State Abbreviations

​Why they are abbreviated

​On July 1, 1963, the Post Office Department introduced the five-digit ZIP Code. At the time, most addressing equipment could accommodate only 23 characters (including spaces) in the bottom line of the address. To make room for the ZIP Code, state names needed to be abbreviated. The Department provided an initial list of abbreviations in June 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations. Since that time, only one change has been made: in 1969, at the request of the Canadian postal administration, the abbreviation for Nebraska, originally NB, was changed to NE, to avoid confusion with New Brunswick in Canada.

​California - Ca. - CA

Arizona - Az. - AZ

Hawaii - Hi. - HI

Tennessee - Tn. - TN

Texas - Tx. - TX​

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​Other major states

Alabama - Al. - AL

Florida - Fl. - FL

Georgia - Ga. - GA

Louisiana - La. - LA

Mississippi - Ms.​ - MS

​Southern states

Stae Abbreviations

We use all capital letters and no periods when writing a letter.​