Components
How to write ATTN on an envelope
Write ATTN, a colon, and the name or department on the line directly above the company name: ATTN JORDAN REYES, then ACME CORP, then the street address, then city, state and ZIP. The attention line goes above the company name because it is a routing instruction for the company own mail room, not for the Postal Service, which only reads the bottom three lines to deliver the envelope to the building.
Checked July 30, 2026/6 min read
Written by Claire PostReviewed against USPS Publication 28
What is on this page7 sections
Most people who write ATTN on an envelope put it in the wrong place, and it is an easy mistake to make because the wrong version still looks reasonable: company name first, then ATTN and a name underneath it, the same order you would read them out loud in conversation.
The actual rule runs the other way. ATTN goes first, above the company name, not below it. The reason has nothing to do with etiquette and everything to do with who is actually reading each line. The Postal Service delivers the envelope to the building using only the bottom three lines: company name, street address, and city, state and ZIP. It does not read the attention line at all. That line exists entirely for the company own mail room, which sees it after the envelope has already arrived, and mail rooms are generally set up to check the top of an address block first for a routing instruction, not the middle.
Get the order backwards, and the letter still reaches the right building. It just has worse odds of reaching the right desk inside it.
Step by step
Put ATTN and the name on its own line, above the company
ATTN, a colon, then the name or department. This is the top line of the whole address block.
ATTN JORDAN REYESACME CORP123 MAIN ST STE 400NEW YORK NY 10001CorrectAttention line correctly placed above the company name. Understand why USPS does not use the ATTN line at all
USPS delivery equipment reads the bottom three lines only: company name, street address, city/state/ZIP. Those get the envelope to the building. The attention line above the company name is read by the building own mail room after that, to decide who inside gets it.
Use a name when you have one, a department when you do not
ATTN JORDAN REYES if you know exactly who should receive it. ATTN HUMAN RESOURCES or ATTN ACCOUNTS PAYABLE when you are routing to a role instead of a specific person.
ATTN HUMAN RESOURCESACME CORP123 MAIN ST STE 400NEW YORK NY 10001CorrectRouted to a department instead of a named person. Skip ATTN entirely when the person is already the first line
If you are addressing a named individual directly, their name on the first line already does the job. Adding ATTN in front of a name that is already the top line is redundant, not wrong, just unnecessary.
Use either ATTN or Attention, both are accepted
ATTN is more common on business mail because it is shorter. Attention, written out, is equally correct and slightly more common on formal correspondence. Pick one and be consistent within a single piece of mail.
A few real examples
The steps above cover the rule. These show it applied to a spread of real situations, so you can match yours to the closest one.
Quick reference
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| Sending to a named person at a company | ATTN JORDAN REYES, above the company name |
| Sending to a role or department | ATTN HUMAN RESOURCES, above the company name |
| Person name is already the first line | No ATTN needed, it is redundant |
| Sending to someone at another person home or hotel | Use c/o instead, not ATTN |
| Formal correspondence | "Attention" written out is slightly more common |
| Everyday business mail | ATTN is the shorter, more common form |
Special cases
The rule above covers most people. Here is what changes for the rest.
What if the company mail room ignores the attention line entirely?
It happens, especially at large organizations without a formal internal routing process. The attention line is a best-effort instruction, not a guarantee, which is exactly why it matters that it sits in the position the mail room is trained to look at first. Placing it correctly maximizes the odds without changing the fact that internal routing is ultimately the company own process, not something USPS can enforce.
Can I use ATTN for a government office or a large institution instead of a business?
Yes, the same placement rule applies. Government agencies and large institutions like hospitals or universities often need attention lines even more than small businesses do, since mail volume is higher and misrouted mail is easier to lose. ATTN plus a specific department name, like ATTN RECORDS DEPARTMENT, works the same way it would for a company.
Key terms on this page
- Attention line
- The line naming a specific person or department within a company, placed above the company name so the building own mail room can route the piece internally after USPS delivers it.
- Internal routing
- How a company sorts mail after it arrives at the building, entirely separate from how USPS delivers it to the building in the first place.
- c/o
- Care of, a different routing instruction used when someone receives mail at an address that is not their own, such as staying at a friend home. Not interchangeable with ATTN.