List of U.S. state and territory abbreviations

Last updated

Several sets of codes and abbreviations are used to represent the political divisions of the United States for postal addresses, data processing, general abbreviations, and other purposes.

Contents

Table

This table includes abbreviations for three independent countries related to the United States through Compacts of Free Association, and other comparable postal abbreviations, including those now obsolete.

Codes:
    ISO ISO 3166 codes (2-letter, 3-letter, and 3-digit codes from ISO 3166-1; 2+2-letter codes from ISO 3166-2)
    ANSI2-letter and 2-digit codes from the ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009 (supersedes FIPS 5-2)
    USPS2-letter codes used by the United States Postal Service
    USCG2-letter codes used by the United States Coast Guard (bold red text shows differences between ANSI and USCG)
Abbreviations:
    GPOOlder variable-length official US Government Printing Office abbreviations
    APAbbreviations from the AP Stylebook [1] (bold red text shows differences between GPO and AP)
Codes and abbreviations for U.S. states, federal district, territories, and other regions
Name Status of region ISO ANSI USPS USCG GPO AP Other
abbreviations
 
Flag of the United States.svg United States of America Federal state US
USA
840
US00U.S.U.S.U.S.A.
Flag of Alabama.svg Alabama State US-ALAL01ALALAla.Ala.
Flag of Alaska.svg Alaska StateUS-AKAK02AKAKAlaskaAlaskaAk. [2]
Flag of Arizona.svg Arizona StateUS-AZAZ04AZAZAriz.Ariz.
Flag of Arkansas.svg Arkansas StateUS-ARAR05ARARArk.Ark.
Flag of California.svg California StateUS-CACA06CACFCalif.Calif.Cal.
Flag of Colorado.svg Colorado StateUS-COCO08COCLColo.Colo.
Flag of Connecticut.svg Connecticut StateUS-CTCT09CTCTConn.Conn.
Flag of Delaware.svg Delaware StateUS-DEDE10DEDLDel.Del.
Flag of Washington, D.C.svg District of Columbia Federal district US-DCDC11DCDCD.C.D.C.Dis. Col. [3]
Flag of Florida.svg Florida StateUS-FLFL12FLFLFla.Fla.
Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg Georgia StateUS-GAGA13GAGAGa.Ga.Geo. [2]
Flag of Hawaii.svg Hawaii StateUS-HIHI15HIHAHawaiiHawaiiHi.; [2] Haw.
Flag of Idaho.svg Idaho StateUS-IDID16IDIDIdahoIdahoIda. [2]
Flag of Illinois.svg Illinois StateUS-ILIL17ILILIll.Ill.
Flag of Indiana.svg Indiana StateUS-ININ18ININInd.Ind.
Flag of Iowa.svg Iowa StateUS-IAIA19IAIAIowaIowaIoa. [lower-alpha 1]
Flag of Kansas.svg Kansas StateUS-KSKS20KSKAKans.Kan.Ka.
Flag of Kentucky.svg Kentucky State (officially Commonwealth)US-KYKY21KYKYKy.Ky.Ken., Kent. [lower-alpha 2]
Flag of Louisiana.svg Louisiana StateUS-LALA22LALALa.La.
Flag of Maine.svg Maine StateUS-MEME23MEMEMaineMaine
Flag of Maryland.svg Maryland StateUS-MDMD24MDMDMd.Md.Mar., Mary.
Flag of Massachusetts.svg Massachusetts State (officially Commonwealth)US-MAMA25MAMSMass.Mass.
Flag of Michigan.svg Michigan StateUS-MIMI26MIMCMich.Mich.
Flag of Minnesota.svg Minnesota StateUS-MNMN27MNMNMinn.Minn.
Flag of Mississippi.svg Mississippi StateUS-MSMS28MSMIMiss.Miss.
Flag of Missouri.svg Missouri StateUS-MOMO29MOMOMo.Mo.
Flag of Montana.svg Montana StateUS-MTMT30MTMTMont.Mont.
Flag of Nebraska.svg Nebraska StateUS-NENE31NENBNebr.Neb.
Flag of Nevada.svg Nevada StateUS-NVNV32NVNVNev.Nev.
Flag of New Hampshire.svg New Hampshire StateUS-NHNH33NHNHN.H.N.H.
Flag of New Jersey.svg New Jersey StateUS-NJNJ34NJNJN.J.N.J.N. Jersey [3]
Flag of New Mexico.svg New Mexico StateUS-NMNM35NMNMN. Mex.N.M.New M., New Mex.
Flag of New York.svg New York StateUS-NYNY36NYNYN.Y.N.Y.N. York [3]
Flag of North Carolina.svg North Carolina StateUS-NCNC37NCNCN.C.N.C.N. Car.
Flag of North Dakota.svg North Dakota StateUS-NDND38NDNDN. Dak.N.D.
