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List of U.S. state and territory abbreviations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Several sets ofcodesandabbreviationsare used to represent thepolitical divisions of the United Statesfor postal addresses, data processing, general abbreviations, and other purposes.

Table[edit]

See also:List of states and territories of the United States

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

Codes and abbreviations for U.S. states, federal district, territories, and other regions
Codes:
ISO ISO 3166codes (2-letter,3-letter,and3-digitcodes fromISO 3166-1;2+2-letter codesfromISO 3166-2)
ANSI 2-letter and 2-digit codes from theANSIstandardINCITS 38:2009 (supersedesFIPS 5-2)
USPS 2-letter codes used by theUnited States Postal Service
USCG 2-letter codes used by theUnited States Coast Guard(bold red text shows differences between ANSI and USCG)
Abbreviations:
GPO Older variable-length officialUS Government Printing Officeabbreviations
AP Abbreviations from theAP Stylebook(bold red text shows differences between GPO and AP)
Name and status of region ISO ANSI USPS USCG GPO AP Other
abbreviations
United StatesUnited States of America Federal state US
USA
840		 US 00 U.S. U.S. U.S.A.
AlabamaAlabama State US-AL AL 01 AL AL Ala. Ala.
AlaskaAlaska State US-AK AK 02 AK AK Alaska Alaska Ak.[1]
ArizonaArizona State US-AZ AZ 04 AZ AZ Ariz. Ariz.
ArkansasArkansas State US-AR AR 05 AR AR Ark. Ark.
CaliforniaCalifornia State US-CA CA 06 CA CF Calif. Calif. Cal.
ColoradoColorado State US-CO CO 08 CO CL Colo. Colo.
ConnecticutConnecticut State US-CT CT 09 CT CT Conn. Conn.
DelawareDelaware State US-DE DE 10 DE DL Del. Del.
Washington, D.C.District of Columbia Federal district US-DC DC 11 DC DC D.C. D.C. Dis. Col.[2]
FloridaFlorida State US-FL FL 12 FL FL Fla. Fla.
Georgia (U.S. state)Georgia State US-GA GA 13 GA GA Ga. Ga. Geo.[1]
HawaiiHawaii State US-HI HI 15 HI HA Hawaii Hawaii Hi.;[1]Haw.
IdahoIdaho State US-ID ID 16 ID ID Idaho Idaho Ida.[1]
IllinoisIllinois State US-IL IL 17 IL IL Ill. Ill.
IndianaIndiana State US-IN IN 18 IN IN Ind. Ind.
IowaIowa State US-IA IA 19 IA IA Iowa Iowa Ioa.[a]
KansasKansas State US-KS KS 20 KS KA Kans. Kan. Ka.
KentuckyKentucky State (officiallyCommonwealth) US-KY KY 21 KY KY Ky. Ky. Ken., Kent.[b]
LouisianaLouisiana State US-LA LA 22 LA LA La. La.
MaineMaine State US-ME ME 23 ME ME Maine Maine
MarylandMaryland State US-MD MD 24 MD MD Md. Md. Mar., Mary.
MassachusettsMassachusetts State (officiallyCommonwealth) US-MA MA 25 MA MS Mass. Mass.
MichiganMichigan State US-MI MI 26 MI MC Mich. Mich.
MinnesotaMinnesota State US-MN MN 27 MN MN Minn. Minn.
MississippiMississippi State US-MS MS 28 MS MI Miss. Miss.
MissouriMissouri State US-MO MO 29 MO MO Mo. Mo.
MontanaMontana State US-MT MT 30 MT MT Mont. Mont.
NebraskaNebraska State US-NE NE 31 NE NB Nebr. Neb.
NevadaNevada State US-NV NV 32 NV NV Nev. Nev.
New HampshireNew Hampshire State US-NH NH 33 NH NH N.H. N.H.
New JerseyNew Jersey State US-NJ NJ 34 NJ NJ N.J. N.J. N. Jersey[2]
New MexicoNew Mexico State US-NM NM 35 NM NM N. Mex. N.M. New M., New Mex.
New York (state)New York State US-NY NY 36 NY NY N.Y. N.Y. N. York[2]
North CarolinaNorth Carolina State US-NC NC 37 NC NC N.C. N.C. N. Car.
North DakotaNorth Dakota State US-ND ND 38 ND ND N. Dak. N.D.
OhioOhio State US-OH OH 39 OH OH Ohio Ohio O.,[3]Oh.[1]
OklahomaOklahoma State US-OK OK 40 OK OK Okla. Okla.
OregonOregon State US-OR OR 41 OR OR Oreg. Ore.
PennsylvaniaPennsylvania State (officiallyCommonwealth) US-PA PA 42 PA PA Pa. Pa. Penn.,[1]Penna.[4]
Rhode IslandRhode Island State US-RI RI 44 RI RI R.I. R.I. R.I. &P.P.
South CarolinaSouth Carolina State US-SC SC 45 SC SC S.C. S.C. S. Car.
South DakotaSouth Dakota State US-SD SD 46 SD SD S. Dak. S.D. SoDak
TennesseeTennessee State US-TN TN 47 TN TN Tenn. Tenn.
TexasTexas State US-TX TX 48 TX TX Tex. Texas
UtahUtah State US-UT UT 49 UT UT Utah Utah Ut.[1]
VermontVermont State US-VT VT 50 VT VT Vt. Vt. Verm.[5]
VirginiaVirginia State (officiallyCommonwealth) US-VA VA 51 VA VA Va. Va. Virg.
Washington (state)Washington State US-WA WA 53 WA WN Wash. Wash. Wn.[6]
West VirginiaWest Virginia State US-WV WV 54 WV WV W. Va. W.Va. W.V., W. Virg.
WisconsinWisconsin State US-WI WI 55 WI WS Wis. Wis. Wisc.
WyomingWyoming State US-WY WY 56 WY WY Wyo. Wyo.
American SamoaAmerican Samoa Insular area(Territory) AS
ASM
016
US-AS		 AS 60 AS AS A.S.
GuamGuam Insular area (Territory) GU
GUM
316
US-GU		 GU 66 GU GU Guam
Northern Mariana IslandsNorthern Mariana Islands Insular area (Commonwealth) MP
MNP
580
US-MP		 MP 69 MP CM M.P. CNMI[7]
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico Insular area (Commonwealth) PR
PRI
630
US-PR		 PR 72 PR PR P.R.
United States Virgin IslandsU.S. Virgin Islands Insular area (Territory) VI
VIR
850
US-VI		 VI 78 VI VI V.I. U.S.V.I.
U.S. Minor Outlying Islands Insular areas UM
UMI
581
US-UM		 UM 74 UM[8]
Baker Island Island UM-81 81 XB[9]
Howland Island Island UM-84 84 XH[9]
Jarvis Island Island UM-86 86 XQ[9]
Johnston Atoll Atoll UM-67 67 XU[9]
Kingman Reef Atoll UM-89 89 XM[9]
Midway Atoll Atoll UM-71 71 QM[9]
Navassa Island Island UM-76 76 XV[9]
Palmyra Atoll[c] Atoll[c] UM-95 95 XL[9]
Wake Island Atoll UM-79 79 QW[9]
Marshall IslandsMarshall Islands Freely associated state MH
MHL
584		 MH 68 MH
Federated States of MicronesiaMicronesia Freely associated state FM
FSM
583		 FM 64 FM
PalauPalau Freely associated state PW
PLW
585		 PW 70 PW
U.S. Armed Forces–Americas[d] US military mail code AA
U.S. Armed Forces –Europe[e] US military mail code AE
U.S. Armed Forces –Pacific[f] US military mail code AP
NebraskaNebraska Obsolete postal code[g] NB
Northern Mariana IslandsNorthern Mariana Islands Obsolete postal code[h] CM
Panama Canal ZonePanama Canal Zone Obsolete postal code PZ
PCZ
594		 CZ
PhilippinesPhilippine Islands Obsolete postal code PH
PHL
608[10]		 PI
Trust Territory of the Pacific IslandsTrust Territory of the Pacific Islands Obsolete postal code PC
PCI
582		 TT

