View source for List of U.S. state and territory abbreviations

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}

Several sets of [[code]]s and [[abbreviation]]s are used to represent the [[list of states and territories of the United States|political divisions of the United States]] for postal addresses, data processing, general abbreviations, and other purposes.

==Table==
{{See also|List of states and territories of the United States}}

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

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align:left;
|-
| colspan=2 | '''Codes:'''
|-
| {{nbsp|4}}'''ISO'''  || [[ISO 3166]] codes ([[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2|2-letter]], [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-3|3-letter]], and [[ISO 3166-1 numeric|3-digit]] codes from [[ISO 3166-1]]; [[ISO 3166-2:US|2+2-letter codes]] from [[ISO 3166-2]])
|-
| {{nbsp|4}}'''ANSI''' || 2-digit codes from the [[American National Standards Institute|ANSI]] standard [[INCITS 38]]:2009 (supersedes [[FIPS 5-2]])
|-
| {{nbsp|4}}'''USPS''' || 2-letter codes used by the [[United States Postal Service]] and ANSI [[INCITS 38]]:2009 <br />{{font color|red|(bold red text shows differences between USPS and ANSI)}}
|-
| {{nbsp|4}}'''USCG''' || 2-letter codes used by the [[United States Coast Guard]] <br />{{font color|red|(bold red text shows differences between ANSI and USCG)}}
|-
| colspan=2 | '''Abbreviations:'''
|-
| {{nbsp|4}}'''GPO'''  || Older variable-length official [[United States Government Publishing Office|US Government Printing Office]] abbreviations
|-
| {{nbsp|4}}'''AP'''   || Abbreviations from the [[AP Stylebook]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=AP Style – Purdue OWL – Purdue University |url=https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/journalism_and_journalistic_writing/ap_style.html |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=owl.purdue.edu}}</ref> <br />{{font color|red|(bold red text shows differences between GPO and AP)}}
|-
| {{nbsp|4}}'''Court''' || Abbreviations used by the [[Federal judiciary of the United States|United States federal judiciary system]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Basic Legal Citation |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/4-500 |access-date=2025-06-13 |website=www.law.cornell.edu}}</ref>
|}