Flag of Ohio.svg Ohio StateUS-OHOH39OHOHOhioOhioO., [4] Oh. [2]
Flag of Oklahoma.svg Oklahoma StateUS-OKOK40OKOKOkla.Okla.
Flag of Oregon.svg Oregon StateUS-OROR41OROROreg.Ore.
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania State (officially Commonwealth)US-PAPA42PAPAPa.Pa.Penn., [2] Penna. [5]
Flag of Rhode Island.svg Rhode Island StateUS-RIRI44RIRIR.I.R.I.R.I. &  P.P.
Flag of South Carolina.svg South Carolina StateUS-SCSC45SCSCS.C.S.C.S. Car.
Flag of South Dakota.svg South Dakota StateUS-SDSD46SDSDS. Dak.S.D.SoDak
Flag of Tennessee.svg Tennessee StateUS-TNTN47TNTNTenn.Tenn.
Flag of Texas.svg Texas StateUS-TXTX48TXTXTex.Texas
Flag of Utah.svg Utah StateUS-UTUT49UTUTUtahUtahUt. [2]
Flag of Vermont.svg Vermont StateUS-VTVT50VTVTVt.Vt.Verm. [6]
Flag of Virginia.svg Virginia State (officially Commonwealth)US-VAVA51VAVAVa.Va.Virg.
Flag of Washington.svg Washington StateUS-WAWA53WAWNWash.Wash.Wn. [7]
Flag of West Virginia.svg West Virginia StateUS-WVWV54WVWVW. Va.W.Va.W.V., W. Virg.
Flag of Wisconsin.svg Wisconsin StateUS-WIWI55WIWSWis.Wis.Wisc.
Flag of Wyoming.svg Wyoming StateUS-WYWY56WYWYWyo.Wyo.
Flag of American Samoa.svg American Samoa Insular area (Territory)AS
ASM
016
US-AS
AS60ASASA.S.
Flag of Guam.svg Guam Insular area (Territory)GU
GUM
316
US-GU
GU66GUGUGuam
Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg Northern Mariana Islands Insular area (Commonwealth)MP
MNP
580
US-MP
MP69MPCMM.P.CNMI [8]
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Puerto Rico Insular area (Commonwealth)PR
PRI
630
US-PR
PR72PRPRP.R.
Flag of the United States Virgin Islands.svg U.S. Virgin Islands Insular area (Territory)VI
VIR
850
US-VI
VI78VIVIV.I.U.S.V.I.
U.S. Minor Outlying Islands Insular areasUM
UMI
581
US-UM
UM74UM [9]
Baker Island Island UM-8181XB [10]
Howland Island IslandUM-8484XH [10]
Jarvis Island IslandUM-8686XQ [10]
Johnston Atoll Atoll UM-6767XU [10]
Kingman Reef AtollUM-8989XM [10]
Midway Atoll AtollUM-7171QM [10]
Navassa Island IslandUM-7676XV [10]
Palmyra Atoll [lower-alpha 3] Atoll [lower-alpha 3] UM-9595XL [10]
Wake Island AtollUM-7979QW [10]
Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg Marshall Islands Freely associated state MH
MHL
584
MH68MH
Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia.svg Micronesia Freely associated stateFM
FSM
583
FM64FM
Flag of Palau.svg Palau Freely associated statePW
PLW
585
PW70PW
U.S. Armed ForcesAmericas [lower-alpha 4] US military mail code AA
U.S. Armed Forces – Europe [lower-alpha 5] US military mail codeAE
U.S. Armed Forces – Pacific [lower-alpha 6] US military mail codeAP
Flag of Nebraska.svg Nebraska Obsolete postal code [lower-alpha 7] NB
Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg Northern Mariana Islands Obsolete postal code [lower-alpha 8] CM
Flag of Panama Canal Zone.svg Panama Canal Zone Obsolete postal codePZ
PCZ
594
CZ
Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippine Islands Obsolete postal codePH
PHL
608
[11]
PI
Flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.svg Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Obsolete postal codePC
PCI
582
TT

History

As early as October 1831, the United States Postal Service recognized common abbreviations for states and territories. However, they accepted these abbreviations only because of their popularity, preferring that patrons spell names out in full to avoid confusion. [4]

The traditional abbreviations for U.S. states and territories, widely used in mailing addresses prior to the introduction of two-letter U.S. postal abbreviations, are still commonly used for other purposes (such as legal citation), and are still recognized (though discouraged) by the Postal Service. [12]

