How to Write a Washington Address (With Examples)

Address basics  |   |  2 min read

Here is how to write a mailing address in Washington, with examples from Olympia and Seattle and the most common mistakes to avoid.

The standard format

RECIPIENT NAME STREET NUMBER AND NAME, UNIT CITY, WA ZIP CODE

The state is always written as WA, two capital letters with no periods. USPS prefers the city, state and ZIP on the same final line.

Example: Olympia

Jennifer Lewis 9538 Jefferson St Olympia, WA 98506

Example with an apartment in Seattle

Linda Green 4320 Grove St Apt 30 Seattle, WA 98155

Example with a PO Box

William Miller PO Box 1997 Olympia, WA 98501

PO Boxes often have their own ZIP code, separate from street addresses in the same town. Check the ZIP with the post office that holds the box.

Common mistakes

  • Mixing up WA with WV (West Virginia) and WI (Wisconsin). These codes look similar and cause misrouted mail.
  • Writing the full state name or an old abbreviation instead of WA.
  • Putting the apartment number on a line below the street address.
  • Using a ZIP code from a neighboring city. One city can have many codes, but each street belongs to a specific one.

Counties and local details

Washington is divided into 39 counties. The county does not appear in a mailing address, but it matters for sales tax, elections and some shipping rules, so many business systems store it separately.

Create realistic Washington addresses for testing, with real cities, counties and ZIP codes.

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