Several sets of

code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

s and

abbreviation An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

s are used to represent the

political divisions of the United States The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states, a federal district (Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States), five major territories, and various minor islands. Both the states and the United ...

for postal addresses, data processing, general abbreviations, and other purposes.

Table

This table includes abbreviations for three independent countries related to the United States through Compacts of Free Association, and other comparable postal abbreviations, including those now obsolete.

History

As early as October 1831, the

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

recognized common abbreviations for states and territories. However, they accepted these abbreviations only because of their popularity, preferring that patrons spell names out in full to avoid confusion. The traditional abbreviations for U.S. states and territories, widely used in mailing addresses prior to the introduction of two-letter U.S. postal abbreviations, are still commonly used for other purposes (such as

legal citation Legal citation is the practice of crediting and referring to authoritative documents and sources. The most common sources of authority cited are court decisions (cases), statutes, regulations, government documents, treaties, and scholarly writin ...

), and are still recognized (though discouraged) by the Postal Service. Modern two-letter abbreviated codes for the states and territories originated in October 1963, with the issuance of ''Publication 59: Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Code'', three months after the Post Office introduced ZIP codes in July 1963. The purpose, rather than to standardize state abbreviations ''per se'', was to make room in a line of no more than 23 characters for the city, the state, and the ZIP code. Since 1963, only one state abbreviation has changed. Originally

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

was "NB"; but, in November 1969, the Post Office changed it to "NE" to avoid confusion with

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

in Canada. The two-letter postal abbreviation system is complicated by the fact that several state names begin with the same letter (e.g., eight state names begin with ''M'' and eight begin with ''N'', four "New" and two "North"). To avoid duplications, some abbreviations are not intuitive. Prior to 1987, when the U.S.

Secretary of Commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

approved the two-letter codes for use in government documents, the

United States Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...

(GPO) suggested its own set of abbreviations, with some states left unabbreviated. Today, the GPO supports United States Postal Service standard.

Current use of traditional abbreviations

Legal citation Legal citation is the practice of crediting and referring to authoritative documents and sources. The most common sources of authority cited are court decisions (cases), statutes, regulations, government documents, treaties, and scholarly writin ...

manuals, such as '' The Bluebook'' and '' The ALWD Citation Manual'', typically use the "traditional abbreviations" or variants thereof.

Codes for states and territories

ISO standard 3166

ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009

The

American National Standards Institute The American National Standards Institute (ANSI ) is a private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States. The organi ...

(ANSI) established alphabetic and numeric codes for each state and outlying areas in ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009. ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009 replaced the

Federal Information Processing Standard The Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) of the United States are a set of publicly announced standards that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed for use in computer systems of non-military, American ...

(FIPS) standards

FIPS 5-2 FIPS state codes were numeric and two-letter alphabetic codes defined in U.S. Federal Information Processing Standard Publication ("FIPS PUB") 5-2 to identify U.S. states and certain other associated areas. The standard superseded FIPS PUB 5-1 o ...

FIPS 6-4 The Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 6-4 (FIPS 6-4) is a five-digit Federal Information Processing Standards code which uniquely identified County (United States), counties and county equivalents in the United States, certain U.S ...

, and

FIPS 10-4 The FIPS 10-4 standard, ''Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions'', was a list of two-letter country codes that were used by the U.S. Government for geographical data processing in many ...

. The ANSI alphabetic state code is the same as the USPS state code except for U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, which have an ANSI code "UM" but no USPS code—and U.S. Military Mail locations, which have USPS codes ("AA", "AE", "AP") but no ANSI code.

Postal codes

Image:US state abbrev map.png, center poly 62 5 102 15 96 47 81 44 69 44 61 42 54 42 52 35 46 32 46 9

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

poly 45 32 24 70 29 75 35 77 63 85 87 90 92 67 91 65 91 60 94 60 99 51 97 47 84 44 69 44 61 43 54 42 52 36

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

poly 27 75 15 102 30 162 43 191 86 195 86 187 91 182 93 177 54 116 62 85

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

poly 4 227 75 227 76 279 3 278

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

poly 78 227 151 227 196 295 197 323 4 324 4 281 77 282

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

poly 111 17 103 16 96 47 99 52 94 61 91 65 86 90 133 99 138 71 136 68 133 69 123 70 118 55 114 55 118 44 116 44 110 35 107 25

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

circle 403 30 10

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

circle 428 30 11

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

circle 484 72 11

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

circle 484 94 9

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

circle 484 117 10

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

circle 485 137 10

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

circle 485 159 10

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

circle 485 182 10

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

circle 485 204 10 D.C. poly 196 29 157 25 109 17 108 27 110 37 117 45 114 55 119 54 122 71 137 70 139 66 192 73

