USPS Address Verification

The address is the most significant piece of information that determines where the package is coming from and where the package is being delivered to. If you miss a single line of address, then your package might not be able to reach the right destination, or worse, it will be returned to you. This will cause a huge loss as you end up spending enough money on domestic/international postage. To avoid any such mishaps, it is important that you verify your address accurately before shipping your packages. With USPS address verification, you can do the postal services a huge favor to avoid your packages from being misplaced or delayed due to improper addresses.

USPS Address Verification – https://www.postgrid.com/address-checker/

Every postal service across the world has a specific format to store addresses. Structuring the contents of the address is different for every country. While sending mail through USPS, the postal service depends on the automated address reading machines that read and process the addresses. This automated system first reads the state, city, Zip code followed by the delivery address, the company, and finally the name. These six components are very essential in curating a proper address for the USPS to deliver the package to. According to USPS, almost 25% of the packages have missing details on the addresses which either lead to a delay in delivery or the packages are returned. Some are even delivered to the wrong addresses due to errors in printing the address labels.

Learn about USPS missing package from here.

So, what is USPS address verification, and why you might need it? Address verification or USPS address validation refers to the process of checking the addresses on the packages to ensure that the packages are being delivered to an accurate address. In this process, the address mentioned on the postal service is verified using an official dataset. Based on the accuracy of the mailing address, you can determine if the address is authentic or not.

According to the reports given by the USPS services, approximately 17% of people keep moving annually. Due to this reason, USPS keeps adding new addresses to their network on an everyday basis along with processing the address verification of the new addresses. To prevent the mails from reaching the wrong destinations and to avoid 2 completely different people from using the same address, it is important to conduct USPS address validation.

Benefits of Using the USPS Address Verification

Now that you understand the need to get the addresses verified, take a look at the benefits associated with using the address verification tool.

• Easily check for addresses online: With the online address verification tool, you can easily check your address online. All you have to do is input the address line onto the empty spaces given on the page and click on Verify when you’re done.
• It is free: Verifying the authenticity of your address online is completely free. There isn’t any fee imposed to use this service. You can use this service to verify the addresses as many times as you might need.
• It is authentic: The address verification tool is quite authentic and is very good at identifying redundancies and errors.
• Can be used for bulk addresses: If your business is in need of verifying bulk addresses, then you can use the address verification tool to identify the addresses. Unlike other platforms that are not suitable for bulk addresses, the one offered by USPS can be used by all possible businesses.

How Is USPS Address Verification Done Online?

The address that you enter on the page will be considered valid if it matches the address on the USPS database. These addresses can be accessed through the USPS APIs, which are basically a collection of public addresses. If the address does not seem to match, this means that the information that you input is incorrect. Therefore, the address is termed as “invalid”. You can perform address validation in the following steps:

Address Standardization and Parsing

Address standardization refers to a process in which the address that you input is formatted according to the rules and regulations made by the USPS. All the necessary punctuations, commas, line changes, and proper ordering is involved in this step. If there is an error in the format, it is corrected. The details such as house number, street name, apartment number, etc., are all rectified. Any errors in spelling are also corrected. In simple words, if the system can identify the errors in the content, then the corrections are made. If not, then we move ahead to parsing.

Parsing refers to breaking down the context of the addresses into parts and then making the necessary corrections. It is important to parse the address as this makes the address validation a lot easier.

Database Checking

Once the address is properly cleaned and brushed to perfection by removing all the necessary errors in spelling, punctuation, and properly aligning the address, then the USPS address database is checked. This database contains all the possible valid addresses stored in a proper format. The address you enter on the page is compared with the database. If a match is found, then the address is said to be valid. The valid address can be used to mail the packages and is considered to be active.

If the response is invalid, then it means that the address does not exist. You cannot mail any package to this address as it is inactive.

The Return Value

This is the final step of the address verification process. In this step, the final value is given to the user which is either valid or invalid. Along with this response, there’s also a reason for giving off an invalid address. Some of the possible reasons for getting an invalid address are as follows:

Input Errors:

Although address standardization and parsing play a significant role in correcting input errors, you obviously cannot expect the machine to do all your work for you. You need to play your part well in entering the right information, keeping out for all the possible errors. Make sure to double-check the addresses before verifying them.

