Germany address format: how to write it?
The information in the addresses in Germany is written in 3 to 5 lines following a specific order. Three lines contain essential information, one required only for international shipments and one optional line about the recipient, used only for specific cases.
This is the general German address format:
- Person or business name. Full name of the recipient or the company.
- Additional information about the recipient, like doorbell name or contact person. (optional)
- Street name and house number.
- Postal code (Postleitzahl) and city.
- Country. This line is necessary only for international shipments.
How to correctly write the address in Germany
In some particular situations, you may need to add extra information to ensure that the courier can find the recipient and deliver the parcel. In the following sections, we put together the most common cases when the additional details becomes necessary for writing the delivery address in Germany.
What to write when the recipient’s name is not on the mailbox/doorbell?
In case the recipient’s name is not on the doorbell or mailbox, add a line before the street name to add these important details.
To add the name on the doorbell or mailbox, use “bei” (=care of) followed by the respective name.
Address mail or parcel to a family in Germany
When you address a letter or a package in Germany to a family and not a specific person, in the first line, you should write Familie, which is the term for “family”, followed by the last name.
How to write the address when shipping to a company in Germany
In case of parcels or letters destined to a business address, you will need to add one additional line on the address field between the recipient and the street details.
This line is used to provide the details of the department or the contact person.
- Write z.H., which stands for zu Händen von (= for the attention of), followed by the name.
- Use Fr. (Frau) for Mrs. or Ms. and Hr. (Herr) for Mr.
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Address in Germany: name of streets
When writing the address in Germany, it is important to know not only the different names of streets, but also how you can shorten them. Courier and postal companies will often have a strict character limitation on the address field, so correctly shortening the address can come in handy.
Below, you can find the most common suffixes used in Germany and how to write the address in a shorter form.
– straße = street. Can be shortened with str.
-platz = square. Can be shortened with pl.
-weg = path or trail. Can be shortened with w.
-allee = avenue. Can be shortened with al.
What is a Postleitzahl?
Postleitzahl, shortened as PLZ, is the German postal code. The German postal code has 5 digits.
For example: the postcode of Alexanderplatz in Berlin is 10178.
How to know the correct postcode when writing the address?
If you are sending a parcel or a letter to Germany and are unsure what the post code (or Postleitzahl) is, you can use the Deutsche Post online tool to find the Postal code.
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