AP Style Addresses

Below is a summation of AP Style guidelines when writing out addresses in your text.

Address Abbreviations

Use the address abbreviations Ave., Blvd., and St. with numbered addresses only. For example,

  • My address is 1000 Michigan Ave.

When the formal street name appears without a numbered address, however, you should spell out the full name and capitalize it. For example,

  • I live on Michigan Avenue.

Lowercase and spell out when used alone or with more than one street name. For example,

  • The office buildings are located on Michigan and Massachusetts avenues.

Any similar words such as alley, drive, road, terrace, circle, etc., are always spelled out. Capitalize them when they are part of a formal name without a number and lowercase them when they are used alone or with two or more names. For example,

  • I moved to Wacker Drive.

-but-

  • There are restaurants on both Wacker and S. Wacker drives.

You should always use figures for the address number.

  • Correct: The address is 1000 Michigan Ave.
  • Wrong: The address is one thousand Michigan Ave.

Numbered Streets

Spell out and capitalize “First” through “Ninth” when they are used as street names. For streets higher than nine, use figures with two letters. For example,

  • I work on Ninth St.
  • My home is on 23rd St.
  • My address is 320 Ninth St.
  • My address is 320 23rd St.

Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street or quadrants of a city in a numbered address.

  • I need to go to 1500 E. 28th St. for a meeting.
  • The address is 800 S. Alpine Ave.

Do not abbreviate if the number is omitted, however.

  • I need to go to East 28th St.
  • The address is on South Alpine Ave.

There are no abbreviations in quadrant abbreviations, unless it is customary locally. For example,

  • The office’s address is 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW.
  • Meet me at the bar at 1500 Pennsylvania Ave. SE.

You should use periods in the abbreviation P.O. for P.O. Box numbers.

Also, please see the AP Style highway designations page for information on how to write highway numbers in your text.

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