FAQ - Mailing a letter to Germany

How do I correctly address mail being sent within and to Germany?

German addresses differ from those of some other countries with the house or building number being written after the street name. The post code (Postleitzahl - PLZ) is before the city or town name. All the post codes in Germany are five digits.

Domestic mail

When sending personal mail, the name normally is placed above the street name and number. Business and other mail will normally have the company name above the individual recipient’s name (and sometimes their title or a specific department) directly below that.

It is sometimes customary, but not necessary, to leave a space between the street and the line with the Post Code and city. For example a personal address may look like this:

Name of Recipient
Street name, number

Post Code, City

or

Name of Recipient
Street name, number
Post Code, City

So, a typical address on an envelope could read:

Johannes Schmidt
Mozartstr. 9

67677 Enkenbach

or

Johannes Schmidt
Mozartstr. 9
67677 Enkenbach

Str. is the German abbreviation for Strasse (Straße). It can indicate a street or road and is sometimes written as part of the street or road name and sometimes as a separate word – Mozartstr. or Mozart Strasse.

International Mail addressed to Germany

When addressing a letter or package from a country outside of Germany, the letter “D” is often used at the beginning of the line with the post code and city. “D” is the designated international postal system letter for Germany (Deutschland). For example:

Johannes Schmidt
Mozartstr. 9
D-67677 Enkenbach

It is also acceptable to write the country name under the post code and city:

Johannes Schmidt
Mozartstr. 9
67677 Enkenbach
Germany

Other address designations for various types of streets, roads, paths, alleys etc. may include the following as part of the name. They are sometimes written as part of the street or road name and sometimes as a separate word – or Mozartallee or Mozart Allee for example.

Allee (similar to Avenue or Boulevard)
Gasse (similar to Alley or Lane, sometimes used to designate pedestrian zones)
Weg (similar to Way or Path)
Auf der … (on the … – sometimes used to designate a particular geographical area in a city or town)