32 2Y7, Canada

Australia

Australian shipping addresses are similar to the US and Canadian format. Start with the recipient’s name. Then add the house number or apartment and street. Then you should add the suburb or town, followed by the state name (abbreviated), and postal code. Finally, add the country name.

An Australian shipping address should look like this:

Jayne Greenberg, 23 Wisconsin Drive

Waitara NSW 2077, Australia

China

If you are sending an item to China, you’ll have to format the address differently to other parts of the world. The Chinese start with the country name. The next line should be the province, city, and district. Then, add the street, community or building, and apartment number. Then, finish the address with the recipient’s name.

Chinese shipping addresses should look like this:

PR China, Guangdong province Guangzhou city Tianhe district.

Xinshi Road No. 2006 Fuli garden 12th Building Room 18, Ju Fen

UK

UK addresses usually contain more elines. Firstly, you write the recipient’s name. Then, add a building or flat number (if applicable). Thirdly, write the name of the street and number. Then, add the town, city, or county. Add the postal code on the same line. Finally, add the name of the country.

A UK address should like like this:

Dave Phillips, Flat 2, 48 Hertford Drive

Merseyside, CH45 7PX, UK

How To Write a PO Box Address?

Some customers require their products to be sent to a PO box rather than their home address. The main difference between PO box shipping addresses and regular ones is that you have to write the PO box number instead of the street, followed by the city, state, postal/zip code that you would normally include.

The US

US PO Box addresses start with the recipient’s name. Then, add the company name (if applicable). Add the PO Box number, followed by the city and state. On the final line, add the name of the country.

This should look like:

Michael Barry, Copywriting inc., PO Box 1234

Dallas, TX, USA

UK

UK PO box addresses should include the name, company, and specific department. Then, add the PO box number, city, post code, and country.

This should look like:

Alan Partridge, Pear Tree Productions, Media and Entertainment

PO Box 2222, CH44 4BN, UK

Canada

Like other countries, Canadian PO box addresses should include the recipient’s name, then the PO box number and station information, and finally, the city, province, and postal code.

This should look like:

Peter Smith, PO BOX 1134 STN B

Victoria BC V7X2X3, Canada

Australia

Australian PO boxes addresses start with the recipient’s name, then the company name below. The next line contains the PO box number. The fourth line includes the town, suburb, state name, and postal code. Then, include the name of the country.

This should look like:

Oliver Thomas, E-commerce inc., POX Box 10

Fremantle WA 6260, Australia

How To Print Shipping Labels With Ecwid

If you are looking to print shipping labels via USPS, you can dos with from the Ecwid admin Depending on your destination country, you can purchase and print domestic and international shipping address labels for your business. Ecwid automatically selects the correct label type based on the recipient’s address.

The cost is charged to your Ecwid account via the same payment method as your Ecwid subscription.

USPS also provides free shipping supplies, including boxes and envelopes for different-sized items. You can get free shipping boxes from your local post office or order them online.

Unfortunately, if you ship with FedEx, UPS, or any other delivery service apart from USPS, you cannot print your shipping labels through Ecwid. However, you can print those labels on the courier’s website. However, you’ll have to manually enter order details and addresses.

Save time and make your business more efficient by using apps from the Ecwid App Market to buy and print labels. Your order details will sync with the app and you won’t need to enter shipping addresses manually.

Sell online

With Ecwid Ecommerce, you can easily sell anywhere, to anyone — across the internet and around the world.

Get started

Feb 15, 2022

About the author

Max has been working in the ecommerce industry for the last six years helping brands to establish and level-up content marketing and SEO. Despite that, he has experience with entrepreneurship. He is a fiction writer in his free time.