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Whether you are a US citizen, visiting the country, or receiving some mails from there, you may have come across two-letter abbreviations like TX, AZ, TN, OH, and so much more. The abbreviations or codes can be confusing, particularly if you do not know the place they represent.
List of state abbreviations for all the US states, US territories and the United States military. See the complete list of US two-letter postal abbreviations.
The traditional abbreviations for U.S. states and territories, widely used in mailing addresses prior to the introduction of two-letter U.S. postal abbreviations, are still commonly used for other purposes (such as legal citation), and are still recognized (though discouraged) by the Postal Service.
Much of the confusion around state abbreviations comes from the eight states that begin with "M" (Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Montana). Of these states, only two follow the first-and-second-letter rule: Massachusetts (MA) and Michigan (MI).
A list of state abbreviations since 1831 is provided below. A more complete list of current abbreviations, including all U.S. possessions, is available online at https://pe.usps.com/text/pub28/28apb.htm .
To make room for the ZIP Code, state names needed to be abbreviated. The Department provided an initial list of abbreviations in June 1963, but many had three or four letters, which was still too long. In October 1963, the Department settled on the current two-letter abbreviations.
Using the two–letter state abbreviations makes it possible to enter the city, state, and Five–Digit ZIP Code (or ZIP+4 Code) on the last line of the address within 28 positions when necessary: 13 positions for city, 1 space between the city and state abbreviation, 2 positions for the state, 2 spaces (preferred) between the state and ZIP ...