{{sticky header}} {{mw-datatable}}
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi mw-datatable"
|+ Codes and abbreviations for U.S. states, federal district, territories, and other regions
! rowspan=2 | [[List of states and territories of the United States|Name]]
! rowspan=2 | Status of region
! [[ISO 3166|ISO]]
! [[#ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009|ANSI]]
![[#Postal codes|USPS]]<br />(& ANSI)
![[#Coast Guard vessel prefixes|USCG]]
! rowspan=2 | [[#GPO|GPO]]
! rowspan=2 | [[#Current use of traditional abbreviations|AP]]
! rowspan="2" |[[Federal judiciary of the United States|Court]]
! rowspan="2" | Others
|-
! class=sticky-table-none| !! !! !! &nbsp;
|- style="background:#ffb;"
|{{flagicon|United States of America}} [[United States|United States of America]]||[[Federation|Federal state]]<br />(not defined by USPS)||{{mono|US<br>USA<br>840}}||00||style="color:red;"|'''US'''|| ||colspan="3" |U.S.||U.S.A.
|-
|{{flagicon|Alabama}} [[Alabama]]||[[U.S. state|State]]||{{mono|US-AL}}||01|| colspan="2" |AL|| colspan="3" |Ala.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Alaska}} [[Alaska]]||State||{{mono|US-AK}}||02|| colspan="2" |AK|| colspan="3" |Alaska||Ak.<ref name="FFA-repair" />
|-
|{{flagicon|Arizona}} [[Arizona]]||State||{{mono|US-AZ}}||04|| colspan="2" |AZ|| colspan="3" |Ariz.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Arkansas}} [[Arkansas]]||State||{{mono|US-AR}}||05|| colspan="2" |AR|| colspan="3" |Ark.||
|-
|{{flagicon|California}} [[California]]||State||{{mono|US-CA}}||06||CA||style="color:red;"|'''CF'''|| colspan="2" |Calif.
|Cal.||Cal.
|-
|{{flagicon|Colorado}} [[Colorado]]||State||{{mono|US-CO}}||08||CO||style="color:red;"|'''CL'''|| colspan="3" |Colo.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Connecticut}} [[Connecticut]]||State||{{mono|US-CT}}||09|| colspan="2" |CT|| colspan="3" |Conn.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Delaware}} [[Delaware]]||State||{{mono|US-DE}}||10||DE||style="color:red;"|'''DL'''|| colspan="3" |Del.||
|- style="background:#fdd;"
|{{flagicon|District of Columbia}} [[District of Columbia]]||[[Federal district]]||{{mono|US-DC}}||11|| colspan="2" |DC|| colspan="3" |D.C.||Dis. Col.<ref name="Navy-1863" />
|-
|{{flagicon|Florida}} [[Florida]]||State||{{mono|US-FL}}||12|| colspan="2" |FL|| colspan="3" |Fla.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Georgia (U.S. state)}} [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]||State||{{mono|US-GA}}||13|| colspan="2" |GA|| colspan="3" |Ga.||Geo.<ref name="FFA-repair">{{cite book |title=Consolidated Listing of FAA Certificated Repair Stations |date=9 December 1970 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Transportation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zZDGasiS5DwC |access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagicon|Hawaii}} [[Hawaii]]||State||{{mono|US-HI}}||15||HI||style="color:red;"|'''HA'''|| colspan="2" |Hawaii
|Haw.||Hi.;<ref name="FFA-repair" /> Haw.
|-
|{{flagicon|Idaho}} [[Idaho]]||State||{{mono|US-ID}}||16|| colspan="2" |ID|| colspan="3" |Idaho||Ida.<ref name="FFA-repair" />
|-
|{{flagicon|Illinois}} [[Illinois]]||State||{{mono|US-IL}}||17|| colspan="2" |IL|| colspan="3" |Ill.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Indiana}} [[Indiana]]||State||{{mono|US-IN}}||18|| colspan="2" |IN|| colspan="3" |Ind.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Iowa}} [[Iowa]]||State||{{mono|US-IA}}||19|| colspan="2" |IA|| colspan="3" |Iowa||Ioa.{{efn|"Ioa." or (more typically) "IOA" found in Iowa post office cancellations from the 1870s.}}
|-
|{{flagicon|Kansas}} [[Kansas]]||State||{{mono|US-KS}}||20||KS||style="color:red;"|'''KA'''||style="color:red;"|'''Kans.'''|| style="color:red;"|'''Kan.'''
|Kan.||Ka.
|-
|{{flagicon|Kentucky}} [[Kentucky]]||State
| {{mono|US-KY}}||21|| colspan="2" |KY|| colspan="3" |Ky.||Ken., Kent.{{efn|Not to be confused with [[Kent]], [[England]]}}
|-
|{{flagicon|Louisiana}} [[Louisiana]]||State||{{mono|US-LA}}||22|| colspan="2" |LA|| colspan="3" |La.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Maine}} [[Maine]]||State||{{mono|US-ME}}||23|| colspan="2" |ME|| colspan="2" |Maine