Modern two-letter abbreviated codes for the states and territories originated in October 1963, with the issuance of Publication 59: Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Code, three months after the Post Office introduced ZIP codes in July 1963. The purpose, rather than to standardize state abbreviations per se, was to make room in a line of no more than 23 characters for the city, the state, and the ZIP code. [4]

Since 1963, only one state abbreviation has changed. Originally Nebraska was "NB"; but, in November 1969, the Post Office changed it to "NE" to avoid confusion with New Brunswick in Canada. [4]

Prior to 1987, when the U.S. Secretary of Commerce approved the two-letter codes for use in government documents, [13] the United States Government Printing Office (GPO) suggested its own set of abbreviations, with some states left unabbreviated. Today, the GPO supports United States Postal Service standard. [14]

Current use of traditional abbreviations

Legal citation manuals, such as The Bluebook and The ALWD Citation Manual , typically use the "traditional abbreviations" or variants thereof.

Codes for states and territories

ISO standard 3166

ISO 3166-2:US is the entry for the United States in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions (e.g., provinces or states) of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.

ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) established alphabetic and numeric codes for each state and outlying areas in ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009. ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009 replaced the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) standards FIPS 5-2, FIPS 6-4, and FIPS 10-4. The ANSI alphabetic state code is the same as the USPS state code except for U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, which have an ANSI code "UM" but no USPS code—and U.S. Military Mail locations, which have USPS codes ("AA", "AE", "AP") but no ANSI code.

Postal codes

US state abbrev map.pngWashingtonD.C.GeorgiaDistrict of ColumbiaNew York

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has established a set of uppercase abbreviations to help process mail with optical character recognition and other automated equipment. [15] There are also official USPS abbreviations for other parts of the address, such as street designators (street, avenue, road, etc.).

These two-letter codes are distinguished from traditional abbreviations such as Calif., Fla., or Tex. The Associated Press Stylebook states that in contexts other than mailing addresses, the traditional state abbreviations should be used. [16] However, the Chicago Manual of Style now recommends use of the uppercase two-letter abbreviations, with the traditional forms as an option. [17]

The postal abbreviation is the same as the ISO 3166-2 subdivision code for each of the fifty states.

These codes do not overlap with the 13 Canadian subnational postal abbreviations. The code for Nebraska changed from NB to NE in November 1969 to avoid a conflict with New Brunswick. [4] Canada likewise chose MB for Manitoba to prevent conflict with either Massachusetts (MA), Michigan (MI), Minnesota (MN), Missouri (MO), or Montana (MT).

Coast Guard vessel prefixes

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) uses a set of two-letter prefixes for vessel numbers; [18] 39 states and the District of Columbia have the same USPS and USCG abbreviations. USCG prefixes have also been established for five outlying territories; all are the same as the USPS abbreviations except the Mariana Islands. The twelve cases where USPS and USCG abbreviations differ are listed below and marked in bold red in the table above; they include three inland states with a small Coast Guard contingent. These twelve abbreviations were changed to avoid conflicting with the ISO 3166 two-digit country codes.

Mismatches between USPS and USCG codes
CaliforniaColoradoDelawareHawaiiKansasMichiganMississippiMassachusettsNebraskaWashingtonWisconsinMariana Islands
USPSCACODEHIKSMIMSMANEWAWIMP
USCGCFCLDLHAKAMCMIMSNBWNWSCM

See also

Notes

  1. "Ioa." or (more typically) "IOA" found in Iowa post office cancellations from the 1870s.
  2. Not to be confused with Kent, England
  3. 1 2 The Palmyra Atoll is an unorganized incorporated territory of the United States that was previously a part of the Territory of Hawaii.
  4. The U.S. Armed Forces – Americas include the Caribbean Sea and exclude the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
  5. The U.S. Armed Forces – Europe include the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, Canada, Greenland, Africa, and Southwest Asia.
  6. The U.S. Armed Forces – Pacific include the Indian Ocean, Oceania, and Asia except Southwest Asia.
  7. Former USPS code "NB" for Nebraska is now obsolete; it was changed to NE in November 1969 to avoid confusion with New Brunswick, Canada.
  8. Former USPS code "CM" for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is now obsolete; it was changed to MP in 1988 to match ISO 3166-1.

Related Research Articles

A country code is a short alphanumeric identification code for countries and dependent areas. Its primary use is in data processing and communications. Several identification systems have been developed.

The Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) of the United States are a set of publicly announced standards that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed for use in computer situs of non-military United States government agencies and contractors. FIPS standards establish requirements for ensuring computer security and interoperability, and are intended for cases in which suitable industry standards do not already exist. AIR FIPS specifications are modified versions of standards the technical communities use, such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO 3166 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, special areas of geographical interest, and their principal subdivisions. The official name of the standard is Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Minor Outlying Islands</span> Statistical designation of small islands of the United States

The United States Minor Outlying Islands is a statistical designation defined by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1 code. The entry code is ISO 3166-2:UM. The minor outlying islands and groups of islands comprise eight United States insular areas in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Caribbean Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postal code</span> Series of letters and digits for sorting mail

A postal code is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZIP Code</span> Numeric postal code used in the US and its territories

A ZIP Code is a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service (USPS). The term ZIP was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently and quickly when senders use the code in the postal address.

FIPS state codes were numeric and two-letter alphabetic codes defined in U.S. Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 5-2 to identify U.S. states and certain other associated areas. The standard superseded FIPS PUB 5-1 on May 28, 1987, and was superseded on September 2, 2008, by ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009.

ISO 3166-2:CA is the entry for Canada in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.

ISO 3166-2:US is the entry for the United States in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.

ISO 3166-1 is a standard defining codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. It is the first part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization.

ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes are three-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. They allow a better visual association between the codes and the country names than the two-letter alpha-2 codes. They were first included as part of the ISO 3166 standard in its first edition in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ISO 3166-1 alpha-2</span> Two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1

ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 codes are two-letter country codes defined in ISO 3166-1, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), to represent countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. They are the most widely used of the country codes published by ISO, and are used most prominently for the Internet's country code top-level domains. They are also used as country identifiers extending the postal code when appropriate within the international postal system for paper mail, and have replaced the previous one consisting one-letter codes. They were first included as part of the ISO 3166 standard in its first edition in 1974.

These are data codes for Switzerland.

A geocode is a code that represents a geographic entity. It is a unique identifier of the entity, to distinguish it from others in a finite set of geographic entities. In general the geocode is a human-readable and short identifier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Address</span> Collection of information that describes the location of a building, apartment, or other structure

An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used to give the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along with other identifiers such as house or apartment numbers and organization name. Some addresses also contain special codes, such as a postal code, to make identification easier and aid in the routing of mail.

Canadian provincial and territorial postal abbreviations are used by Canada Post in a code system consisting of two capital letters, to represent the 13 provinces and territories on addressed mail. These abbreviations allow automated sorting.

ISO 3166-2:UM is the entry for the United States Minor Outlying Islands in ISO 3166-2, a part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.

References

  1. "AP Style - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University". owl.purdue.edu. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Consolidated Listing of FAA Certificated Repair Stations. U.S. Dept. of Transportation. December 9, 1970. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the Navy of the United States. Washington, D.C.: [U.S.] Government Printing Office. January 1, 1863. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 USPS Postal History: State Abbreviations Accessed November 7, 2011. [ dead link ]
  5. Arthur, Andy. "Penna. the Abbreviation". AndyArthur.org. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  6. Fisher, Richard S. (1857). A new and complete statistical gazetteer of the United States of America. J. H. Colton and Company. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  7. "search on WN". Digitum.washingtonhistory.org. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  8. "Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands". www.doi.gov. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  9. "United States of America Minor Outlying Islands" (PDF). Universal Postal Union. March 2005. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes Standard". NSG Standards Registry. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  11. "Philippine diplomats will now use PH or PHL instead of RP". GMA News. October 28, 2010. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  12. "USPS Postal News, "It's Okay to Say 'I Don't Know,' So Long As You Find Out!" January 9, 2009". About.usps.com. January 9, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  13. Hawes, Kristi G. (May 28, 1987). "Information Technology Laboratory". NIST. Archived from the original on July 5, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  14. U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual, 30th Edition Accessed April 21, 2009.
  15. United States Postal Service (June 2020). "Appendix B. Two–Letter State and Possession Abbreviations. Postal Addressing Standards". Postal Explorer. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  16. Robbins, Sonia J. (January 4, 2004). "State Abbreviations". New York University. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009.
  17. Harper, Russell David, ed. (2017) [1906]. "10.27 Abbreviations for US states and territories". The Chicago manual of style (17th ed.). The University of Chicago Press. doi:10.7208/cmos17. ISBN   9780226287058. LCCN   2017020712. In bibliographies, tabular matter, lists, and mailing addresses, they are usually abbreviated. In all such contexts, Chicago prefers the two-letter postal codes to the conventional abbreviations.
  18. 33 CFR 173 , App. A