For businesses, a perfect address is one that is complete, correct for its intended use (distinguishing between physical, mailing, and shipping addresses, for example), compliant with industry regulations, and ultimately, credible. For instance, a perfect shipping address for a business might include a suite number, specific delivery instructions such as “back door,” and the name of a contact person. That shipping address may not accurately represent where they receive mail, nor even their physical location.
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has its own criteria for a perfect address. For them, it’s all about completeness, correctness, and currency. These elements are crucial for postal discounts and efficient delivery. A perfect address for the USPS adheres to their specific formatting guidelines, including standard abbreviations and capitalization. Inaccurate addresses can disrupt mail flow and lead to compliance issues.
Finally, mailers have a slightly different focus. Their priority is postal compliance and deliverability. This is essential for automation rate discounts, which can significantly impact the cost of large mailings. A perfectly formatted address allows mailers to take advantage of these discounts and streamline their operations. For mailers, a perfect address starts with being CASS™-certified, ensuring it meets USPS standards for automation and reflects any changes or additions that will facilitate mail delivery by the USPS.
A perfect address is more than just the individual data points.
Adhering to USPS naming conventions for address elements, such as primary address number, pre-directional, street name, suffix, post-directional, secondary address designator, secondary address number, city, state, and ZIP code, ensures compatibility with validation tools and instills confidence in accuracy. Furthermore, incorporating fields for Urbanization, internal mail stop information, PMB (Private Mail Box), and multiple address types (physical, mailing, shipping) creates a comprehensive and flexible system.
Leveraging USPS Data for Optimal Accuracy
The USPS provides a wealth of data that can significantly enhance address accuracy. Integrating services like CASS (Coding Accuracy Support System) allows for address standardization and flags potential errors, as well as addresses with special characteristics (physical / non-physical, delivery issues / restrictions, COA restrictions, higher fraud risk, and more). NCOALink (National Change of Address Linkage System) helps identify move updates, providing key data points such as move dates and match levels. ACS (Address Change Service) provides notifications of undeliverable mail, including deliverability and action codes. By utilizing these USPS resources, businesses can proactively identify and correct address errors, reducing undeliverable mail and improving overall efficiency.Nothing is perfect. The USPS relies on builders, communities, and carriers to provide and update address information. Therefore, ongoing vigilance and maintenance are critical to achieving and maintaining the closest approximation of the “perfect” address.”
What might be perfect for one party may not be perfect for another. By understanding these different perspectives, you can strive to create addresses that meet the needs of everyone involved, leading to more efficient and effective communication. To ensure your addresses are as “perfect” as possible, consider reviewing your address data regularly and using address verification tools that cater to various requirements and stay updated on the latest USPS guidelines.
Adam Collinson is one of the postal industry’s leading experts on all aspects of address hygiene and data quality services. For over 20 years, he has brought expert knowledge on how these services can enhance the postal and business operations of some of the largest companies in the country. As a key member of GrayHair Software’s product team, he leverages his experience to analyze, research, design, and implement innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of the mailing industry.