|Me.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Maryland}} [[Maryland]]||State||{{mono|US-MD}}||24|| colspan="2" |MD|| colspan="3" |Md.||Mar., Mary.
|-
|{{flagicon|Massachusetts}} [[Massachusetts]]||State
| {{mono|US-MA}}||25||MA||style="color:red;"|'''MS'''|| colspan="3" |Mass.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Michigan}} [[Michigan]]||State||{{mono|US-MI}}||26||MI||style="color:red;"|'''MC'''|| colspan="3" |Mich.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Minnesota}} [[Minnesota]]||State||{{mono|US-MN}}||27|| colspan="2" |MN|| colspan="3" |Minn.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Mississippi}} [[Mississippi]]||State||{{mono|US-MS}}||28||MS||style="color:red;"|'''MI'''|| colspan="3" |Miss.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Missouri}} [[Missouri]]||State||{{mono|US-MO}}||29|| colspan="2" |MO|| colspan="3" |Mo.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Montana}} [[Montana]]||State||{{mono|US-MT}}||30|| colspan="2" |MT|| colspan="3" |Mont.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Nebraska}} [[Nebraska]]||State||{{mono|US-NE}}||31||NE||style="color:red;"|'''NB'''|| style=" color:red;"|'''Nebr.'''|| colspan="2" style="color:red;" |'''Neb.'''||
|-
|{{flagicon|Nevada}} [[Nevada]]||State||{{mono|US-NV}}||32|| colspan="2" |NV|| colspan="3" |Nev.||
|-
|{{flagicon|New Hampshire}} [[New Hampshire]]||State||{{mono|US-NH}}||33|| colspan="2" |NH|| colspan="3" |N.H.||
|-
|{{flagicon|New Jersey}} [[New Jersey]]||State||{{mono|US-NJ}}||34|| colspan="2" |NJ|| colspan="3" |N.J.||N.&nbsp;Jersey<ref name="Navy-1863" />
|-
|{{flagicon|New Mexico}} [[New Mexico]]||State||{{mono|US-NM}}||35|| colspan="2" |NM|| style=" color:red;" |'''N.&nbsp;Mex.'''|| colspan="2" style=" color:red;" | '''N.M.'''||New&nbsp;M., New Mex.
|-
|{{flagicon|New York}} [[New York (state)|New York]]||State||{{mono|US-NY}}||36|| colspan="2" |NY|| colspan="3" |N.Y.||N.&nbsp;York<ref name="Navy-1863">{{cite book |title=Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the Navy of the United States |date=1 January 1863 |publisher=[U.S.] Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J58z106lUYcC&q=%22n.%20york%22&pg=PA1 |access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagicon|North Carolina}} [[North Carolina]]||State||{{mono|US-NC}}||37|| colspan="2" |NC|| colspan="3" |N.C.||N.&nbsp;Car.
|-
|{{flagicon|North Dakota}} [[North Dakota]]||State||{{mono|US-ND}}||38|| colspan="2" |ND|| style="color:red;" |'''N.&nbsp;Dak.'''|| colspan="2" style="color:red;" |'''N.D.'''||
|-
|{{flagicon|Ohio}} [[Ohio]]||State||{{mono|US-OH}}||39|| colspan="2" |OH|| colspan="3" |Ohio||O.,<ref name="USPS History">{{cite web |title=USPS Postal History: State Abbreviations |url=http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/state-abbreviations.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309105923/http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/state-abbreviations.pdf |archive-date=March 9, 2012 |access-date=November 7, 2011 |publisher=[[USPS]]}}. See [https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/state-abbreviations.htm] for a live page with the same table in HTML form.</ref> Oh.<ref name="FFA-repair" />
|-
|{{flagicon|Oklahoma}} [[Oklahoma]]||State||{{mono|US-OK}}||40|| colspan="2" |OK|| colspan="3" |Okla.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Oregon}} [[Oregon]]||State||{{mono|US-OR}}||41|| colspan="2" |OR|| style="color:red;" |'''Oreg.'''||style="color:red;"|'''Ore.'''
|Or.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Pennsylvania}} [[Pennsylvania]]||State
| {{mono|US-PA}}||42|| colspan="2" |PA|| colspan="3" |Pa.||Penn.,<ref name="FFA-repair" /> Penna.<ref name="penna">{{cite web |last1=Arthur |first1=Andy |title=Penna. the Abbreviation |url=https://andyarthur.org/penna-the-abbreviation.html |website=AndyArthur.org |access-date=15 February 2021}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagicon|Rhode Island}} [[Rhode Island]]||State||{{mono|US-RI}}||44|| colspan="2" |RI|| colspan="3" |R.I.||R.I.&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;[[Providence Plantations|P.P.]]
|-
|{{flagicon|South Carolina}} [[South Carolina]]||State||{{mono|US-SC}}||45|| colspan="2" |SC|| colspan="3" |S.C.||S.&nbsp;Car.
