- What is the USPS?
The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent agency of the United States federal government and provides mail/postal service in the United States. For
the purposes of our program, we consider the USPS website as a reliable and official resource for address research in the United States.
- What is a ZIP code?
a. ZIP code is another name for a US Postal Code and is a 5-digit number that may or may not include an additional (+4) number extension on the end of it.
Examples: 55410 or 55410-1004
b. When validating an address on the USPS, the (+4) number extension that follows the 5-digit main postal code is only used to help understand whether
the address exists. When rating we do not demote if the result is missing the (+4) number and we ignore it if we return the (+4) number in the result.
How to Use the USPS Website:
a. Link: https://www.usps.com/
b. On the main USPS website move your mouse over the “Send” tab at the top of the screen, and then click the “Look UP a ZIP Code” option from the menu.
c. Enter the street address, city and state into the designated boxes and click “Find.”
d. Determine if the result indicates a deliverable address, which means the result is an existent, real-world address.
Existent Address:
i. When the USPS returns both the main locality ZIP code and the (+4) extension as well, this is a good clue that the address is deliverable.
ii. Click on the arrow tab to the lower right of the returned address, to open the result further.
iii. Check the DPV Confirmation Indicator: If the DPV Confirmation Indicatorhasa“Y”, it indicatesthat the postal service consider sthe address as a deliverable. We consider a deliverable address an Existent, real-world address.
Non-Existent Address:
i. When the USPS returns only the main locality ZIP code and is missing
a (+4), it is likely that the address does not exist.
ii. Click on the arrow tab to the lower right of the returned address, to open
the result further
iii. Check the DPV Confirmation Indicator: If the DPV Confirmation Indicator has a “N”, it indicates that the postal service does not consider the address as deliverable. This could also indicate that the address is Non-Existent and not a real-world address.
iv. Do not solely base address existence on the USPS alone. In some cases, homes without mailboxes (P.O. Box holders) or POIs without an expected mailing addresses (Parks, etc.) will not be considered deliverable addresses per the USPS. Always perform additional research using web sources and street level imagery to ensure that the entity does not actually have a physical address.
USPS Does Not Return an Address (Gives Error Message)
The USPS clearly indicates that an address is non-existent by including an error prompt. Always double check for misspellings, incorrect street types, incorrect localities, etc. The USPS does not always automatically autocorrect incorrectly inputted address information and may present a False-Negative.
