Address formats for Switzerland and neighbouring countries

To ensure that your postal items and parcels are delivered without unnecessary delays, please make sure that the addresses of your recipients comply with the following guidelines issued by Swiss Post and the postal services of neighbouring countries.

Switzerland

Position of the address on the envelope: bottom right-hand corner

Alignment of address lines : left-aligned

Address format: In a P.O. box address, it is important to specify exactly the post office where the box is located (see examples). The P.O. box address should mention the box number.

Recommendations concerning fonts:

• height of characters: between 2 and 7 mm;
• space between address lines: at least 1 mm;
• pitch: between 6 and 12 characters per inch;
• space between characters: at least 0.4 mm (for whole height);
• matrix characters are permitted provided they consist of a large number of dots arranged very close together;
• proportionally spaced print is machine-processable.hauteur des caractères entre 2 et 7 mm;

When a locality name is not unique, the abbreviated name of the canton should be added afterwards (see examples).

Germany

In items for Germany, on no account should a country code (D- or DE-) be written in front of the postcode. This could cause delays in processing items with sorting machine. The address should be:

• left aligned,
• in the same font size and font,
• without frames and highlighting,
• in dark ink on light colored background,
• with a maximum width of 10 cm.
• Deutsche Post recommends writing P.O box numbers in 2 digits groups
  separated by a space, starting from the last number.

Examples

Austria

Position of the address on the envelope: bottom right-hand corner

Alignment of address lines : left-aligned

Address format: When the designation of the delivery office requires indicating a destination whose name differs from that of the post office, the destination must appear in the address line immediately above the line indicating the postcode. However, it is also possible for the destination to appear next to the postcode in place of the name of the post office.

Examples

France

Position of the address on the envelope: bottom right-hand corner

Alignment of address lines : left-aligned

Address format:

• The address starts with the most specific information (name or company name) and ends with the most general (country of destination).
• Maximum six lines (seven for international). No blank lines should be included.
• A maximum of 38 characters or spaces per line. There should be one space between words.
• There should be no punctuation from the line with the house number and street name onwards.
• Capital letters are recommended for the last three lines (four with the country name) of the address.
• The address lines should be left aligned and without italics.

The address should be written as followed:

• Line 1, addressee identification (civility, full name, title).
• Line 2, delivery point information (apartment number, floor, hallway, staircase).
• Line 3, additional geographical information (entrance number, building name).
• Line 4, house number and street name (street, road, hamlet).
• Line 5, delivery service, additional information for street localisation (poste restante, P.O box, lieu-dit with street names).
• Line 6, postcode and locality.
• Line 7, name of the destination country.

The words "SAINT" and "SAINTE" on line 5 and 6 (locality) are abbreviated "ST" and "STE" (e.g. SAINT AGNANT is written ST AGNANT).

The name of the town in the address may be followed by the word CEDEX (Courrier d’Entreprise à Distribution EXceptionnelle – special business mail). CEDEX mail benefits from special delivery services. Never delete CEDEX from an address: your item will no longer benefit from the special CEDEX handling.

In certain cases, the word CEDEX is followed by a one or two-digit number. This is the case for cities with a several delivery centres or the postal districts of Paris, Lyon or Marseille.

Examples

Italy

Address format : The address should be composed of a minimum of 3 lines and a maximum of 6 lines: