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Why? Because ZIP codes were adopted that year, and, owing to the limitations of addressing equipment, abbreviations had to be shortened to make room for the numbers. While the two-letter abbreviations are now preferred, the earlier versions continue to be widely used. In the table below, we provide abbreviations for each U.S. state and territory.
Each state has its own unique shortened name codes called state abbreviations used in written documents and mailing addresses. The state abbreviations are always in the same format: two letter abbreviations where both letters are uppercase and no periods or spaces between each letter.
Modern two-letter abbreviated codes for the states and territories began in October 1963, with the issuance of Publication 59: Abbreviations for Use with ZIP Code, three months after the Post Office introduced ZIP codes in July 1963. The purpose was to make room in a line of no more than 23 characters for the city, state, and the ZIP code. [3]
May 7, 2021 · However, since most mail addressing equipment allowed only 23 characters, the state names needed to be shortened to make room for the ZIP Code. Although an initial list of abbreviations for the state names was provided in June 1963, some abbreviations had more than two letters which were still long. USA states with abbreviations. Current Postal ...
The first rule is no two abbreviations can be the same. That's simple enough. The second, if there are two words, take the first letter of each word to make the abbreviation. (NY, SD, WV) Third, take the first two letters of the state to make the abbreviation. Finally, if you have two states that would still end up with the same abbreviation ...
Names should generally omit courtesy titles, except for “Dr.” on first reference for medical doctors. State names are typically spelled out, except in datelines and tables. Time indications use “a.m.” and “p.m.” with lowercase and periods. Months are written in full when standing alone, but abbreviated with periods when used with a ...
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Jan 24, 2020 · When to Use State Abbreviations . In bibliographies, lists, charts where space is at a premium, reference lists, footnotes and endnotes, and in mailing addresses, state names are usually shortened using the postal abbreviation. This applies to Chicago Manual of Style and the American psychological Association Style (APA).
