Address guidelines

Writing addresses

The address provides crucial information used by La Poste to handle and distribute mail and parcels. The proper postal address format guarantees the speedy and efficient processing of your mail.
To ensure that this process goes smoothly, the address must be presented correctly and contain complete, up-to-date, valid information. The following guidelines are for informational purposes only and do not represent a binding contract for standard mail.

Sending mail to France

To make sure your mail hits its target, the most basic step is writing the address correctly. Find out more about French postal address standards here:

The National Address Management Service website is listed on our “Useful Links” page. Here, you’ll find both French postcodes and an online guide to addressing your mail in keeping with French postal standards.

Writing a French address

Sending mail to another country

The address format for international mail is subject to the postal standards of the countries of origin and destination. Some basic guidelines are available here.

On our “Useful Links” page, you’ll find links for checking the postcode of your international correspondent as well as country-by-country postal standards.

Formatting an international address