|-
|{{flagicon|South Dakota}} [[South Dakota]]||State||{{mono|US-SD}}||46|| colspan="2" |SD|| style="color:red;" |'''S.&nbsp;Dak.'''|| colspan="2" style="color:red;" |'''S.D.'''||SoDak
|-
|{{flagicon|Tennessee}} [[Tennessee]]||State||{{mono|US-TN}}||47|| colspan="2" |TN|| colspan="3" |Tenn.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Texas}} [[Texas]]||State||{{mono|US-TX}}||48|| colspan="2" |TX|| style="color:red;" |'''Tex.'''||style="color:red;"|'''Texas'''
|Tex.||
|-
|{{flagicon|Utah}} [[Utah]]||State||{{mono|US-UT}}||49|| colspan="2" |UT|| colspan="3" |Utah||Ut.<ref name="FFA-repair" />
|-
|{{flagicon|Vermont}} [[Vermont]]||State||{{mono|US-VT}}||50|| colspan="2" |VT|| colspan="3" |Vt.||Verm.<ref name="Gazatteer">{{cite book |last1=Fisher |first1=Richard S. |title=A new and complete statistical gazetteer of the United States of America |date=1857 |publisher=[[J. H. Colton]] and Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aSFWAAAAYAAJ&q=%22burlington%2C%20verm.%22&pg=PA1 |access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagicon|Virginia}} [[Virginia]]||State
| {{mono|US-VA}}||51|| colspan="2" |VA|| colspan="3" |Va.||Virg.
|-
|{{flagicon|Washington}} [[Washington (state)|Washington]]||State||{{mono|US-WA}}||53||WA||style="color:red;"|'''WN'''|| colspan="3" |Wash.||Wn.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://digitum.washingtonhistory.org |title=search on WN |publisher=Digitum.washingtonhistory.org |access-date=2018-02-26}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagicon|West Virginia}} [[West Virginia]]||State||{{mono|US-WV}}||54|| colspan="2" |WV|| style="color:red;" |'''W.&nbsp;Va.'''||style="color:red;"|'''W.Va.'''
|W.&nbsp;Va.||W.V., W.&nbsp;Virg.
|-
|{{flagicon|Wisconsin}} [[Wisconsin]]||State||{{mono|US-WI}}||55||WI||style="color:red;"|'''WS'''|| colspan="3" |Wis.||Wisc.
|-
|{{flagicon|Wyoming}} [[Wyoming]]||State||{{mono|US-WY}}||56|| colspan="2" |WY|| colspan="3" |Wyo.||
|- style="background:#def;"
|{{flagicon|American Samoa}} [[American Samoa]]||[[Insular area]] ([[Territories of the United States|Territory]])||{{mono|AS<br>ASM<br>016<br>US-AS}}||60|| colspan="2" |AS||A.S.|| 
| ||
|- style="background:#def;"
|{{flagicon|Guam}} [[Guam]]||Insular area (Territory)||{{mono|GU<br>GUM<br>316<br>US-GU}}||66|| colspan="2" |GU||Guam|| 
|Guam||
|- style="background:#def;"
|{{flagicon|Northern Mariana Islands}} [[Northern Mariana Islands]]||Insular area ([[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|Commonwealth]])||{{mono|MP<br>MNP<br>580<br>US-MP}}||69||MP||style="color:red;"|'''CM'''||M.P.|| 
|N. Mar. I.||CNMI<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/cnmi|title=Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands|website=www.doi.gov|language=en-US|access-date=2018-01-07}}</ref>
|- style="background:#def;"
|{{flagicon|Puerto Rico}} [[Puerto Rico]]||Insular area ([[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|Commonwealth]])|| style="text-align:center;line-height:1.2;" |{{mono|PR<br>PRI<br>630<br>US-PR}}||72|| colspan="2" |PR||P.R.|| 
|P.R.||
|- style="background:#def;"
|{{flagicon|U.S. Virgin Islands}} [[U.S. Virgin Islands]]||Insular area (Territory)||{{mono|VI<br>VIR<br>850<br>US-VI}}||78|| colspan="2" |VI||V.I.|| 
|V.I.||U.S.V.I.
|- style="background:#def;"
|[[United States Minor Outlying Islands|U.S. Minor Outlying Islands]]||Insular areas||{{mono|UM<br>UMI<br>581<br>US-UM}}||74||UM<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2005 |title=United States of America Minor Outlying Islands |url=https://www.upu.int/UPU/media/upu/PostalEntitiesFiles/addressingUnit/umiEn.pdf |access-date=23 February 2024 |website= |publisher=Universal Postal Union}}</ref>|| || || ||
|
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Baker Island]]||[[Island]]||{{mono|UM-81}}||81|| |||| || 
| ||XB<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://nsgreg.nga.mil/genc/discovery|title=Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes Standard|website=NSG Standards Registry|access-date=2017-02-06}}</ref>
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Howland Island]]||Island||{{mono|UM-84}}||84|| |||| || 
| ||XH<ref name=":0" />
