Words That Work ... or Don't

Limit use of Postal Abbreviations to Full Mailing Addresses

In 1998, the United States Postal Service developed two-letter state abbreviations for use with ZIP codes in mailing addresses.

Although these abbreviations have made their way into all kinds of prose, I agree with the Associated Press that they should be used only as part of a mailing address. Take this quiz to understand why.

Quick Quiz:

  • Does AL mean Alabama or Alaska?
  • Does AR mean Arizona or Arkansas?
  • Does CO mean Connecticut or Colorado?
  • Does ID mean Idaho or Indiana?
  • Does MA mean Massachusetts, Maine or Maryland?
  • Does MI mean Missouri, Mississippi, Michigan or Minnesota?
  • Does MO mean Montana, Minnesota or Missouri?
  • Does NE mean Nebraska or Nevada?

If you hail from one of these states or send mail to one of them frequently, you likely will be able to quickly pick out the correct match.

But if you have to pause for even a second to figure out if MI is Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri or Mississippi — or if you are from a country other than the Unites States — you probably will have to guess on one or more, and your guess might be incorrect.

Think how much more quickly you would recognize many of them with the benefit of an additional letter or two.

Here is a list of Associated Press abbreviations for referring to states in a format other than a mailing address:

(Note: There are eight states that are never abbreviated in text, but that do have postal abbreviations: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah.)

Alabama / Ala.
Alaska
Arizona / Ariz.
Arkansas / Ark.
California / Calif.
Colorado / Colo.
Connecticut / Conn.
Delaware / Del.
Florida / Fla.
Georgia / Ga.
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois / Ill.
Indiana / Ind.
Iowa
Kansas / Kan.
Kentucky / Ky.


Louisiana / La.
Maryland / Md.
Massachusetts / Mass.
Maine
Michigan / Mich.
Minnesota / Minn.
Mississippi / Miss.
Missouri / Mo.
Montana / Mont.
Nebraska / Neb.
Nevada / Nev.
New Hampshire / N.H.
New Jersey / N.J.
New Mexico / N.M.
New York / N.Y.
North Carolina / N.C.
North Dakota / N.D.

Ohio
Oklahoma / Okla.
Oregon / Ore.
Pennsylvania / Pa.
Rhode Island / R.I.
South Carolina / S.C.
South Dakota / S.D.
Tennessee / Tenn.
Texas
Utah
Vermont / Vt.
Virginia / Va.
Washington / Wash.
West Virginia / W.Va.
Wisconsin / Wis.
Wyoming / Wyo.

 

 

Ruthless Editor follows The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law guidelines for word and punctuation usage. Webster's New World College Dictionary serves as a secondary reference.

If you'd like to receive Kathy's FREE monthly tips on grammar and punctuation, email your request to: contact@ruthlesseditor.com