The Importance of Address Validation

Address validation is one of the most important steps shippers need to take during the initial shipping process. Before an item is ever shipped, the recipient’s address should be verified in order to ensure that the package will arrive without any delays.

What is Address Validation

is the process of verifying an address’s accuracy against various third-party databases, such as the USPS®, to allow for unhindered shipping and receiving. Many elements are included in address validation, including checking for missing or incorrect address elements, such as house numbers, direction prefixes, and street types. ZIP+4 information is added,  and changes of address can be provided by using an NCOALink service.

How Address Validation Works

To start the address validation process, one or more addresses are entered into a CASS-Certified verification software. This software’s proprietary algorithms check the validity of the address by comparing it against the USPS national address database. From P.O. Boxes to residential mailboxes, the United States Postal Service® assigns a Delivery Point Validation code, or DPV, to that particular address. The DPV is achieved once an address, combined with a ZIP+4 code, has been verified as deliverable. DPVs are extremely accurate, including in large apartment complexes or high-rise office buildings. Using a DPI tool during Address validation can also determine whether an address is residential or commercial which is important due to the cost differences in shipping to each type of location.

Why It’s Necessary, Even for Recently Obtained Addresses

Address validation is necessary because, without address verification, mailers and shippers have no tangible way to verify that an address is deliverable. For example, an address at an apartment complex can be deliverable one month, but six months later could become undeliverable due to building condemnation. That’s a very specific example, but it illustrates the importance of address validation.

Sending mail and packages to undeliverable addresses costs businesses in multiple ways, from material and packaging costs, lost time, and the cost of mailing and shipping.  This in turn can lead to dissatisfied customers, putting pressure on customer service teams to track missing packages, and in turn, negatively impacting the perception of that company. Validating an address also helps to prevent packages from ending up within the possession of the USPS® Mail Recovery Center. When a package becomes undeliverable and makes its way to the MRC, the odds of successfully recovering that package lower with each day past the initial mailing day. Once 60 days have passed, the items are then able to be destroyed, donated, or auctioned off.

In another scenario, a package can be delivered to the wrong person. Federal law as noted by the FTC allows people to legally keep any items mailed to their homes that they did not order as a gift. This can lead to unhappy customers and lost revenue.

It’s also important to determine if an address is residential or commercial. Because residential deliveries cost more than commercial deliveries, utilizing an RDI tool in conjunction with an address validation tool allows shippers to make more informed shipping choices.

How to Verify a Postal Address in the U.S.

To verify that an address is deliverable within the United States, shippers can utilize an address validation tool that will check the validity of an address. These address validation engines can validate and correct address formatting issues, attach the correct ZIP+4 code to an address, and provide immediate change-of-address modifications for both residential and commercial customers when an NCOALink service is included

Bulk Address Management

While address validation tools are often used to validate addresses at the point of entry, to prevent bad addresses from entering a database, it’s also possible to validate addresses in bulk with batch address correction. This includes verification, correction, and standardization of addresses across an entire database, by comparing the address data against  USPS® standards.

How to Verify a Mailing Address in Canada

Frameworks Canada Mailers Edition provides mailers and shippers with a tool for the verification of Canadian addresses. From the house or apartment number to the Postal Code and Province, the verification engine helps to avoid costly address mistakes by correcting undeliverable addresses.