France is located in Western Europe. It shares its border with several countries such as Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. The mix of cultures has impacted how people communicate with each other, especially when they write addresses in the mail. Different regions have different ways of writing address formats. 

Moreover, there are multiple types of addresses with requirements for specific address elements. If you want to write a mail to a client or customer in France but don’t know the address, we have got you covered. We have listed different types of address formats with examples. Use them to send mail to your clients or customers in France.

Recipient Name

Write the full name of the person in the first line. If you are sending mail to a business, write the name of the company in the first line, followed by the person’s name and their department in the second and third lines. You can add ATTN. in front of the person’s name to ensure mail delivery at the correct office and desk.

Street Address

For residential and business addresses, write the street name and then the house or building number. If the recipient has a PO box, write B.P. (boîte postale is French for PO box) and then the box number. 

Additional Information 

Write the apartment number, floor number, and unit number in this line. Only add this line if necessary. Take, for instance, situations where street name and building number might not suffice, adding address information inside the building will ensure accurate delivery.

Commune

They are the local administrative unit. They reflect the division of France into villages and parishes. There are over 36, 500 communes in France. Write the name of the appropriate commune in this line.

Postal Code and City

Write them in the order mentioned above, without any punctuation. Postal codes are called code postal in France and they are five digits long. Some of the major cities in France are Nice, Paris and Lyon.

Country Name

Write the name of the country in the last line. When you are sending international mail to France, always write the country’s name in capital letters.

Residential Address Format

Write the recipient’s name, street address, commune, postal code, city name, and country name.

Rural Address Format

The streets in rural areas might not have formal street names. In this case, write the name of the village in the second line and the nearest larger town in the third line. The rest of the address elements will remain in the same place as the residential address.

Business Address Format

Write the name of the company in the first line, followed by the person’s name and their department in the second and third lines respectively. Place the rest of the address elements in the same manner as the residential address.

International Address Format for NGOs And Organizations

Instead of the recipient’s name in the residential address, write the name of the organization in the first line. Add the specific department in the second line.

PO Box Address Format

In the residential address, replace the street address information with the term B.P. and add the PO box number.

Military Address Format

Start with the rank of the person and then their full name in the first line. Write the military unit number in the second line. Place the rest of the address components in the same way as you would do for residential addresses.

Government Office Address Format

Write the name of the office or department before the street address or PO box number in the residential address.

Address Format for Multiple Recipients

If you are sending mail to multiple people in the same family or business, write their names in separate lines.

Address  Format for Courier Services

If you are using courier services like DHL or FedEx to send mail, write the contact details of the recipient in the last line. This will assist in accurate delivery.

La Poste is the national postal service provider of France and it was established in 1477. It is responsible for managing the domestic and international mail deliveries. It is over 600 years old and is evolving with the technological innovations and the communication needs of the community. It combines tradition and modernity and has expanded its operation from stagecoaches to online banking and parcel delivery.

So you have learned how to structure the address format to a recipient in France. But to ensure your address is reaching the intended recipient, you need a verified address. PostGrid address verification solution verifies, standardizes, and offers address autocomplete suggestions in real-time. Whether you want to verify a single address or bulk address, we provide correct, complete, and up-to-date addresses in sync with the official postal service provider for over 245 countries and territories. 

If you are curious about the format of any other country, visit our international address format page and learn the address format followed in countries around the world.