RFD

Writing & Everyday abbreviation · Mail and Postal

RFD
Stands forRural Free Delivery
CategoriesWriting & Everyday

RFD stands for Rural Free Delivery, a mail and postal abbreviation.

Refers to the US postal service that delivered mail directly to farms and rural homes instead of requiring residents to collect it in town. Historic addresses read "RFD 2" followed by a box number.

Example: Grandma's letters from the 1950s were addressed to "RFD 1, Box 34, Mount Vernon, Iowa."

Usage notes

Rural Free Delivery began experimentally in West Virginia in 1896 and became permanent in 1902, bringing newspapers and mail-order catalogs to farm families. Many RFD and rural-route addresses were later converted to street addresses for 911 emergency service. The initials live on in titles such as the TV series Mayberry R.F.D.

More mail and postal abbreviations

  • PMB – Private mailbox
  • PO – Post office
  • POB – Post office box
  • PS – Postal Service (form prefix)
  • PTO – Please turn over
  • RD – Rural delivery
  • RR – Rural route
  • RRR – Return receipt requested
  • RTS – Return to sender
  • S&H – Shipping and handling
  • SAE – Stamped addressed envelope
  • SASE – Self-addressed stamped envelope

See all 35 mail and postal abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.