Memory Tips for Learning the US Postal Abbreviations
Alabama (AL) — Cousin AL lives in Alabama (spoken with a thick Southern drawl).Alaska (AK) — AK! Arizona (AZ) — There’s AZ in Arizona. Arkansas (AR) — Pirates like to pronounce it AR-can-saw. California (CA) — You can CA movie in Hollywood, California.

When did state abbreviations change to 2 letters?

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.

Do state abbreviations have periods?

Do not use state abbreviations simply to save time or space except in an address on an envelope or list. We do not use periods with state abbreviations: CT, NY, NJ. We use D.C. after the name of the city within the District of Columbia: Washington, D.C.; the APA Manual does not use periods with DC.

How did states get 2 letter abbreviations?

However, due to limited space availability on mailing labels, it was felt that the four letter abbreviations combined with the five-digit zip code contained too many digits. As such, the state abbreviations were amended in October 1963 to the now familiar two letters.