How to write Spanish postal addresses

When sending mail to Spain the standard way to write a street address in Spanish is very simple, although addresses in Spain can be very long, what with all the generals and writers and revolutions that are honored in this way.

You write a mailing address in Spain by following these steps:

  1. Start by writing the type of street (e.g. Calle, Avenida).
  2. Add the street name, building number, floor number, and door number. (I wrote more about numbers in Spanish).
  3. Include the postal code and city name.
  4. If the address is in a smaller town or city, include the province.
  5. Be aware that the names of street types may be written differently in certain autonomous regions of Spain that have separate official languages (e.g. Catalonia, Valencia, the Basque Country, or Galicia).
Breakdown of the elements of an address in Spain
How to write an address in Spain

Example Spanish address

C/ Santa Maria 45, 3º, 2ª
28012 – Madrid

The 3º means tercero (tercer piso) or third floor.
The 2ª means segunda puerta or second door.

Speaking this address out loud you would say “Calle Santa Marie cuarenta y cinco – tercero, segunda”.

28012 is the Spanish postcode, and Madrid is the city.

Learn how to say address in Spanish

Address in Spanish is la dirección.

What is the address? would be “¿Cual es la direccion?”

To ask for someone’s address in Spanish you can use “¿Cuál es tu dirección?” or “¿Cómo se escribe su dirección?” – (tu and usted forms respectively).

There are many different types of streets of course, but the basic ones are Calle, Avenida, Plaza and Paseo.

You should take particular care if you are writing Spanish street addresses from one of the autonomous regions of Spain which has a separate official language (Catalonia, Valencia, Galicia or The Basque country). In these Spanish regions the names of the street types are often written differently.

CastellanoCatalanGallegoBasque
CalleCarrer deRúaKale
AvenidaAvingudaAvenidaAvenue
PlazaPlaçaPrazaPlaza
PaseoPasseigPaseoPaseo

This is important to remember if you are searching on Google maps for a Spanish street address in Barcelona. If you search for ‘Calle’ instead of ‘Carrer de’, the street you want might not show up.

If you are sending post or a package from the UK or the USA to Spain, people recommend either using UPS to make sure it gets here, or your regular mail service with tracking or package insurance options. My own experience of receiving packages and letters from the UK in Barcelona has been quite good so far, but sending stuff back is relatively expensive.