If the number of business address lines on a mailpiece must be reduced, apply the following steps in the order listed.
Lines #9, #10, and #11 contain addressing data elements that are required for distribution and delivery by the Postal Service. Therefore, they must appear as the last three lines of the address block. If it is necessary to compress the number of characters in an address data element, use the recommended abbreviations or suffix tables or the word compression guidelines identified in this publication.
Line #9, Business/Firm Name, should be printed on a single line for maximum MLOCR matching. If necessary it may be wrapped down. The use of standard business word abbreviations is preferred over line wrapping.
Line #9 — Business/Firm Name
When secondary delivery information, e.g., APARTMENT or SUITE, is part of the address but does not fit on the Delivery Address Line, all secondary components should be placed immediately above the Delivery Address Line.
Line #10 — Delivery Address Line
It is preferred that all City, State, and ZIP Code information be presented on a single line. If that is not possible, the ZIP Code or the ZIP+4 Code should be placed below the City State information. However, when compressing line #11 do not remove the hyphen between the ZIP Code and the ZIP+4 add-on code.
Line #11 — City, State, ZIP+4 Line
Lines #1 and #2 may be required on the mailpiece when it is submitted under the Postal Service Traditional ACS program. Therefore, when they are present, they must appear in the address block in the order indicated by the Sample Business Address Format. They must be left-justified and lined up with the address block, and they cannot be wrapped, altered, or compressed. The Optional Endorsement Line must be printed in the same font as the address block.
Lines #4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are not required by the Postal Service for distribution and delivery and are optional for the mailer.
Line #5, Attention, when it contains an individual name, or line #7, Functional Title, may be critical for delivery within the company or firm, but the use of both may not be necessary.
