How Address Formats Differ Around the World (With Examples)
If your checkout form assumes every address looks like an American one, you are silently losing international customers. Here is how address formats really differ โ and how to test for them.
House number: before or after the street?
In the US, UK, Canada and Australia the number comes first: 221 Baker Street. In Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Poland it comes after: Hauptstraรe 12. Italy and Spain add a comma: Via Roma, 12.
Postal codes come in many shapes
- US: 5 digits (90210) or ZIP+4.
- UK: alphanumeric, 5โ7 characters (SW1A 2AA).
- Canada: A1A 1A1.
- Netherlands: 1234 AB.
- Brazil: 12345-678.
- Japan: 123-4567.
- UAE: no postcodes at all โ P.O. Boxes instead.
Some countries donโt use street names
Most Japanese addresses identify numbered blocks within districts rather than named streets โ 1-2-3 means chลme 1, block 2, building 3.
How to test your forms
Use the Random Address Generator to produce addresses for all 20 countries, then run them through your sign-up and checkout flows. Watch out for required โStateโ fields, postcode regexes that only accept digits, and field length limits.