In this post, you will learn the difference between a physical address and mailing address, how to write the different addresses, and when to use them.
How to write addresses
Let's first talk about how to write addresses.
Physical Address
A physical address tells us where a person lives.
For a house, we use the house number, street name, city, state, and zip code. For example:
123 Broadway Ave.
Jackson WY 83001
For an apartment, we write the building number, street name, apartment number, city, state and zip code. For example:
415 Aspen Dr. Apt. 4
Jackson WY 83001
Abbreviations
Here are some abbreviations that we use in addresses.
Mailing Address
A mailing address tells us where a person receives his or her mail.
If you have a mailbox in front of your house, you would use your house address. If you go to a post office and open your post office box to get your mail, your mailing address will be your post office box. For example:
PO Box 12345
Jackson WY 83002
(The abbreviation PO means post office.)
Zip Codes
Some cities have multiple zip codes. In Jackson, there are two post offices, so they use two zip codes.
For all physical addresses, they use the 83001 zip code.
If the PO box is at the "old" post office (which is located downtown near Town Square), they use the 83001 zip code.
If the post office box is located at the "new" post office (which is located near Target), the zip code is 83002.
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Here is an example of a post office box located at the "new" post office:
PO Box 12345
Jackson WY 83002
When to use a mailing or physical address
In this rural Jackson Hole area, we have two addresses. Our PO box is our mailing address where we receive most mail. Our physical address is where our apartment or house is located.
Here are some examples of when to use each address.
When to use a PO box mailing address
If someone wants to send you a letter, paycheck, tax form, car registration tags, insurance bills, utility bill, or store coupons, they will need your PO box mailing address. These letters all use regular mail service provided by USPS (the United States Postal Service) to send the letters.
If you're sending a letter to someone, you would write your PO box return mailing address in the top left-hand corner of the envelope.
When you get a new job or are updating your tax forms with your employer, you fill out a W-4 form in order to receive paychecks and tax forms in the mail so you want them to come to your PO box mailing address.
For your car registration, you want to receive the renewal reminder notices and the registration tags in the mail, so you want to use your mailing address.
It's the same with insurance and utilities bills, if you want to receive bills in the mail, you need to write the mailing address with your PO box.
To receive store coupons or bills for store credit cards in the mail, you need to use your PO box mailing address.
When to use a physical address
You use your physical address if you are receiving packages via FedEx or UPS (United Postal Service). When you use these services or receive packages through these companies, you need to use your physical address so the packages can be delivered to your door.
If you have an emergency and need to call the police or 911, you give them your physical address.
If you are inviting friends to a birthday party or dinner at your house, you give them your physical address.
For utility companies like water, electricity, and cable, they also need your physical address in order to connect their services to your home.
For insurance companies like auto and home insurance, they need to know where your vehicles are kept and where your home is located so you will also give them your physical address.
Generally with Amazon and order online, you use your physical address. But some companies will send your orders by USPS, so you have to be careful and determine how they are mailing your order.
Don't know which address to use?
What if you don't know which address to use? For example, when you order online, you may not know if the company is using USPS or UPS. This can be a problem when you have a PO box mailing address.
Sometimes you can tell by how much shipping costs are. If it takes 5-10 days and is not too expensive to ship, it is likely being sent by USPS. If it is expensive and quick, it is likely being shipped by UPS or FedEx.
In some cases, you can use both addresses together if your addresses have the same zip code. For example:
123 Broadway Avenue
PO Box 456
Jackson WY 83001
If your mailing and physical addresses have different zip codes or you cannot enter your PO Box address into the website and you know that your order is coming by USPS, you can try and trick the mail system.
For example, Google My Business requires a physical address to send a post card via USPS to confirm your business location. But in most of our Jackson Hole area, USPS does not deliver to home addresses.
So this is another way you can write your street address to trick the system with just the number sign and your PO box number after your street address and/or add your PO box number at the end of the zip code.
123 Broadway #4567
Jackson WY 83002-4567
So those are two methods to use in case you don't know which address to use or can't write your PO Box in the address.
If you have any questions or comments, please comment below.