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Jarvis Island]]||Island||{{mono|UM-86}}||86|| |||| || 
| ||XQ<ref name=":0" />
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Johnston Atoll]]||[[Atoll]]||{{mono|UM-67}}||67|| |||| || 
| ||XU<ref name=":0" />
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Kingman Reef]]||Atoll||{{mono|UM-89}}||89|| |||| || 
| ||XM<ref name=":0" />
|- style="background:#def;"
| |[[Midway Atoll]]||Atoll||{{mono|UM-71}}||71|| |||| || 
| ||QM<ref name=":0" />
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Navassa Island]]||Island||{{mono|UM-76}}||76|| |||| || 
| ||XV<ref name=":0" />
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Palmyra Atoll]]{{efn|name=Palmyra|The [[Palmyra Atoll]] is an [[Territories of the United States#Organized vs. unorganized territories|unorganized]] [[Territories of the United States#Incorporated vs. unincorporated territories|incorporated territory]] of the United States that was previously a part of the [[Territory of Hawaii]].}}||Atoll{{efn|name=Palmyra}}||{{mono|UM-95}}||95|| |||| || 
| ||XL<ref name=":0" />
|- style="background:#def;"
| [[Wake Island]]||Atoll||{{mono|UM-79}}||79|| |||| || 
| ||QW<ref name=":0" />
|- style="background:#ffb;"
|{{flagicon|Marshall Islands}} [[Marshall Islands]]||[[Compact of Free Association|Freely associated state]]||{{mono|MH<br>MHL<br>584}}||68||MH|||| || 
| ||
|- style="background:#ffb;"
|{{flagicon|Micronesia}} [[Federated States of Micronesia|Micronesia]]||Freely associated state||{{mono|FM<br>FSM<br>583}}||64||FM|||| || 
| ||
|- style="background:#ffb;"
|{{flagicon|Palau}} [[Palau]]||Freely associated state||{{mono|PW<br>PLW<br>585}}||70||PW|||| || 
| ||
|- style="background:#dfd;"
|[[United States Armed Forces|U.S. Armed Forces]] – [[Americas]]{{efn|The U.S. Armed Forces – Americas include the [[Caribbean Sea]] and exclude the United States, [[Canada]], and [[Greenland]].}}||[[Military mail#U.S. Military Postal Service (MPS)|US military mail code]]<br>(not in the ANSI standard)|| || ||style=" color:red;"|'''AA'''|||| || 
| ||
|- style="background:#dfd;"
|U.S. Armed Forces – [[Europe]]{{efn|The U.S. Armed Forces – Europe include the [[Atlantic Ocean]], the [[Mediterranean Sea]], Canada, Greenland, [[Africa]], and [[Southwest Asia]].}}||US military mail code<br>(not in the ANSI standard)|| || ||style=" color:red;"|'''AE'''|||| || 
| ||
|- style="background:#dfd;"
|U.S. Armed Forces – [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]]{{efn|The U.S. Armed Forces – Pacific include the [[Indian Ocean]], [[Oceania]], and [[Asia]] except Southwest Asia.}}||US military mail code<br>(not in the ANSI standard)|| || ||style=" color:red;"|'''AP'''|| || || 
| ||
|- style="background:#ccc;"
|{{flagicon|Nebraska}} [[Nebraska]]||Obsolete postal code{{efn|Former [[United States Postal Service|USPS]] code "NB" for [[Nebraska]] is now obsolete; it was changed to NE in November 1969 to avoid confusion with [[New Brunswick]], [[Canada]].}}|| || ||NB|| || || 
| ||
|- style="background:#ccc;"
|{{flagicon|Northern Mariana Islands}} [[Northern Mariana Islands]]||Obsolete postal code{{efn|Former [[United States Postal Service|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]].}}|| || ||CM|| || || 
| ||
|- style="background:#ccc;"
|{{flagicon|Panama Canal Zone}} [[Panama Canal Zone]]||Obsolete postal code||{{mono|PZ<br>PCZ<br>594}}|| ||CZ|| || || 
| ||
|- style="background:#ccc;"
|{{flagicon|Philippines}} [[Insular Government of the Philippine Islands|Philippine Islands]]||Obsolete postal code||{{mono|PH<br>PHL<br>608}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Philippine diplomats will now use PH or PHL instead of RP |url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/204589/news/nation/philippine-diplomats-will-now-use-ph-or-phl-instead-of-rp |newspaper=GMA News |date=October 28, 2010 |access-date=March 17, 2013}}</ref> || ||PI|| || || 
| ||
|- style="background:#ccc;"
|{{flagicon|Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands}} [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]]||Obsolete postal code||{{mono|PC<br>PCI<br>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.<ref name="USPS History" />