Wrong Information:

Input errors are very different from incorrect information. Along with input errors, you should also keep an eye out for incorrect information. You might have entered the wrong street number or the wrong street name or the wrong zip code, etc. Input errors can be recognized by the address validating software, but it cannot correct the incorrect information for you.

Missing Contents:

Sometimes you might end up missing some important information while entering the address. You might miss a few digits of the zip code or the house number or the lane number, etc.

Falsified:

Sometimes people fake information to get past the security protocols. Falsification of information is another reason why you might end up getting an invalid address.

Not Serviceable/Registered:

Due to some areas not being registered onto the postal service database, you might receive an invalid address. Many people come across these issues as they have no idea of their house address not being registered into the database. The customer needs to register their addresses with the USPS to get their mails. A few addresses are not serviceable. This means that there are a few areas where the postman does not carry the mail to. USPS packages sent to these addresses will be sent back to the sender.

Check out our other article from here: usps.com/redelivery barcode

New Address:

When is new address is registered with the postal services, the automated systems take time to process and validate the new addresses. If the customer changes their location, they need to inform USPS about the address change, as USPS won’t be doing it for them. Even if you are moving on a temporary basis, it would be better if you get USPS notified.

Does Not Exist:

This means that an address is not being used, it is condemned or discarded. This can also mean that this particular address does not exist in real life, i.e., it is imaginary. When you look for such addresses, USPS does not seem to have any information on them. Hence, it does not exist.

Problems Associated With USPS Address Verification

While verifying your address through USPS validation tools, you might come across many issues which might result in an invalid address. As USPS makes use of an automated system to verify the addresses, the machine also depends on human intervention to input the correct information. Some of the common issues that you might come across while using the address verification tool are:

USPS Address Verification – Is the Address Deliverable?

The major problem with using the USPS address verification tool is that the main focus of this tool is to determine if the address is deliverable or not. It does not check if the address is correct; the only job is to find out if mail can be delivered to that location. This means that if you end up putting the wrong flat number but the street number and the name of the building are correct, then USPS does not correct the flat name for you. It simply validates the address as valid, which means it is deliverable.

Time Consuming

As mentioned earlier, the automated tools can only make basic corrections in the address. If you are entering missing information, completely wrong information, or duplicate information, the system will not make those corrections. You should carefully take a look at every detail that you enter and also make sure that it is correct. You have to repeatedly keep checking for any missing numbers, alphabets, spellings to have your address checked in a single instant.

Input Issues

Zip+4 codes are those extra four digits of code that precisely point to a specific address. These 4 extra codes are used to identify a particular block of buildings, apartments, a different block, etc. When you are describing such buildings and blocks of apartments, you might end up writing them in a different way. For example: if the word “Suite 100” was written as STE 100 then this might cause an error in the database and the address will not match, leading to an invalid address.

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Zip Code

Zip codes refer to a group of 5 digits that are grouped together to form a specific address and location. The zip codes constitute an important part of sending and receiving mails. Every digit in a zip code has a certain meaning, and these digits map to a precise location on the globe. The very first digit of the zip code represents a national area of the US states. Then comes the next two digits which represent the largest postal office of that particular area. Finally, the last two digits represent the delivery areas of the package.

In addition to the Zip code, there are also Zip+4 codes, which are used to route the package to a specific location such as an apartment, a black within the street, etc. Zip+4 codes are the 4 extra lines of code that give precision to the address.

Lookup Zip Codes on USPS – https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookup

Looking for zip codes on USPS is rather simple. You simply need to open the Zip Code Lookup page and here, you can look for locations based on addresses, zip codes, and State/City.

When searching by address, you need to input all the accurate details such as street name, apartment name, zip code, company, etc. To search by State/City or Zip Code, just enter the zip codes and the names of the state and the cities.

Conclusion

The USPS address verification tool gives you free address verification that validates your address so that the mails can be delivered to the location. You can check as many addresses as you might need at zero costs. While using this tool, make sure that you enter the information is in the correct order, as the software cannot make corrections to any wrong information that you put on the page.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ’s)