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

poly 245 31 198 30 194 63 250 65 250 59

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

poly 252 103 252 72 248 68 251 65 194 62 191 95 236 98 239 101 241 99 246 99

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

poly 64 86 110 95 97 160 93 158 91 169 55 116

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

poly 110 95 133 99 132 109 148 111 142 157 100 149

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

poly 142 155 99 149 98 156 95 159 91 158 93 175 86 194 84 197 115 215 134 218

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

poly 193 73 138 67 132 109 190 116

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

poly 205 118 148 112 143 155 203 162

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

poly 144 156 135 217 142 217 144 213 158 214 159 212 191 216 196 163

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

poly 251 103 247 99 239 99 235 97 191 96 189 116 205 118 204 129 261 130 257 124

poly 262 130 206 130 203 162 266 163 267 139 263 136 266 133

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

poly 195 162 195 167 220 167 220 189 231 195 236 195 240 198 251 198 263 198 270 201 268 176 268 164

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

poly 243 284 225 279 220 264 209 246 204 241 196 240 191 242 187 249 178 245 175 242 170 228 158 215 158 213 190 217 195 168 219 169 219 189 228 193 236 196 243 196 262 197 269 200 273 201 275 218 279 230 277 244

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

poly 302 40 291 39 288 40 279 36 267 35 262 33 246 32 251 63 248 69 253 74 252 91 294 91 291 85 280 78 280 70 279 67 282 62 283 54

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

poly 293 92 251 92 251 101 258 123 291 123 292 125 297 120 296 113 301 112 303 106 298 100 295 100

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

poly 311 172 313 165 314 166 315 160 313 160 310 153 303 148 305 141 300 140 300 136 293 129 293 123 258 124 262 131 265 132 262 136 266 140 268 169 305 168 306 172

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

poly 308 183 312 173 306 173 308 167 268 170 269 201 273 201 273 207 300 206 300 202 299 198 311 173

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

poly 314 233 319 238 327 248 320 252 277 244 278 228 275 220 272 207 300 207 303 216 298 228 313 228

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

poly 356 104 363 90 352 65 345 53 316 45 299 56 302 60 316 63 320 70 322 71 326 67 331 105

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

poly 299 56 294 57 294 54 284 57 283 64 279 69 281 77 293 87 296 99 301 102 320 100 325 69 321 71 318 66 318 64 301 59

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

poly 325 109 326 137 328 141 324 151 323 157 320 156 321 160 315 159 314 161 311 161 312 153 303 148 305 141 299 139 299 135 292 127 296 118 296 115 301 111 302 106 300 102 298 100 321 100

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

poly 346 104 331 107 323 109 327 138 324 151 336 151 338 146 341 149 345 140 350 138

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

poly 380 97 371 105 364 107 360 105 346 106 350 134 354 135 358 138 367 137 371 140 373 134 375 134 376 130 382 125 382 111

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

poly 383 112 382 125 376 129 375 133 373 133 372 137 370 140 370 143 378 151 381 151 381 150 384 150 390 147 392 141 394 135 398 135 400 130 403 126 403 123 405 123 406 124 408 124 408 122 406 120 403 121 395 126 393 121 393 121 389 123 385 123

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

poly 370 143 370 140 366 137 363 138 358 138 355 136 350 134 350 137 345 140 341 148 338 146 336 150 324 151 323 156 320 156 320 159 316 159 315 165 313 167 321 167 325 165 333 164 343 163 351 162 362 162 365 160 370 156 373 153 376 150

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

poly 381 158 372 159 372 160 364 160 364 161 356 162 326 165 325 166 313 167 312 174 308 184 324 183 326 182 360 179 360 176 373 167 381 161

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

poly 326 183 322 183 315 184 306 184 300 196 300 207 302 214 298 224 297 228 310 228 311 227 314 227 315 233 317 236 328 235 327 226 326 219

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

poly 349 181 326 182 326 219 328 234 332 238 340 234 335 225 359 224 358 217 357 207 348 181 326 182

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

poly 369 178 363 179 360 179 355 179 354 180 348 180 357 207 359 223 361 226 384 225 386 227 388 227 387 222 393 222 395 206 388 197 374 184 369 182

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

poly 395 222 387 222 387 226 385 227 385 225 367 226 360 226 358 223 354 224 347 225 335 226 340 234 360 241 380 244 385 267 400 281 392 292 400 293 423 281 412 248

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

poly 413 184 402 175 397 175 397 176 392 176 389 173 380 173 369 178 369 182 374 184 388 198 393 206 397 206 414 190

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

poly 411 154 404 155 387 158 381 158 380 161 372 167 362 174 359 177 359 179 364 179 369 178 378 174 385 173 389 173 392 176 397 176 397 175 402 175 413 183 416 186 440 164 434 151 429 150 420 152

