United States State Abbreviations: Complete Guide
In order to avoid confusion, the Post Office Department preferred state and territorial names to be spelled out in full until 1963, however they accepted the popular practice of abbreviating. A list of preferred state abbreviations was published by the Department in 1831 in the Table of Post Offices in the United States and in 1874 in the United States Official Postal Guide. In 1874, most abbreviations remained the same for almost 90 years.
A five-digit ZIP code was introduced by the Post Office Department on July 1, 1963, which appeared after the state name in an address's last line. In the June 27, 1963, issue of the Postal Bulletin, the Department published an initial list of state abbreviations to accommodate the new code on the address line. Several of these initial abbreviations comprised four letters.
Publication 59, Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Codes, was published four months later, in October 1963, with the now-familiar list of two letter state abbreviations. In order to accommodate ZIP Codes within the standard City-State line of addresses, the Post Office Department provided two-letter abbreviations as an aid to mailers.
As a result of the universal acceptance of a 23-position line capacity basis for major addressing systems, the abbreviations are based on this line capacity. Two-letter state abbreviations were introduced gradually; initially, they were intended only for use by large businesses in conjunction with ZIP codes. The abbreviations issued in October 1963 have been changed only once to date.
Preferred Abbreviations for States/Territories | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1831 | 1874 | 1943 | 6/1963 | 10/1963 | ||
Alabama | Al. | Ala. | Ala. | ALA | AL | |
Alaska | -- | Alaska | Alaska | ALSK | AK | |
Arizona | -- | Ariz. | Ariz. | ARIZ | AZ | |
Arkansas | Ar. T. | Ark. | Ark. | ARK | AR | |
California | -- | Cal. | Calif. | CALIF | CA | |
Colorado | -- | Colo. | Colo. | COL | CO | |
Connecticut | Ct. | Conn. | Conn. | CONN | CT | |
Delaware | De. | Del. | Del. | DEL | DE | |
District of Columbia | D. C. | D. C. | D. C. | DC | DC | |
Florida | Fl. T. | Fla. | Fla. | FLA | FL | |
Georgia | Ga. | Ga. | Ga. | GA | GA | |
Hawaii | -- | -- | Hawaii | HAW | HI | |
Idaho | -- | Idaho | Idaho | IDA | ID | |
Illinois | Il. | Ill. | Ill. | ILL | IL | |
Indiana | Ia. | Ind. | Ind. | IND | IN | |
Iowa | -- | Iowa | Iowa | IOWA | IA | |
Kansas | -- | Kans. | Kans. | KANS | KS | |
Kentucky | Ky. | Ky. | Ky. | KY | KY | |
Louisiana | La. | La. | La. | LA | LA | |
Maine | Me. | Me. | Maine | ME | ME | |
Maryland | Md. | Md. | Md. | MD | MD | |
Massachusetts | Ms. | Mass. | Mass. | MASS | MA | |
Michigan | Mic. T. | Mich. | Mich. | MICH | MI | |
Minnesota | -- | Minn. | Minn. | MINN | MN | |
Mississippi | Mi. | Miss. | Miss. | MISS | MS | |
Missouri | Mo. | Mo. | Mo. | MO | MO | |
Montana | -- | Mont. | Mont. | MONT | MT | |
Nebraska | -- | Nebr. | Nebr. | NEB | NB **to NE in 1969 | |
Nevada | -- | Nev. | Nev. | NEV | NV | |
New Hampshire | N. H. | N. H. | N. H. | NH | NH | |
New Jersey | N. J. | N. J. | N. J. | NJ | NJ | |
New Mexico | -- | N. Mex. | N. Mex. | NM | NM | |
New York | N. Y. | N. Y. | N. Y. | NY | NY | |
North Carolina | N. C. | N. C. | N. C. | NC | NC | |
North Dakota | -- | -- | N. Dak. | ND | ND | |
Ohio | O. | Ohio | Ohio | OHIO | OH | |
Oklahoma | -- | -- | Okla. | OKLA | OK | |
Oregon | -- | Oreg. | Oreg. | ORE | OR | |
Pennsylvania | Pa. | Pa. | Pa. | PA | PA | |
Puerto Rico | -- | -- | P. R. | PR | PR | |
Rhode Island | R. I. | R. I. | R. I. | RI | RI | |
South Carolina | S. C. | S. C. | S. C. | SC | SC | |
South Dakota | -- | -- | S. Dak. | SD | SD | |
Tennessee | Te. | Tenn. | Tenn. | TENN | TN | |
Texas | -- | Tex. | Tex. | TEX | TX | |
Utah | -- | Utah | Utah | UTAH | UT | |
Vermont | Vt. | Vt. | Vt. | VT | VT | |
Virginia | Va. | Va. | Va. | VA | VA | |
Washington | -- | Wash. | Wash. | WASH | WA | |
West Virginia | -- | W. Va. | W. Va. | W VA | WV | |
Wisconsin | -- | Wis. | Wis. | WIS | WI | |
Wyoming | -- | Wyo. | Wyo. | WYO | WY | |
Sources: 1831, Table of Post Offices in the United States; 1874 and 1943, United States Official Postal Guide; 6/1963, Postal Bulletin 20368; 10/1963, Post Office Department Publication 59, Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Code. |
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