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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.
According to the US systems and tradition, all the states or territories are represented by abbreviations and codes for different purposes, including data processing and postal addresses. These codes and abbreviations have been used since the early 19th century.
This table includes abbreviations for three independent countries related to the United States through Compacts of Free Association, and other comparable postal abbreviations, including those now obsolete.
Giving either state the abbreviation of TE would be confusing; therefore, Tennessee is TN and Texas is TX. 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).
current two-letter abbreviations. Since that time, only one change has been made: in 1969, at the request of the Canadian postal administration, the abbreviation for Nebraska, originally NB, was changed to NE, to avoid confusion with New Brunswick in Canada. A list of state abbreviations since 1831 is provided at right.
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.
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 ...
Who came up with U.S. state abbreviations? We can largely thank the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which has created abbreviations during much of its history. In 1831 the USPS developed its first list of state abbreviations, each consisting of two letters except Ohio’s, which was simply “O.”
The United States Postal Service publishes this list of official 2-letter abbreviations for the 50 US states. The abbreviations are to be used when addressing mail. The two letters of each abbreviation are always capitalized and without periods.
With that in mind, here's the complete A-Z list of the 50 U.S. states' abbreviations and letter codes, so you can be sure they will get to the right place, and a state abbreviation quiz, so you can test your knowledge!