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://about.usps.com/news/state-releases/fl/2009/fl_2009_0109.htm |title=USPS Postal News, "It's Okay to Say 'I Don't Know,' So Long As You Find Out!" January 9, 2009 |publisher=About.usps.com |date=2009-01-09 |access-date=2018-02-26}}</ref>

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 code]]s 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.<ref name="USPS History"/>

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]].<ref name="USPS History"/>

{{Anchor|GPO}}
Prior to 1987, when the U.S. [[Secretary of Commerce]] approved the two-letter codes for use in government documents,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/fip5-2.htm|title=Information Technology Laboratory|last=Hawes|first=Kristi G.|date=1987-05-28|work=NIST|access-date=2009-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705054444/http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/fip5-2.htm|archive-date=July 5, 2009|url-status=dead|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual, 30th Edition [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2008_style_manual&docid=f:chapter9.pdf] Accessed April 21, 2009.</ref>

===Current use of traditional abbreviations===

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

==Codes for states and territories==

===ISO standard 3166===
{{main|ISO 3166-2:US}}
'''ISO 3166-2:US''' is the entry for the [[United States]] in [[ISO 3166-2]], part of the [[ISO 3166]] [[standardization|standard]] published by the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO), which defines [[code]]s for the names of the principal [[administrative division|subdivision]]s (e.g., [[province]]s or [[state (administrative division)|state]]s) of all [[country|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 [[INCITS 38|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. Military Mail locations, which have USPS codes ("AA", "AE", "AP") but no ANSI code.

===Postal codes===
<imagemap>
Image:US state abbrev map.png|center
poly   62 5 102 15 96 47 81 44 69 44 61 42 54 42 52 35 46 32 46 9 [[Washington (state)|Washington]]
poly   45 32 24 70 29 75 35 77 63 85 87 90 92 67 91 65 91 60 94 60 99 51 97 47 84 44 69 44 61 43 54 42 52 36 [[Oregon]]
poly   27 75 15 102 30 162 43 191 86 195 86 187 91 182 93 177 54 116 62 85 [[California]]
poly   4 227 75 227 76 279 3 278 [[Hawaii]]
poly   78 227 151 227 196 295 197 323 4 324 4 281 77 282 [[Alaska]]
poly   111 17 103 16 96 47 99 52 94 61 91 65 86 90 133 99 138 71 136 68 133 69 123 70 118 55 114 55 118 44 116 44 110 35 107 25 [[Idaho]]
circle   403 30 10 [[Vermont]]
circle   428 30 11 [[New Hampshire]]
circle   484 72 11 [[Massachusetts]]
circle   484 94 9 [[Rhode Island]]
circle   484 117 10 [[Connecticut]]
circle   485 137 10 [[New Jersey]]
circle   485 159 10 [[Delaware]]
circle   485 182 10 [[Maryland]]
circle   485 204 10 [[Washington, D.C.|D.C.]]