History[edit]

As early as October 1831, theUnited States Postal Servicerecognized 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.[3]

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 aslegal citation), and are still recognized (though discouraged) by the Postal Service.[11]

Modern two-letter abbreviated codes for the states and territories originated in October 1963, with the issuance ofPublication 59: Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Code,three months after the Post Office introducedZIP codesin July 1963. The purpose, rather than to standardize state abbreviationsper se,was to make room in a line of no more than 23 characters for the city, the state, and the ZIP code.[3]

Since 1963, only one state abbreviation has changed. OriginallyNebraskawas "NB"; but, in November 1969, the Post Office changed it to "NE" to avoid confusion withNew BrunswickinCanada.[3]

Prior to 1987, when the U.S.Secretary of Commerceapproved the two-letter codes for use in government documents,[12]theUnited 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.[13]

Current use of traditional abbreviations[edit]

Legal citationmanuals, such asThe BluebookandThe ALWD Citation Manual,typically use the "traditional abbreviations" or variants thereof.

Codes for states and territories[edit]

ISO standard 3166[edit]

Main article:ISO 3166-2:US

ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009[edit]

TheAmerican National Standards Institute(ANSI) established alphabetic and numeric codes for each state and outlying areas inANSI standard INCITS 38:2009.ANSI standard INCITS 38:2009 replaced theFederal Information Processing Standard(FIPS) standardsFIPS 5-2,FIPS 6-4,andFIPS 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[edit]

WashingtonOregonCaliforniaHawaiiAlaskaIdahoVermontNew HampshireMassachusettsRhode IslandConnecticutNew JerseyDelawareMarylandD.C.MontanaNorth DakotaSouth DakotaNevadaUtahArizonaWyomingColoradoNew MexicoNebraskaKansasOklahomaTexasMinnesotaIowaMissouriArkansasLouisianaMichiganWisconsinIllinoisIndianaOhioWest VirginiaKentuckyTennesseeMississippiAlabamaGeorgiaFloridaSouth CarolinaNorth CarolinaVirginiaMarylandMarylandDistrict of ColumbiaDelawareNew YorkPennsylvaniaNew JerseyConnecticutRhode IslandMassachusettsNew HampshireVermontMaine

TheUnited States Postal Service(USPS) has established a set of uppercase abbreviations to help process mail withoptical character recognitionand other automated equipment.[14]There are also official USPS abbreviations for other parts of the address, such asstreet designators(street, avenue, road, etc.).

