Addressing

Posted addresses on buildings are a critical piece of information for a variety of purposes from emergency response to parcel delivery. They are used not only to find a particular building, but to orient oneself on a street. To that end, an address number must be posted in a way that is clearly visible from the street. It is the property owner's responsibility to post the assigned address number on their house in compliance with City Ordinances (GRO Ch. 12, Sec. 9). Failure to comply may result in being cited/fined by the Worcester Fire Department.

Material/Color/Size

There are no universal rules regarding color, material, and size. Rather, the number's color should contrast with the material of the structure is posted on so that it is visible from the street. If contrasting colors cannot be found, placing numbers on a placard of a contrasting background would be ideal. Generally, numbers that are 3 to 4 inches in size are acceptable. Do not use numbers with backlights.

Posted Address Location

The address number must be posted on the side of the house that faces the street. You may also post the address elsewhere on the house, but it must be on the street facing side of the house.

Address Posting When Building is not Visible from Street

If the house is not visible from the street, then the address number should be placed on a prominent visible object that is visible from the street. Options include posting your address on your mailbox, a sign post, or landscaping boulders as long as the numbers are prominently visible (3-4 inches in size at least).

Unit Numbers

Unit numbers should be posted but do not need to be as prominent. Generally, just posting the unit numbers on unit mailboxes and primary entrances to units is sufficient.

Multiple Address Numbers on a Single Property

If a building has multiple address numbers assigned to it, each of them must be posted on the street facing side of the building. If a parcel has multiple buildings and not all of them are visible from the road, then they must be placed on an object visible from the street.

City of Worcester Unit Numbering Specifications

• All levels of a building should be addressed in the same way, and within a complex, to the degree possible, all numbering should be oriented in the same way (with low numbers at the same end of each building, preferably at the end of the building closest to the front entrance to the complex).
• Only numbers may be used as the identifier, i.e. unit A is not acceptable, but Unit 1 is. If the building is part of a complex where multiple buildings use a single mailroom, a letter suffix can be added to the unit number to denote the building. For example Unit 101A.
• Even unit numbers should be on the right side and odd on the left side of the hall as you face in the direction in which the numbers increase.
• It is preferential that numbers increase in a clockwise manner if applicable, with even units on the right and odd on the left when facing the direction they are increasing. Otherwise increase from one end of hall (use a consistent starting point per floor).
• For buildings without an interior hall, unit numbers should be consecutive (101, 102, 103) and run from one end of the building to the other.
• Basement units should be two digits xx (i.e., unit 11-99) and then each floor should increase by 100. For example, the lowest number on each floor should be: 11 in the basement level, 101 on the 1st floor, 201 on the 2nd floor, 301 on the 3rd floor, etc.
• All rooms including rest rooms, utility closets, laundries, storage rooms, electrical closets, break rooms, etc. require unique numbers (rooms within numbered rooms do not need numbers). If residential rooms have an identifier of “unit” other rooms can use different identifiers like “room”, “suite”, “apartment”, “office”, “space” to differentiate them.