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Put the destination country in ALL CAPS on the last line by itself, write street and city names exactly as they're used locally without translating them, and add your return address. One honest note up front: LetterAgent only mails to US and Canadian addresses, so for anywhere else you'll mail this one yourself.
The Universal Postal Union, the UN agency that coordinates the world's postal systems, sets the convention, and it is simple. Write the address the way the destination country writes addresses, then put the country name in capital letters on the last line, in English or French. The last line should contain only the country name, nothing else. Sorting machines and postal workers in the sending country read that last line first to route the letter out of the country; everything above it is for the destination country's carriers.
| To | Write it like this |
|---|---|
| Germany | Herr Schmidt Hauptstrasse 12 10115 Berlin GERMANY |
| Japan | Include the address in Japanese script if you can, plus a romanized version below it JAPAN |
| France | M. Dupont 14 rue de la Paix 75002 Paris FRANCE |
No, and this is the mistake English speakers make most. Write place names exactly as they are used locally. It is Munchen, not Munich; it is Roma, not Rome. The carrier delivering your letter reads the local name, and a translated version just adds a step where something can go wrong. The one thing you do write in English (or French) is the country name on the last line, because that line is read by postal workers in your own country.
Postal codes deserve the same local treatment. Many countries put the postal code before the city rather than after it, as in "10115 Berlin." Copy the order the recipient uses. If you are unsure, ask the recipient to write out their own address and copy it exactly, changing only the country line to all caps.
For countries that use Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, or other non-Latin scripts, the UPU guidance is to include both: the address in the local script, plus a transliteration in Latin characters. The local script helps the destination country's carriers; the Latin version helps everyone along the way, including your own post office. If you can only manage one, the Latin transliteration is the safer single choice for a letter mailed from North America, but both is best.
Put your return address in the upper left corner of the envelope, or on the back flap, in the format of your own country, with your country name in capitals on its last line too. This matters more for international mail than domestic, because undeliverable international letters are much harder to return without a clear sender address. Include it always. And use enough postage for the international rate: an international letter needs more than a domestic stamp, and short postage is the most common reason international mail comes back.
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