These two-letter codes are distinguished fromtraditional abbreviationssuch as Calif., Fla., or Tex. TheAssociated PressStylebookstates that in contexts other than mailing addresses, the traditional state abbreviations should be used.[15]However,the Chicago Manual of Stylenow recommends use of the uppercase two-letter abbreviations, with the traditional forms as an option.[16]

The postal abbreviation is the same as theISO 3166-2 subdivision codefor each of the fifty states.

These codes do not overlap with the 13Canadian subnational postal abbreviations.The code for Nebraska changed from NB to NE in November 1969 to avoid a conflict with New Brunswick.[3]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[edit]

TheU.S. Coast Guard(USCG) uses a set of two-letter prefixes for vessel numbers;[17]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 inbold redin the table above; they include three inland states with a small Coast Guard contingent. These twelve abbreviations were changed to avoid conflicting with theISO 3166two-digit country codes.

Mismatches between USPS and USCG codes
California Colorado Delaware Hawaii Kansas Michigan Mississippi Massachusetts Nebraska Washington Wisconsin Mariana Islands
USPS CA CO DE HI KS MI MS MA NE WA WI MP
USCG CF CL DL HA KA MC MI MS NB WN WS CM

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^"Ioa." or (more typically) "IOA" found in Iowa post office cancellations from the 1870s.
  2. ^Not to be confused withKent,England
  3. ^abThePalmyra Atollis anunorganizedincorporated territoryof the United States that was previously a part of theTerritory of Hawaii.
  4. ^The U.S. Armed Forces – Americas include theCaribbean Seaand exclude the United States,Canada,andGreenland.
  5. ^The U.S. Armed Forces – Europe include theAtlantic Ocean,theMediterranean Sea,Canada, Greenland,Africa,andSouthwest Asia.
  6. ^The U.S. Armed Forces – Pacific include theIndian Ocean,Oceania,andAsiaexcept Southwest Asia.
  7. ^FormerUSPScode "NB" forNebraskais now obsolete; it was changed to NE in November 1969 to avoid confusion withNew Brunswick,Canada.
  8. ^FormerUSPScode "CM" for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is now obsolete; it was changed to MP in 1988 to matchISO 3166-1.

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefgConsolidated Listing of FAA Certificated Repair Stations.U.S. Dept. of Transportation. December 9, 1970.RetrievedMarch 12,2020.
  2. ^abcRegister of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the Navy of the United States.Washington, D.C.: [U.S.] Government Printing Office. January 1, 1863.RetrievedMarch 12,2020.
  3. ^abcdeUSPS Postal History: State AbbreviationsAccessed November 7, 2011.[dead link]
  4. ^Arthur, Andy."Penna. the Abbreviation".AndyArthur.org.RetrievedFebruary 15,2021.
  5. ^Fisher, Richard S. (1857).A new and complete statistical gazetteer of the United States of America.J. H. Coltonand Company.RetrievedMarch 12,2020.
  6. ^"search on WN".Digitum.washingtonhistory.org.RetrievedFebruary 26,2018.
  7. ^"Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands".www.doi.gov.RetrievedJanuary 7,2018.
  8. ^"United States of America Minor Outlying Islands"(PDF).Universal Postal Union. March 2005.RetrievedFebruary 23,2024.
  9. ^abcdefghi"Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes Standard".NSG Standards Registry.RetrievedFebruary 6,2017.
  10. ^"Philippine diplomats will now use PH or PHL instead of RP".GMA News.October 28, 2010.RetrievedMarch 17,2013.
  11. ^"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.RetrievedFebruary 26,2018.
  12. ^Hawes, Kristi G. (May 28, 1987)."Information Technology Laboratory".NIST.Archived fromthe originalon July 5, 2009.RetrievedApril 21,2009.
  13. ^U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual, 30th Edition[1]Accessed April 21, 2009.
  14. ^United States Postal Service(June 2020)."Appendix B. Two–Letter State and Possession Abbreviations. Postal Addressing Standards".Postal Explorer.RetrievedJanuary 21,2020.
  15. ^Robbins, Sonia J. (January 4, 2004)."State Abbreviations".New York University.Archived fromthe originalon April 27, 2009.
  16. ^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.ISBN9780226287058.LCCN2017020712.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.
  17. ^33 CFR173,App. A

External links[edit]

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