Abbreviations for States and Provinces

Traditional abbreviations for states and provinces begin with a capital letter and end with a period.

Except for the abbreviation D.C. when it follows Washington, which may be used at any time, use the abbreviations for states and provinces only in lists, maps, charts, addresses, and informal writing.

Avoid abbreviations for states, provinces, and countries in formal writing--the exceptions are the relatively long U.S., U.S.A., U.S.S.R., and C.I.S. which may be used at any time.

The two-letter postal service abbreviations are all capitals with no periods. They are not set apart by commas. They are used only with addresses on letters, envelopes, and packages to be mailed.

Correct: P.O. Box 203
Shelton, Conn., 06484
(In an address)

Correct: P.O. Box 203
Shelton CT 06484
(In an address)

Incorrect: He works in Shelton, Conn.
(Standard sentence, do not abbreviate.)

Correct: He works in Shelton, Connecticut.

Correct only because it is informal: Was it really the O'Leary's cow that made Chicago, Ill.?

U.S. State Abbreviations
(Canadian
provinces follow this list.)

State/Territory Traditional Postal
Alabama Ala. AL
Alaska Alaska AK
Arizona Ariz. AZ
Arkansas Ark. AR
American Samoa AS
California Cal., Calif. CA
Colorado Col., Colo. CO
Connecticut Conn. CT
Delaware Del. DE
District of Columbia D.C. DC
Fed. States of Micronesia FM
Florida Fla. FL
Georgia Ga. GA
Guam Guam GU
Hawaii Hawaii, H.I. HI
Idaho Ida., Id., I. ID
Illinois Ill. IL
Indiana Ind. IN
Iowa Iowa, Ia. IA
Kansas Kan., Kans. KS
Kentucky Ken., Ky. KY
Louisiana La. LA
Maine Me. ME
Maryland Md. MD
Marshall Islands Marshall Is. MH
Massachusetts Mass. MA
Michigan Mich. MI
Minnesota Minn. MN
Mississippi Miss. MS
Missouri Mo. MO
Montana Mont. MT
Nebraska Neb., Nebr. NE
Nevada Nev. NV
New Hampshire N.H. NH
New Jersey N.J. NJ
New Mexico N.M., N.Mex. NM
New York N.Y. NY
North Carolina N.C. NC
North Dakota N.D., N.Dak ND
Northern Marianas N. Marianas MP
Ohio Ohio, O. OH
Oklahoma Okla., Ok. OK
Oregon Ore. OR
Pennsylvania Penna., Penn., Pa.   PA
Puerto Rico P.R. PR
Rhode Island R.I. RI
South Carolina S.C. SC
South Dakota S.D., S.Dak. SD
Tennessee Tenn. TN
Texas Tex. TX
Utah Utah, Ut. UT
Vermont Vt. VT
Virginia Va. VA
(U.S.) Virgin Islands U.S.V.I., V.I. VI
Washington Wash. WA
West Virginia W.Va. WV
Wisconsin Wis., Wisc. WI
Wyoming Wyo. WY
Armed Forces, the Americas   USAFA. AA
Armed Forces, Europe USAFE AE
Armed Forces, Pacific USAFP AP

Canadian Provinces

Province Traditional   Postal
Alberta Alta. AB
British Columbia B.C. BC
Manitoba Man. MB
New Brunswick N.B. NB
Newfoundland and Labrador    N.F. NL
Northwest Territories   N.W.T. NT
Nova Scotia N.S. NS
Nunavut   NU
Ontario Ont. ON
Prince Edward Island P.E.I. PE
Québec P.Q., Qué. QC
Saskatchewan Sask. SK
Yukon Territory Yuk., Y.T. YT

See also Commas with Addresses


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