US state abbreviations for shipping from Brazil: how to address a parcel to the United States

US state abbreviations are two-letter capital codes, such as CA for California, NY for New York and TX for Texas. There are 50 states plus the District of Columbia (DC). In the address, the abbreviation sits on the same line as the city, just before the ZIP code, and tells apart cities that share a name in different states.

It looks like a detail until your first shipment from Brazil to Portland. There is one in Oregon (OR) and another in Maine (ME), on opposite sides of the country. With the wrong abbreviation the address still looks valid, and that is exactly what makes the mistake expensive.

What are the abbreviations for the 50 US states and DC?

The official list has 51 abbreviations: the 50 states and the District of Columbia, home to the capital, Washington. The table follows the alphabetical order of the English names, which is how they appear in shipping systems.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ANSI codes for states, revised October 2021, accessed October 2026.

Which abbreviations are confused most often?

Errors happen between states that start with the same letter. The reason is simple: the abbreviation does not always use the first two letters of the name, and anyone typing on autopilot gets it wrong. Reread these groups before you create the label:

• M states: MA is Massachusetts, MD is Maryland, ME is Maine, MI is Michigan, MN is Minnesota, MO is Missouri, MS is Mississippi and MT is Montana.
• A states: AK is Alaska, AL is Alabama, AR is Arkansas and AZ is Arizona.
• I states: IA is Iowa, ID is Idaho, IL is Illinois and IN is Indiana.
• N states: NE is Nebraska; Nevada is NV.

Then there is Washington. WA is the state, in the far northwest, home to Seattle and Tacoma. The federal capital has the same name, sits on the other side of the map in the District of Columbia and uses DC.

If your customer only wrote "Washington", ask.

How do you write a US address with the state abbreviation?

A US address runs from the most specific to the most general, left-aligned. US state abbreviations go on the second-to-last line, between the city and the ZIP code. The Universal Postal Union (UPU) addressing sheet for the United States gives this example:

• MR JOHN DOE
• 123 MAGNOLIA ST
• HEMPSTEAD NY 11550-1234
• UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To build yours, follow this order:

1. Receiver's name and, for a business, the company name on the next line.
2. House number before the street name, the opposite of the Brazilian habit: "1401 MAIN ST".
3. Unit details at the end of the same line, with the standard abbreviation: APT for apartment, STE for suite.
4. City, state abbreviation and ZIP code on one line, without a comma, as in the UPU example: "FALLS CHURCH VA 22042-1441".
5. Country name in full on the last line.

Street types follow a standard too, such as ST for street and AVE for avenue. Got the address already abbreviated? Keep it as it came. The person who lives there knows how their address is written, and any "fix" of yours is more likely to create an error than solve one. Contact details travel with the address: the guide to international phone number format shows how to write a US number with the country code.

How does the ZIP code relate to the state abbreviation?

The ZIP code is the US postal code: 5 digits or, in full, 9 digits with a hyphen between the 5th and 6th. It and the abbreviation must point to the same place.

A New York ZIP code with a Florida abbreviation is a contradictory address. Either validation stops the shipment, or the box follows whichever piece of information is wrong. Neither outcome is good.

Postal code formats change from country to country, with letters, spaces and different positions. The guide to postal codes for international shipping shows the formats for the most common destinations.

What about US territories and military addresses?

Beyond the states, the UPU sheet lists abbreviations for territories that also show up in addresses. The ones you are most likely to see are PR for Puerto Rico and GU for Guam; the list also includes VI for the US Virgin Islands, AS for American Samoa and MP for the Northern Mariana Islands. Puerto Rico needs extra care, because addresses there mix Spanish terms such as CALLE and URB with the US format.

Military addresses use AA, AE and AP in place of the state abbreviation, with APO or FPO in place of the city. According to the same UPU sheet, military mail is treated as US domestic mail and must be posted inside the United States or at a military post office. Got an address like that? Ask for a street address for courier delivery.

For documents, duties on arrival and restricted items on the route, the guide on shipping from Brazil to the US covers the rest of the process. If you sell abroad regularly, the guide to exporting with DHL maps the full path.

Frequently asked questions about US state abbreviations for shipping from Brazil

Sources

• U.S. Census Bureau: American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Codes for States
• UPU: Addressing sheet: United States

Get your shipments to the United States correctly addressed

The right abbreviation, a matching ZIP code and a phone number with the country code get the address on your US shipment ready for sorting. The rest remains. Documents, duties and tracking to the customer's door.

With a business account you can save validated US addresses, create labels and documents and track every shipment in one place. Open a DHL Express business account and get your next shipment from Brazil to the United States ready.