Addressing Services
Addressing Services in Jefferson County
The Jefferson County GIS/Addressing Office is in charge of all addressing services in Jefferson County. For official rules on addressing in our county, please read the E9-1-1 Addressing Ordinance.
How are structures addressed?
In Jefferson County, addresses are only assigned to structures where residents ‘live, work, or play’. Vacant parcels are not addressed, nor are structures where people are not often present. For details on what constitutes an addressable structure, please see our Addressable Structure Guidelines.
In unincorporated areas of the County:
An addressable structure is assigned an address based on distance to access point for the structure. The County uses the ‘5.28 addressing standard’, assigning address intervals of one address every 5.28 feet, or 1,000 addresses per mile. Obviously houses are not built 5.28 feet apart, but the standard allows for a new address to be properly calculated once a structure is built.
Depending on the orientation of the road, addresses will increase either South to North or West to East. For roads that dead end, the numbering will start at the beginning of the road regardless of the direction. Numbering will always be odd on the left and even on the right.
In the example below, the structure at 1408 Main Street is 7,438 feet - or 1.4 miles - from Smith Road (7438 ÷ 5.28 = 1408).
Some sample addresses are shown below. If the distance to your home from the starting point of the road is X, then your address = Y.
Distance (X) =Address Number (Y)
52 Feet 10
100 Feet 18
528 Feet (1/10 of a mile) 100
1/2 Mile (2,640 ft) 500
1 Mile (5,280 ft) 1000
In Incorporated Areas of the County:
Municipalities generally follow the E9-1-1 Addressing Ordinance by resolution or agreement. The GIS/Addressing Office assigns address numbers within Town/City limits and co-approves new road names. This cooperation is necessary to maintain address scheme standards and avoid duplication through the county. Address schemes may follow the 5.28 standard or, more likely, follow ‘city block style’ addressing which progresses outward from the center of downtown (100 block, 200 block).
To download a poster explaining the Addressing System, please click here.
Road and Subdivision Naming
The Jefferson County Addressing Office is responsible for providing final approval of all road names and subdivision names. When the road/subdivision falls within town/city limits, the municipality must also approve the name.
As of July 2020, the County has approximately 2,609 approved road names. Any newly submitted names must not duplicate or be confusingly similar to existing road names and must contain an appropriate suffix. A list of in-use road names is available below:
Jefferson County Road Name Index
As of November 2014, the County has approximately 516 approved subdivision names. Any newly submitted names must not duplicate or be confusingly similar to existing subdivision names. A list of in-use subdivision names is available below:
Jefferson County Subdivision Name List
All submissions must utilize the appropriate form for where the submitter is building their road and/or subdivision. Each incorporated city, and the County, has a form and instructions and telephone numbers to submit the appropriate forms. For example: If a developer is building in the City of Ranson, the developer must submit the Subdivision Name Reservation Form and Road Name Reservation Form appropriate to the City of Ranson. All of the appropriate forms can be accessed by clicking here.
Road Signs
The Jefferson County GIS/Addressing Office is in charge of all maintenance for County road signs, including installation of new signs. The County is using the standards as defined in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD 2009). The County places highly visible signs in accordance to MUTCD which are defined as:
Secondary State Maintained Roadway -- Series C 4” lettering size, 6” plate height/width, high-intensity green reflective sheeting with white lettering. Same mounting methods as above.
Secondary Private/Subdivision Roadway -- Series C 4” lettering size, 6” plate height/width, high-intensity brown reflective sheeting with white lettering. Same mounting methods as primary roadway.
The WV Department of Highways (DOH) has provided the County with permission to use the Federal Highway Administration standards in road signing. The County thanks the WVDOH for recognizing the usefulness of the methods proposed.
If you have any questions about the addressing system, road or subdivision naming, or road signs, please read the Frequently Asked Questions or Contact Us at (304)724-6759.