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

poly 420 134 416 133 414 132 414 129 415 129 415 126 412 125 410 124 408 123 408 124 405 124 404 123 403 124 403 126 399 131 398 134 394 135 390 147 384 150 381 150 380 151 378 151 376 149 370 154 370 156 364 160 370 160 374 159 380 158 388 158 411 154 429 150 432 148 436 133 433 131 428 134

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

poly 423 115 416 116 415 117 411 118 406 120 410 124 413 125 414 123 416 124 415 126 414 132 419 134 422 134 428 134 436 129 428 129 425 122 423 116

poly 405 120 393 121 394 125 395 126

poly 413 123 413 126 416 126 416 124 414 123

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

poly 426 114 423 115 427 128 436 129 428 120

poly 452 95 441 104 436 102 435 98 427 96 422 90 387 97 385 95 391 90 392 87 389 83 394 80 402 80 404 79 410 76 409 68 412 65 416 59 418 57 429 54 431 61 433 69 436 78 436 90 437 97 439 98 448 94

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

poly 424 114 421 116 416 116 407 119 401 120 394 121 391 122 386 122 385 116 382 99 386 95 388 97 422 90 427 96 426 105 430 109 428 112 427 114

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

poly 427 96 426 104 430 108 430 110 426 114 427 118 428 120 432 124 441 117 441 105 436 102 435 98

poly 452 91 451 88 450 86 450 83 448 83 446 84 442 85 437 85 437 89 438 94 437 96 439 98 441 96 445 94

poly 452 90 455 91 454 86 453 82 450 83 451 88

poly 458 72 452 73 452 74 447 76 441 77 436 79 436 86 436 89 438 85 444 88 448 83 450 83 452 82 457 90 468 84 467 78

poly 455 69 455 73 452 73 452 74 447 75 448 76 441 76 435 62 442 64 442 62 441 61 441 59 443 59 443 51 443 47 446 47 452 66 456 69

poly 443 51 439 51 436 52 429 54 431 65 434 72 436 79 447 72 441 65 442 64 442 61 441 60 441 59 443 59 443 57 444 56 444 54

poly 455 68 458 68 479 46 477 39 465 19 452 19 448 32 447 42 446 47 450 61

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

desc bottom-left The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

(USPS) has established a set of uppercase abbreviations to help process mail with

optical character recognition Optical character recognition or optical character reader (OCR) is the electronic or mechanical conversion of images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text, whether from a scanned document, a photo of a document, a scen ...

and other automated equipment. There are also official USPS abbreviations for other parts of the address, such as street designators (street, avenue, road, etc.). These two-letter codes are distinguished from

traditional abbreviations A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays o ...

such as Calif., Fla., or Tex. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

Stylebook A style guide or manual of style is a set of standards for the writing, Typesetting, formatting, and design of documents. It is often called a style sheet, although that term also has Style sheet (disambiguation), multiple other meanings. The ...

states that in contexts other than mailing addresses, the traditional state abbreviations should be used. However,

the Chicago Manual of Style ''The Chicago Manual of Style'' (abbreviated in writing as ''CMOS'' or ''CMS'', or sometimes as ''Chicago'') is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Its 17 editions have prescribed writi ...

now recommends use of the uppercase two-letter abbreviations, with the traditional forms as an option. The postal abbreviation is the same as the ISO 3166-2 subdivision code for each of the fifty states. These codes do not overlap with the 13

Canadian subnational postal abbreviations Canadian provincial and territorial postal abbreviations are used by Canada Post in a code system consisting of two capital letters, to represent the 13 provinces and territories on addressed mail. These abbreviations allow automated sorting. ISO ...

. The code for Nebraska changed from NB to NE in November 1969 to avoid a conflict with New Brunswick. Canada likewise chose MB for Manitoba to prevent conflict with either Massachusetts (MA), Michigan (MI), Minnesota (MN), Missouri (MO), or Montana (MT).

Coast Guard vessel prefixes

The

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

(USCG) uses a set of two-letter prefixes for vessel numbers;, App. A 39 states and the District of Columbia have the same USPS and USCG abbreviations. USCG prefixes have also been established for five outlying territories; all are the same as the USPS abbreviations except the Mariana Islands. The twelve cases where USPS and USCG abbreviations differ are listed below and marked in bold red in the table above, and do include three inland states with a small Coast Guard contingent. These twelve abbreviations were changed to avoid conflicting with the

ISO 3166 ISO 3166 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, special areas of geographical interest, and their principal subdivisions (e.g., ...

two-digit country codes.

Notes

References

External links

USPS acronyms and abbreviations

{{USStateLists

Abbreviations An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...

state and territory Postal addresses in the United States