Canada Address Format

If you're sending mail to someone in Canada, you'll need to follow a specific format when writing the address. The first line of your address should contain the full name of the recipient. The second line should list the street name. You should include directions to the address as well. You can abbreviate street names as ST, CIR, or AVE. Then, you'll need to write the postal code, which is six characters long. In some cases, you can substitute the recipient's name with the company name.

Unlike US and UK addresses, the Canada address format contains several segments. Each segment identifies a major geographic location and a small delivery area. The rest of the address consists of other characters that help the postal service deliver mail to the right place. Canadian mailers don't need to write their country's name on the last line, but international mailers must do so. In both cases, the last line should include "CANADA" or "CA".

The first part of the Canadian address format is called a forward sortation area, or FSA. A forward sortation area is a region where all postal codes start with the same three characters, such as M4B in Toronto. The second part of the address format specifies the province or territory. A FSA code in Toronto covers 600 geographic areas.