poly   196 29 157 25 109 17 108 27 110 37 117 45 114 55 119 54 122 71 137 70 139 66 192 73 [[Montana]]
poly   245 31 198 30 194 63 250 65 250 59 [[North Dakota]]
poly   252 103 252 72 248 68 251 65 194 62 191 95 236 98 239 101 241 99 246 99 [[South Dakota]]
poly   64 86 110 95 97 160 93 158 91 169 55 116 [[Nevada]]
poly   110 95 133 99 132 109 148 111 142 157 100 149 [[Utah]]
poly   142 155 99 149 98 156 95 159 91 158 93 175 86 194 84 197 115 215 134 218 [[Arizona]]
poly   193 73 138 67 132 109 190 116 [[Wyoming]]
poly   205 118 148 112 143 155 203 162 [[Colorado]]
poly   144 156 135 217 142 217 144 213 158 214 159 212 191 216 196 163 [[New Mexico]]
poly   251 103 247 99 239 99 235 97 191 96 189 116 205 118 204 129 261 130 257 124 [[Nebraska]]
poly   262 130 206 130 203 162 266 163 267 139 263 136 266 133 [[Kansas]]
poly   195 162 195 167 220 167 220 189 231 195 236 195 240 198 251 198 263 198 270 201 268 176 268 164 [[Oklahoma]]
poly   243 284 225 279 220 264 209 246 204 241 196 240 191 242 187 249 178 245 175 242 170 228 158 215 158 213 190 217 195 168 219 169 219 189 228 193 236 196 243 196 262 197 269 200 273 201 275 218 279 230 277 244 [[Texas]]
poly   302 40 291 39 288 40 279 36 267 35 262 33 246 32 251 63 248 69 253 74 252 91 294 91 291 85 280 78 280 70 279 67 282 62 283 54 [[Minnesota]]
poly   293 92 251 92 251 101 258 123 291 123 292 125 297 120 296 113 301 112 303 106 298 100 295 100 [[Iowa]]
poly   311 172 313 165 314 166 315 160 313 160 310 153 303 148 305 141 300 140 300 136 293 129 293 123 258 124 262 131 265 132 262 136 266 140 268 169 305 168 306 172 [[Missouri]]
poly   308 183 312 173 306 173 308 167 268 170 269 201 273 201 273 207 300 206 300 202 299 198 311 173 [[Arkansas]]
poly   314 233 319 238 327 248 320 252 277 244 278 228 275 220 272 207 300 207 303 216 298 228 313 228 [[Louisiana]]
poly   356 104 363 90 352 65 345 53 316 45 299 56 302 60 316 63 320 70 322 71 326 67 331 105 [[Michigan]]
poly   299 56 294 57 294 54 284 57 283 64 279 69 281 77 293 87 296 99 301 102 320 100 325 69 321 71 318 66 318 64 301 59 [[Wisconsin]]
poly   325 109 326 137 328 141 324 151 323 157 320 156 321 160 315 159 314 161 311 161 312 153 303 148 305 141 299 139 299 135 292 127 296 118 296 115 301 111 302 106 300 102 298 100 321 100 [[Illinois]]
poly   346 104 331 107 323 109 327 138 324 151 336 151 338 146 341 149 345 140 350 138 [[Indiana]]
poly   380 97 371 105 364 107 360 105 346 106 350 134 354 135 358 138 367 137 371 140 373 134 375 134 376 130 382 125 382 111 [[Ohio]]
poly   383 112 382 125 376 129 375 133 373 133 372 137 370 140 370 143 378 151 381 151 381 150 384 150 390 147 392 141 394 135 398 135 400 130 403 126 403 123 405 123 406 124 408 124 408 122 406 120 403 121 395 126 393 121 393 121 389 123 385 123 [[West Virginia]]
poly   370 143 370 140 366 137 363 138 358 138 355 136 350 134 350 137 345 140 341 148 338 146 336 150 324 151 323 156 320 156 320 159 316 159 315 165 313 167 321 167 325 165 333 164 343 163 351 162 362 162 365 160 370 156 373 153 376 150 [[Kentucky]]
poly   381 158 372 159 372 160 364 160 364 161 356 162 326 165 325 166 313 167 312 174 308 184 324 183 326 182 360 179 360 176 373 167 381 161 [[Tennessee]]
poly   326 183 322 183 315 184 306 184 300 196 300 207 302 214 298 224 297 228 310 228 311 227 314 227 315 233 317 236 328 235 327 226 326 219 [[Mississippi]]
poly   349 181 326 182 326 219 328 234 332 238 340 234 335 225 359 224 358 217 357 207 348 181 326 182 [[Alabama]]
poly   369 178 363 179 360 179 355 179 354 180 348 180 357 207 359 223 361 226 384 225 386 227 388 227 387 222 393 222 395 206 388 197 374 184 369 182 [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]
poly   395 222 387 222 387 226 385 227 385 225 367 226 360 226 358 223 354 224 347 225 335 226 340 234 360 241 380 244 385 267 400 281 392 292 400 293 423 281 412 248 [[Florida]]
poly   413 184 402 175 397 175 397 176 392 176 389 173 380 173 369 178 369 182 374 184 388 198 393 206 397 206 414 190 [[South Carolina]]
poly   411 154 404 155 387 158 381 158 380 161 372 167 362 174 359 177 359 179 364 179 369 178 378 174 385 173 389 173 392 176 397 176 397 175 402 175 413 183 416 186 440 164 434 151 429 150 420 152   [[North Carolina]]
poly   420 134 416 133 414 132 414 129 415 129 415 126 412 125 410 124 408 123 408 124 405 124 404 123 403 124 403 126 399 131 398 134 394 135 390 147 384 150 381 150 380 151 378 151 376 149 370 154 370 156 364 160 370 160 374 159 380 158 388 158 411 154 429 150 432 148 436 133 433 131 428 134 [[Virginia]]
poly   423 115 416 116 415 117 411 118 406 120 410 124 413 125 414 123 416 124 415 126 414 132 419 134 422 134 428 134 436 129 428 129 425 122 423 116 [[Maryland]]
poly   405 120 393 121 394 125 395 126 [[Maryland]]
poly   413 123 413 126 416 126 416 124 414 123 [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]]
poly   426 114 423 115 427 128 436 129 428 120 [[Delaware]]
poly   452 95 441 104 436 102 435 98 427 96 422 90 387 97 385 95 391 90 392 87 389 83 394 80 402 80 404 79 410 76 409 68 412 65 416 59 418 57 429 54 431 61 433 69 436 78 436 90 437 97 439 98 448 94   [[New York (state)|New York]]
poly   424 114 421 116 416 116 407 119 401 120 394 121 391 122 386 122 385 116 382 99 386 95 388 97 422 90 427 96 426 105 430 109 428 112 427 114 [[Pennsylvania]]
poly   427 96 426 104 430 108 430 110 426 114 427 118 428 120 432 124 441 117 441 105 436 102 435 98 [[New Jersey]]
poly   452 91 451 88 450 86 450 83 448 83 446 84 442 85 437 85 437 89 438 94 437 96 439 98 441 96 445 94 [[Connecticut]]
poly   452 90 455 91 454 86 453 82 450 83 451 88 [[Rhode Island]]
poly   458 72 452 73 452 74 447 76 441 77 436 79 436 86 436 89 438 85 444 88 448 83 450 83 452 82 457 90 468 84 467 78 [[Massachusetts]]
poly   455 69 455 73 452 73 452 74 447 75 448 76 441 76 435 62 442 64 442 62 441 61 441 59 443 59 443 51 443 47 446 47 452 66 456 69 [[New Hampshire]]
poly   443 51 439 51 436 52 429 54 431 65 434 72 436 79 447 72 441 65 442 64 442 61 441 60 441 59 443 59 443 57 444 56 444 54 [[Vermont]]
poly   455 68 458 68 479 46 477 39 465 19 452 19 448 32 447 42 446 47 450 61 [[Maine]]
desc  bottom-left
</imagemap>

