USA Addresses - Help from someone in US please

[tongpo]

I am currently in the process of creating a web site and it will be using quite a few addresses from the USA. There seems to be two possibilities of what a 'county' in the US can be called, from what I gather there is the 'county name' and the 'county seat' name, sometimes these are the same but sometimes they are different.

For example Orlando, Florida. The 'county name' ia actually Orange and the 'county seat' name is Orlando. My question is this, which is used mostly in the US for the purpose of peoples addresses, the actual 'county name' or the 'count seat' name.

Hope someone can enlighten me. TIA.

[BillyS]

The county seat is the name of the city or township where the county offices are located. It's like the capitol of the county. In your example, the city of Orlando is where the county of Orange's administrative offices are located.

[tongpo]

Thanks very much for this reply, that has cleared matters up nicely :0)

[Mr Bo Jangles]

The county seat is the name of the city or township where the county offices are located. It's like the capitol of the county. In your example, the city of Orlando is where the county of Orange's administrative offices are located.

but that doesn't answer his question..

[Marcia]

For an address, it would be the city name that's used.

[tongpo]

Basically what it is, is a form where users can input an address and the County field will be populated via a database. And I wanted to know if to use the actual county name or the county seat name for this purpose. I take it the county name is correct and users can manually type in the city before this. So an address in orlando would be:

Address_one (Joe Bloggs Shop)
Address_two (666 Main Street)
Address_three(Orlando)
County (Orange)
State (Florida)
Zipcode (123456)

Correct?

[phranque]

an address may be considered complete without specifying the county.
usually the county is provided for other reasons having to do with jurisdiction, law enforcement, legal records, etc.
in most cases the city is a subsection of a county, even if they have the same name such as los angeles (city/county).
new york city actually consists of several counties.
in some states the counties are 100% divided into municipalites (towns and/or cities/villages) and in others states there are counties that contain both incorporated areas (cities) and unincorporated areas.
sometimes the name of the "city" in the address is actually the name of a neighborhood, village or borough within a larger town, city or county.

[LifeinAsia]

If this is for a mailing label, I would exclude the county portion. Most likely, the letter/package would eventually still get to the intended address. But the extra information would probably confuse some people (this *IS* the Post Office we're talking about) and could delay delivery.

[piatkow]

For information about postal addresses anywhere in the world look up "Franks Compulsive Guide to Postal Addresses".

[MatthewHSE]

Counties are completely irrelevant to U.S. addresses and should never be used on an address label, requested for shipping information, etc. Basically, counties don't don't matter in the slightest except for elections and legal jurisdiction, as phranque said.

[tongpo]

Thanks for all the replies. It isnt actually for an address label, it is for displaying addresses via the web site. And these addresses will be listed on a county to county basis, hence the need to use the county.

[Marcia]

>it is for displaying addresses via the web site. And these addresses will be listed on a county to county basis, hence the need to use the county.

Not really. "By county" is a navigation and section & page naming issue, but for address listings themselves, it's absolutely the city (that the Post Office uses), NOT the county.

Los Angeles County:
Los Angeles (the city proper)
Encino
Tarzana
Van Nuys
Burbank (incorporated city)
Santa Monica (incorporated city)
etc., many others that are within the city of LA itself, and *outside* of LA city that are incorporated cities in their own right.

Home > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles
Home > Los Angeles County > Hermosa Beach
Home > Los Angeles County > Long Beach
etc.

Home > Orange County > Santa Ana
Home > Orange County > Anaheim
Home > Orange County > Irvine
etc.

The county is completely irrelevant to the address of any home/business or location and is NOT a valid address that's used by the Post Office.

[Mr Bo Jangles]

Very interesting and helpful replies everyone.
And I looked up:'Franks Compulsive Guide to Postal Addresses' - that is a great resource isn't it. You truly can find anything on the web...