How to Address a Professional Envelope

A professional business envelope's address is the receiver's first impression of the sender. Proper professional business etiquette must be followed when addressing a business envelope. Business correspondence should be addressed in a professional manner to insure delivery and making a good impression.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Begin addressing the business envelope with the sender's return address. Always include the return address in the upper left-hand corner. Be sure the address is complete and includes the following: sender's name, business department (if any), street address, city, state and zip code.

2. Write the business address in the center of the envelope. To be certain there is enough room, start the address in the center of the upper half of the envelope. Leave enough room in the upper right hand corner for the postage.

3. Start the business address with either a specific person's name or the name of the business. Large businesses receive large quantities of mail every day, and the delivery can be sped up if addressed to a specific person.

4. Write the name of the specific department or division of the business on the next line. Large corporations have many divisions, and business correspondence should be addressed as specifically as possible.

5. Put the suite number or any such information on the line before the street address. Do not abbreviate parts of the address unless necessary for spacing reasons.

6. Place the city name before the state with a comma separating the two of them on the line after the street address. Write the zip code, or mail code for international mail. If the letter will be sent through international post include the country on a separate line at the end of the address.

Resources

• Purdue's Online Writing Laboratory
• English Plus
• Preparing Business Mail: University of Florida