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.<ref name="uspspub28">{{cite web |author1=United States Postal Service |author1-link=USPS |title=Appendix B. Two–Letter State and Possession Abbreviations. Postal Addressing Standards |url=https://pe.usps.com/text/pub28/28apb.htm |at= |website=Postal Explorer |access-date=21 January 2020 |date=June 2020}}</ref> 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 [[#History|traditional abbreviations]] such as Calif., Fla., or Tex. The [[Associated Press]] [[AP Stylebook|Stylebook]] states that in contexts other than mailing addresses, the traditional state abbreviations should be used.<ref name="Style Manuals on State Abbreviations">{{cite web |last1=Robbins |first1=Sonia J. |title=State Abbreviations |url=http://www.nyu.edu/classes/copyXediting/STABBREV.html |website=New York University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427035937/http://www.nyu.edu:80/classes/copyXediting/STABBREV.html |archive-date=2009-04-27 |date=2004-01-04}}</ref> However, [[the Chicago Manual of Style]] now recommends use of the uppercase two-letter abbreviations, with the traditional forms as an option.<ref>{{cite book |year=2017 |orig-year=1906 |chapter=10.27 Abbreviations for US states and territories |editor1-last=Harper |editor1-first=Russell David |title=The Chicago manual of style |edition=17th |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |no-pp=true |doi=10.7208/cmos17 |isbn=9780226287058 |lccn=2017020712 |quote=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.}}</ref>

The postal abbreviation is the same as the [[ISO 3166-2:US|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.<ref name="USPS History"/> 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 [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]] (USCG) uses a set of two-letter prefixes for vessel numbers;<ref>{{USCFR|33|173}}, App. A</ref> 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 <span style="color:red">'''bold red'''</span> 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 3166-1 alpha-2|ISO 3166]] two-digit country codes.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Mismatched USPS and USCG state codes
|-
! State
! USPS Code
! USCG Code
|-
! California
| CA
| CF
|-
! Colorado
| CO
| CL
|-
! Delaware
| DE
| DL
|-
! Hawaii
| HI
| HA
|-
! Kansas
| KS
| KA
|-
! Michigan
| MI
| MC
|-
! Mississippi
| MS
| MI
|-
! Massachusetts
| MA
| MS
|-
! Nebraska
| NE
| NB
|-
! Washington
| WA
| WN
|-
! Wisconsin
| WI
| WS
|-
! Mariana Islands
| MP
| CM
|}

==See also==
* [[States and territories of Australia#State and territory codes|Australian abbreviation system]]
* [[Canadian postal abbreviations for provinces and territories|Canadian abbreviation system]]
* [[ISO 3166-2:US]]
* [[United States Postal Service#Elements of addressing and preparing domestic mail|United States Postal Service address formatting information]]

==Notes==
{{notelist|2}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://about.usps.com/publications/pub32/pub32_acn.htm USPS acronyms and abbreviations]
* [https://www.census.gov/library/reference/code-lists/ansi.html#par_textimage_3 U.S. Census Bureau]

{{United States Postal Service}}
{{USStateLists}}

[[Category:Lists of states of the United States|Abbreviations]]
[[Category:Lists of United States abbreviations|state and territory]]
[[Category:Postal addresses in the United States]]